Leadership Mistakes

When will we learn: Think twice before gabbing to media

May 10, 2018
Mastering public relations requires a tricky balancing act. Leaders need to appear accessible to the media without revealing too much. Colin Angle, co-founder and CEO of iRobot, recently fell out of balance—and paid the price.

When a business giant is just a square peg

March 28, 2018
The résumé of Kevin Turner, who spent 11 years as chief operating officer of Microsoft, didn’t really mesh with the demands of the world of hedge fund Citadel. And he became an example of a leader who can’t necessarily walk into the boardroom of his choice and dazzle in a different culture.

A cautionary tale of effusive praise

March 19, 2018

Beware of bruising sensibilities internally when praising how well someone else or some other organization performs.

Why romanticizing leaders as heroes is dangerous

March 7, 2018

“Romanticizing leadership is bewitching because it offers an account of leadership drenched with imprecise mystique. It asks that we view leaders as privileged, holding a transcendent position above the fray of political or historical critique,” said Keith Grint, Professor of Public Leadership & Management at Warwick Business School, who conducted a study of the matter along with David Collinson, of Lancaster University, and Owain Smolovic Jones, of The Open University.

Silence your know-it-all spiel

February 20, 2018

It’s easy to feel like an impostor who’s pretending to know more than you do. That can lead you to talk too much and lose touch with your team. To avoid talking at (rather than with) others, beware of these traps.

Focus on positives to avoid excuses

November 9, 2017
Craig Ross was hired by a company to help its leaders innovate more effectively. Almost immediately, Ross detected a problem: The participants failed to connect well with each other.

What a CEO’s verbal gaffe wrought

September 12, 2017
Four years into the job, the CEO of a chain of day care centers had revitalized the company’s finances, but his verbal gaffes threatened to drive away customers and staff.

Will your ego kill your career?

August 14, 2017
The day of the aggressive know-it-all who steamrolls over colleagues is drawing to a close. In the future, success will belong to those who can quiet their egos, collaborate, and empathize with others.

Was JC Penney’s CEO doomed to fail?

July 26, 2017
In November 2011, JC Penney hired Ron Johnson as its CEO. At the time, Johnson was considered a bold hire. But his star faded fast. Within 17 months, Penney ousted him after the company lost $4 billion in revenue and its stock tanked.

4 common brand missteps

July 19, 2017
Larry Light, co-author with Joan Kiddon of Six Rules for Brand Revitalization, identifies some tips on how businesses can avoid making a mess of their brands.