Last week I met with two of my favorite Haas Business School young alumnae. They both work for a large company whose name I will not reveal. The company is again on the most recent list of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” with a blurb that would make you say, “Wow, I’d like to … Continued
It seems like we’ve been talking about Trump’s first hundred days for about ten times a hundred days. Are you as weary of it as I am? So, here’s a shift. How have your first 100 days in office been? I decided to review the 2017 goals I wrote in January. It’s not something I’d … Continued
Last week (Bosses: Check the Wiring) I wrote about how my wife Jennifer had been asked by a group to speak about the election and, how when she asked me to be a sounding board for her as we drove to the event, I (somewhat rudely) balked. I instead asked her to consider letting me … Continued
I took a big step for me on Sunday, leading up. Next week, I’ll share why it wasn’t so easy, and why it might shed a little light for you, as you lead up. Today I want to tell the story and extract two lessons for people in positions of authority. My wife Jennifer and … Continued
If you don’t befriend Angie, she can wreck you. And worse, she can cause you to wreck those around you. But, first you have to realize she is part of your organization. It took me many years to bring Angie into the light, and I’m still working to understand how to work with her. Angie … Continued
The laughter surprised me. I felt a surge of indignation, but just as quickly it was gone. Because, I realized that I didn’t understand their response of laughter. . . because they hadn’t understood the point I was making. You might catch the irony by the end of this column. “They” were my leadership students … Continued
…Totally indirect? I teach leadership to grads and undergrads at Cal. I think about leading all the time. I try to inspire, challenge, encourage them. I’m the show. But I’m just a coach. And I know some of these young people are going to do bigger things than I ever have. One’s running for Congress … Continued
I thought of myself as confident yet humble. I suppose I was, at least as best I could be. In retrospect…not so humble! I remember taking a course with Ron Heifetz at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, back in 1984 or 1985. We were assigned to a group of about 9 students and we met … Continued
Last week, I posited that you and I have the ability and choice to be more or less authentic. Occasionally, we consciously decide how much or how little of our “real” selves we will show. But in nearly every relationship and even every encounter, we unconsciously decide how true we will be to our core self, … Continued
Thank you to the nearly 300 people who responded to my survey about authentic leadership. Your great input fuels today’s column. So, why focus on “authentic” leadership? Why not start-up leadership, courageous leadership, improvisational, trustworthy, heroic, servant or — well, pick your favorite adjective . . . dancing leadership, defiant, athletic, flourishing…Why authentic? Two reasons. … Continued