I’ve spent more than two decades leading people through change. Acquisitions, reorganizations, new systems, new leadership, the whole list. Most of it, I’ve gotten right, more by instinct than by any formal system. I’ve always had a good feel for people, and I’ve leaned on that. But instinct isn’t something you can hand to somebody
After I published Leading Change Well, the question I heard most wasn’t “what did you find.” It was some version of “how do I know if this is me.” That’s a fair question. Reading about five patterns that separated leaders who navigated change well from those who didn’t is interesting enough on its own. It’s
Not long after I launched the Leadership Accountability Self-Assessment, I got a piece of feedback that stuck with me. Someone who’d taken it told me the questions were sharp and the results were interesting, but once they saw their score, there wasn’t anywhere to actually go with it. They knew where they stood. They didn’t
Finding qualified team members can be a daunting task, particularly in times of low unemployment. My team was often tasked with the same challenge over the time I was part of a global manufacturer in the Chicago south suburbs. The Chicago market isn’t one where you would expect to have difficulties finding highly qualified engineers,
Job satisfaction and employee motivation are always hot button topics for business owners. Perhaps you have wished your employees would take ownership of their jobs the same way you do. As we enter 2024, it’s time to take a new approach to managing that will result in the kind of job involvement and commitment you
Most strategic plans fail not because the strategy is wrong, but because leaders don’t consistently demonstrate what the strategy requires. Employees watch what leaders do and say—not what’s written in planning documents—to understand what actually matters. I’ve seen this pattern repeatedly across manufacturing, healthcare, construction, and distribution organizations: brilliant strategies undermined by inconsistent leadership behavior.
The first 90 days in a leadership role aren’t just about learning the business—they’re about establishing the patterns that will define your effectiveness for years to come. Your team is watching closely, forming judgments about what you value, how you make decisions, and whether you mean what you say. Most new leaders get this backwards.
As we step into a new year, it’s the perfect time to hit the reset button, reflect on past achievements, and look forward to what we want to accomplish. Whether you’re managing a small team or leading a larger department, how you kick off the year can set the tone for everything that follows. One
