There’s a scene from the television series Mad Men where one of the advertising copywriters, Peggy, is confronting her boss, Don, about an award for a commercial she conceived. The scene climaxes with this iconic dialogue: Don: “It’s your job! I give you money, you give me ideas.” Peggy: “And you never say thank you!”…
Being a leader is hard! Leadership requires the ability to be self-aware enough to make necessary changes, act decisively, and some other character traits that, if not naturally ingrained, must be learned. In my work with executives and leaders, I’ve found five characteristics that the best leaders have mastered. 1. Acknowledging they do not have…
One common denominator amongst great leaders, influencers, and business geniuses is curiosity. Curiosity breeds exploration and understanding, which in turn limits the premature judgment of ideas, solutions and other people. Put simply by 19th century philosopher William James, “curiosity is the impulse towards better cognition.” In a 2014 report by Dr. Celeste Kidd of Berkeley…
If you are a leader, then you probably spend a good part of your time asking questions to get relevant information. Unfortunately, most of us are not skilled in asking questions for understanding as much as we are good at asking (or demanding) data in a rapid fire manner to get to the bottom line…
You got the promotion. Congratulations! Now, before you get big-headed, read further. If you are in a leadership role, you probably earned your stripes by working hard, making mistakes, taking risks and ultimately winning through perseverance. In your journey, you developed ways of working that work for you…at least until now. The problem is that…