Can Conflict be the Sign of a Healthy Team?
Most leaders have been conditioned to see conflict as something to minimize, manage, or avoid altogether. It’s often framed as a disruption or signals dysfunction within a team. However, what if the opposite is true? What if conflict, when approached productively, is actually a signal that a team is healthy and functioning exactly as it […]
The Real Enemy of Execution: Drift
Most organizations don’t fail because of a single, dramatic event. They fail because of many small moments of execution that miss the mark. Deadlines slip. Ownership gets blurry. Priorities shift without being fully reset. No single issue seems catastrophic; over time momentum simply fades and frustration grows. What looks like a performance problem is often […]
Fallibility as a Performance Advantage
Many people understand that admitting fallibility and shortcomings can build trust. Fewer are taught how to admit mistakes without undermining performance expectations. As a result, fallibility is often avoided—or expressed in vague, performative ways that don’t lead to change. Done well, expressing fallibility is not about vulnerability for its own sake. It is a disciplined […]
From Convenience to Clarity: Rethinking Language at Work
Communication is one of the most powerful tools we have at work. Yet the language we use—our words, phrases, idioms, even accents—can unintentionally create barriers between people. From informal conversations to formal evaluations and hiring decisions, language shapes how we connect, understand each other, and perform together. Research shows that our habits of speech and […]
How to Stop Fixing Symptoms and Start Solving Problems
Have you ever been in a situation where a decision in one area creates ripple effects far away? This is when a linear, “fix-the-symptom” approach to problem solving falls short. As organizations grow more complex, technology evolves, and teams become more interconnected, a different mindset is required. This is where systems thinking comes in, which […]
Holiday Cheer, Fewer Fears: A Leader’s Guide to Today’s Office Party
Office parties have always been equal parts celebration and social experiment. They can connect workers from different parts of the company, deepen trust, heal team rifts, and create memories that make hard work feel worthwhile. Alternatively, they can introduce legal and reputational risk at the speed of an open bar. Handled well, corporate social events […]
Make Your Year-End Performance Reviews Meaningful
End-of-year performance reviews (and mid-term reviews, for that matter) are one of corporate life’s least loved rituals, typically despised by workers and managers alike. While it would be wonderful to get rid of them altogether, how would leaders determine pay, promotions, and developmental priorities? Back in 2016, when abolishing performance reviews was all the rage, […]
How to Keep a Tough Crowd From Derailing Your Meeting
Facilitation is generally considered the secret weapon to leading a productive meeting. The planning that comes with facilitation can help even a novice lead a meeting like a seasoned vet and alleviate many of the issues that arise when a meeting lacks preparation and thoughtful design. And it doesn’t take a certified facilitator to accomplish […]
Avoid Leading a Meeting That “Could’ve Been an Email”
You’ve probably been in that meeting — the one where the agenda looks promising, but the conversation drifts, time runs out, and nothing truly gets decided. You leave wondering, “What did we actually accomplish?”. We run meetings because that’s what we’ve always done. But somewhere along the way, we’ve confused “holding a meeting” with “making […]
How Limiting Remote Time for New Hires Raise Job Satisfaction and Performance
Most leaders agree the “where” of work should follow the “why,” meaning the best workplace strategies don’t start with location—they start with purpose. Yet there’s a persistent myth that any limit on remote work will tank morale, particularly among Gen Z employees (those born between 1996 and 2012). The data tells a more nuanced story. […]
