Character

Are you creating an ethical culture?

May 21, 2015

When CEO Bob Diamond resigned from his post at Barclays, it sent a message to other bankers: Even the head honcho’s job isn’t safe if the company gets ensnared in an ethics scandal. Diamond, who left in 2012 over questionable actions among his bank’s traders related to manipulating interest rates, may not have realized a tenet of ethical leadership: It’s not what you’re doing that counts as much as how you’re judged in the court of public opinion.

What’s your GRIT rating?

April 30, 2015
Heard of GRIT? Here’s your primer on the formula by Paul Stoltz, who studies resilience and is CEO of training company Peak Learning.

5 traits of an effective CEO

April 23, 2015
Veteran businessman Norm Brodsky suggests five criteria necessary to excel as a true leader.

When authenticity should not be a thing

March 27, 2015

“Authentic” has been a buzzword for a while now. Here are a few reasons why being authentic isn’t always the best policy.

Save face when you mess up

March 24, 2015
How you react after making a mistake can establish you as an accountable stand-up employee—or a shirker who dodges responsibility.

Hack attack: Outgoing CEO takes the heat

March 20, 2015
Over Labor Day weekend, Frank Blake could finally relax. After seven hard-charging years as CEO of Home Depot, he had announced in August 2014 that he’d retire and his chosen successor, Craig Menear, would take over as CEO on Nov. 1. But on Tuesday morning, Blake was stunned to learn that Home Depot’s computers had been hacked …

Hang tough and follow through

March 5, 2015
During a recent Q&A, actor Kevin Costner offered his rules for living.

Time to adjust the leadership thermostat?

February 3, 2015
Are you a thermometer or a thermostat at work?

You can learn to get a grip

January 27, 2015

As a leader, you want to stay cool in a crisis, but overthinking is still the classic way to choke—a way known all too well by professional athletes. You can go from being hamstrung by fear to being impelled by it, but it takes work.

To stay humble, look to Pope Francis

January 24, 2015
Minutes after Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis in March 2013, he showed his humility. Meeting other cardinals as pope for the first time, he chose not to stand on a platform that would force him to lord over his former peers…