What should a leader do when a team member just doesn’t quite “fit” with the company culture? That’s the question I address in this month’s Smartblog on Leadership article. It really boils down to leadership “tough love” – you can’t make excuses for direct reports who almost adhere to the organization’s values. Smartbrief’s leadership newsletter…
Courage
Zen of Jen: Who are You Really Talking To?
Ever read any self-help books? If so, you’re most likely familiar with the term “self-talk” which, as its name suggests, is the act of talking to oneself. There’s negative self-talk (“I’m such an idiot – why did I do that?”) and positive self-talk (“I am excellent at giving professional presentations”). Personally, I’ve done my share…
Living Up to the Promise of a Leadership Title
Are the leaders in your organization living up to their titles? Yes, yes, I know. The organizational title is a dinosaur. But the reality is that very few organizations have learned to operate without the hierarchy. So, for those companies that still rely on titles, most employees have expectations about how people in senior management…
Leadership Courage – When Not to Fire Someone
Should you fire the person responsible for your company’s very public failure? That’s the question I explore in my latest article for Smartblog on Leadership. Earlier this week, I wrote about a very public PR failure: the NYPD foray into Twitter. Says Smartblog on Leadership of my article: “When organizations make mistakes in the public…
The Path to Leadership—It’s Rarely What You Plan
What do a peace activist from Northern Ireland, a former sex trafficking victim, a Somalian parliamentarian and an Israeli teacher have in common? All are women who stepped forward to ignite astonishing change in their respective parts of the world. And, in their moment of choice to speak up, they had no formal leadership…