You know that person at work who always gets picked for the high-visibility projects? The one leadership actually listens to in meetings? It’s not because they work harder than you. It’s because everyone knows what drives them – and it’s always about something bigger than themselves. That’s the Purpose Signal in action, powered by servant […]
You know what drives me crazy? When people hear “servant leadership” and immediately think it means being a pushover. Being walked all over. Letting your team run wild while you serve coffee and ask how everyone’s feeling. That couldn’t be further from the truth. After 30 years of leading teams—from my time as a military […]
You know what drives me crazy? When people hear “servant leadership” and immediately think it means being a pushover. Being walked all over. Letting your team run wild while you serve coffee and ask how everyone’s feeling. That couldn’t be further from the truth. After 30 years of leading teams—from my time as a military […]
If you’re a middle manager, you know the feeling. It’s like being the filling in a sandwich—essential to holding everything together, but often getting squeezed from both sides. You wake up to emails from your team asking for clarity on the new initiative that leadership just announced. By mid-morning, you’re in a meeting where executives […]
You know what a chameleon does, right? It changes colors to match its surroundings. Smart survival strategy for a lizard. Terrible strategy for a leader. Yet I see it all the time. A manager reads the latest bestseller and suddenly they’re all about radical transparency. Two months later, they attend a conference and pivot to […]
“I’d rather be respected than liked.” How many times have you heard that? How many leadership books preach this gospel? It sounds tough. Principled. Like something a real leader would say. It’s also terrible advice. I learned this lesson the hard way during my banking years. I was leading a team through our third merger […]
You’ve told your team a hundred times: “My door is always open.” You mean it, too. You genuinely want people to come to you with problems, ideas, concerns. You’ve created Slack channels for open communication. You’ve instituted “no stupid questions” as a mantra. You’ve even moved your office closer to the team. And yet… crickets. […]
Understanding and Rewriting the Internal Stories That Drive Your Decisions Have you ever walked out of a meeting and wondered, “Why did I just agree to that impossible deadline?” Or found yourself micromanaging a team member even though you swore you’d give them more space? Maybe you’ve caught yourself apologizing for the third time in […]
You show up every day. You deliver quality work. You solve problems, meet deadlines, and go above and beyond when it matters. And yet… when promotion time rolls around, someone else gets the call. When credit gets handed out in meetings, your name doesn’t come up. When leadership talks about “rising stars” or “high performers,” […]
The Promise Every Acquirer Makes (And Why Teams Don’t Believe It) “We love what you’ve built. We don’t want to change anything too quickly.” If you’ve been through a merger or acquisition, you’ve likely heard this promise. And if you’re like most employees on the receiving end, you probably smiled, nodded, and immediately started updating […]
