I'm often provided the honor of speaking to emerging business leaders on the topic of 'How Great Leaders Get It Done." Invariably the question arises "what is the difference between a manager and a leader?" I recently came upon Harvard Business [...]
As leaders look for success in 2023, it is easy to see that it will be a year with both continuing and fresh challenges. The fallout from the pandemic has not cleared, inflation and rising interest rates are a concern, [...]
Commitment and engagement are highest in organizations led by inspirational leaders. The ability to inspire is the one single quality that subordinates would most value and like in their leader (Zenger & Folkman, 2014). Despite the power and relevance for [...]
A recent research study investigated how behavioral traits and attitude characteristics affected leadership performance in the military. The study drew from data collected over five years from cadets at a U.S. military college and a military leader development course. The [...]
A successful organization requires a culture steeped in ethical behavior--and it starts at the top. Research finds that organizations led by ethical leaders report increased employee honesty, satisfaction, ethical behavior, and higher levels of effectiveness (Bedi, et al., 2016). The character [...]
It is considered one of the biggest sports scandals in college history. As the Department Head of Physical Education and Sports Studies at the University of Georgia (UGA), I needed to hire an instructor for a basketball coaching class. The [...]
As the world moves from a COVID-induced remote workforce to a mix of remote, hybrid, and in-person workspaces, skills developed by effective remote leaders remain a necessity for many. Two recently published research studies have identified 6 skills of effective [...]
Workplace violence, terrorist attacks, a pandemic, senseless shootings, health issues, and natural disasters call attention to managerial leadership in crisis situations. These situations often catch leaders unprepared to face unexpected challenges of great consequence. What leadership behaviors are most critical [...]
Recently, a series of 3 research studies sought to identify leadership actions that promote organizational innovation (Contreras, Carlos-Espinosa, & Dornberger, 2022). The researchers saw innovative leadership as a style of leadership that encourages innovative behaviors by team members. They studied [...]
It is not unusual for high-performing leaders to favor their intuition over a comprehensive analysis when making decisions impacting the future of their organization. The effectiveness of this practice was recently tested in a study of 234 companies (Szanto, 2022). [...]
A recently published research study sheds some intriguing light on the competencies that appear to be the strongest predictors of leadership effectiveness (Kozminski, et. al, 2022). 242 leaders in top managerial positions provided data for the study. The results showed [...]
Steve Jobs stepped onto a San Francisco stage and proclaimed, "Every once in a while, a revolutionary product comes along that changes everything." By the time he left that stage, he had persuaded millions of people to queue up in [...]
Mentoring is a significant and meaningful professional developmental relationship between two people. It can take different forms such as workplace mentoring, youth mentoring, or academic mentoring as well as taking on different shapes such as reverse mentoring or peer mentoring. [...]
An interesting study with 17 executives sought to discover how these leaders engaged their staff and inspired employees to go above and beyond in their work (Yanchus, Brower, & Osatuke, 2020). The interviews yielded specific, actionable best practices. Most salient [...]
We don't work together anymore--at least not all in the same place at the same time. Dispersed teams have become a new normal and leaders need to adjust. Intersecting social identity theory and leadership research, a study highlighted the importance of inspirational leaders who, [...]