For the last 18 months, our Center for Values-Driven Leadership has partnered with the Small Giants Community and the University of Michigan’s Center for Positive Organizations on a three-year research …
Let “My People” Go: 7 Key Skills for Unselfish Leadership
How you talk about the people you work with says a lot about how you think about the people you work with. How often have you heard someone say …
How to Grow a Great Company: It Starts with Hiring
In our research among the exemplar companies selected to be part of the Return on Values Project, we’ve confirmed the leadership principle that great companies are made up of great …
Keep, Cut, Change: How to Get Culture Fit with Clients
Landing a $2 million dollar contract is a big deal in a company the size of Syncroness, a Denver-based engineering consulting firm. CEO Mike Walraven was delighted when a new …
Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast
Last week I had the privilege of attending two outstanding conferences, first the COMMIT Forum, a conference hosted by the Corporate Responsibility Association; followed by the Inc. 500/5000 conference, hosted …
Winning Hearts & Minds: The Battle for Diversity & Inclusion Needs Authentic Leadership (Here’s Where to Start)
As a diversity and inclusion executive, I’ve watched many initiatives waver, stall, or at worse, completely fail. What brings about these downfalls isn’t strategy – the ideas are usually sound. …
How Not to Sabotage Your Training Program: Learning Experiences that Work Across Generations
Every time we visit my grandmother, who is an octogenarian, she hands me a newsletter she gets from a women’s club in which she’s been an active member since 1950-something. …
Make Your Boss Work for You: How One Company Commits to their Employees’ Personal Goals
A basic tenant of good leadership is to let go of your dictatorial side, and let the leadership qualities of your followers emerge and be nurtured instead. That makes sense, …
Wow – You’re Different! Recognizing Differences as a Way to Launch Insight
It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. ~Audre Lorde Lately I’ve been thinking that it’s not the obvious …