“Organizations are overmanaged and underled.”  John Kotter   Many organizations live and die by their metrics; net present value, internal rate of return, return on assets, and numerous others dictate what we do and often how we do it. These numbers are an important facet of organizational life; we can’t make smart business decisions without understanding...

Abraham Maslow is known for saying, “A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write, if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be, he must be.” This quote, as well as Maslow’s work, was dedicated to understanding why more people don’t self-actualize. He saw this idea of self-actualization as representing the...

We must acknowledge every spark, but have the ability to discern which sparks have the potential to light a fire. A spark is a small, fiery particle that is produced by striking two hard materials together. Sparks are tiny, they’re hard to see and most of the time they are harmless. However, if there are too many of them or if they land in just the...

“The art of communication is the language of leadership,” says James Humes. In fact, it’s essential for effective leadership. When you see it practiced well, it’s inspiring, engaging, and connects people to people and people to new ideas. It may appear to come so intuitively to some leaders that we are unaware of the intentional effort they devote...

You’ve likely been to a team building event for work; it could have included mini golf, bowling, a scavenger hunt, or even a holiday party. While there is a place for these events, they are not the magic bullet to generate team engagement or productivity. In fact, I would argue they can have the opposite effect on engagement if they are not executed...

The ability to give feedback in a workplace setting can be one of the hardest things to do. It’s intimidating, nerve-wracking, and uncomfortable. As humans, we have desires to feel appreciated, cared for and respected, but giving feedback (especially when it’s constructive) can seemingly go against these innate desires. But it doesn’t have to! What...