Leadership Mistakes

William Shockley hogged all the credit

May 21, 2015
Hailed as a creative genius, physicist ­William Shockley mastered quantum theory and led a team to invent the transistor. But he did it the hard way.

3 leadership fails

March 6, 2015
The last thing you can afford to do is disconnect from your team. Here are three ways to inadvertently make that happen.

Internal turbulence hampered the Jets

January 29, 2015
For Super Bowl week, here’s a cautionary tale of how tricky it is to lead a team to victory. In 2011, New York Jets coach Rex Ryan lacked the same familiarity running an offense as he did guiding the defense. As a result, he delegated—a bit too much.

Microsoft CEO’s hard-earned wisdom

December 30, 2014
During Steve Ballmer’s 13 years as Micro­­soft’s CEO, the company’s revenues tripled and its profits doubled. But the man who replaced Bill Gates also took some criticism.

Dodge the slippery slope of loose ethics

December 23, 2014

Few execs start off with the intent to lie or defraud. Instead, they make the mistake of getting ensnared by one seemingly minor infraction. How does many a downfall escalate from there?

Avoid the pitfalls of arrogance

December 5, 2014
The story of the man CNBC named one of the worst American CEOs of all time teaches a lesson in how to conduct yourself with employees.

Steer clear of 4 costly pitfalls

October 21, 2014

Would-be leaders can limit their effectiveness by clinging to self-defeating actions and attitudes. In your rush to succeed, it’s easy to overreach and alienate potential allies. Avoid these four common traps to strengthen your ability to lead over the long term.

Leadership Tips, Vol. 914

September 30, 2014
Take some comfort in some historic business mistakes … Say “no” to corporatespeak … Don’t sacrifice quality.

Do staffers welcome your questions?

September 20, 2014

When a technology manager at Goldman Sachs moved to HR, questioning her staff was suddenly labeled as “interrogating.” Why?

Don’t fall for your own story

August 15, 2014
Learn from BP’s mistakes not to fall for your own advertising.