Character

More proof that leaders matter

May 14, 2010
If you’re having fits because your employees, your kids or even you think one person can’t make a difference, consider Michael Pollan. Today, when you pick up a package of English muffins that reads “Now No High-Fructose Corn Syrup,” that was one man’s doing. You can make a difference.

10 reasons your people hate you

May 14, 2010

Here’s a thought. Actually, here’s a dare from leadership blogger Mike Figliuolo in “10 Reasons Your Team Hates You (They Just Won’t Say It To Your Face).” Send this list to your employees. Tell them to circle any that apply to you. Take the top two and fix them.

How 4 top companies mold leaders

May 14, 2010

In the never-ending quest for who is really developing raw talent, Fortune magazine, along with HR consulting firm Hewitt Associates and HR services firm RBL Group, created a system to rate the world’s largest companies. In choosing their top 25 firms, judges found that the best organizations go beyond the basics in developing strong leaders and come up with new ways to test employees.

You can be a better leader than you are

March 17, 2010

Joseph Plumeri, chairman and chief executive of insurance brokerage Willis Group Holdings, once was a command-and-control leader. “Being too exciting and too motivational is overbearing, and it turns people off,” he says. So he revamped his leadership style to focus on collaboration and debate.

Why introverted leaders rule

February 12, 2010

There’s good reason why 40% of executives describe themselves as introverts. From discount broker Charles Schwab to Avon chief executive Andrea Jung, “innies” possess these five traits of quiet leadership:

Inspirational leadership: 3 attributes leaders need

December 1, 2009

Few large organizations doubt their own ability to survive the downturn, says leadership consultant John Baldoni, but sadly, few of their top executives possess the kind of vision and inspiration needed to move beyond survival—to “thrival.” In other words, the financials are acceptable, but the leadership is lacking. And right now, leadership is what we need.

45 years ago, leadership was different

November 1, 2006
If you read current books on leadership, you might believe that personality is the greatest determinant of leadership success. Only a few decades ago, though, that belief would’ve been viewed as flawed, self-centered and wrong.

We hope this isn’t you…

July 1, 2005
How does someone in charge become a baby … and not in a good way?

Live up to what you say

November 1, 2004
Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military leaders in history. His lasting reputation, however, rests less on how much territory he conquered and more on the kind of leader he became.