Adaptability Is the New Leadership Superpower in an Uncertain World
Let me start with something real. There was a time in my career…when everything looked stable on the outside. The numbers were good.The meetings were productive.The strategy made sense. But if you paid attention—not to the reports…not to the dashboards… but to the people… You could feel it. Something was off. People were showing up… […]
When Doing the Right Thing Could Cost You Your Job
What leaders must do when fear and uncertainty tempt them to protect their position instead of the mission. There’s a moment many leaders experience but rarely talk about. You’ve done your job. You’ve delivered results. You’ve represented the mission well. And then suddenly something you said—or something you did—creates more attention than you expected. Now […]
When Politics Walks Into the Workplace
What to do when war, politics, and global uncertainty enter your leadership team. If you lead people long enough, you will eventually face this moment. Two employees are arguing about politics.Someone feels offended.Someone else says leadership needs to step in. And suddenly, a conversation about the news becomes a workplace issue. This isn’t new. I […]
When Your Team Starts Asking: “Is My Job Safe?
What leaders must do when financial pressure, layoffs, and uncertainty start creeping into the workplace I remember sitting in an executive leadership team meeting during the early months of the pandemic when our CFO said something that immediately changed the tone of the room. “If we don’t open our outpatient surgery centers and start seeing […]
Leading Through Global Uncertainty
Geopolitical tensions, war, and global instability affect your culture more than you think. Here’s how great leaders communicate when the world feels uncertain. In today’s world, geopolitical uncertainty isn’t something distant or abstract—it walks right into your office. A conflict overseas.A terrorist attack.Political instability in another part of the world. Within minutes, your team has […]
How Executives Break Invisible Barriers
Why Performance Stops Working—and What Actually Moves the Room The Moment I Realized Performance Wouldn’t Be Enough Early in my career, I learned a lesson about leadership that no degree, title, or résumé could teach me. I had just finished reading The Audacity of Hope by a relatively unknown U.S. Senator named Barack Obama. At […]
The Real Reason Executives Get Forced Out (It’s Rarely Performance)
Watching a Forced Exit Up Close I’ve been in rooms where an executive’s exit was discussed long before they knew they were at risk. The official explanation—when it came—sounded reasonable: “It’s just not the right fit anymore.” But the real decision had nothing to do with performance. It had already been decided. Performance Is the […]
When a Leader Loses Influence
The Early Signs Most Executives Miss I Watched Influence Slip—Even With the Title Intact I’ve served in senior leadership roles in healthcare organizations where the stakes were high, and the pressure was constant. Over 15 years ago, I watched a highly competent executive slowly lose influence without ever losing their title. Their position stayed the […]
When Executive Respect Isn’t Enough
The Invisible Barriers that Hold Leaders Back The First Time I Realized Respect Wasn’t Enough Early in my career, I was elected to public office. I had the title. I had credibility in my community. And I had the respect of many people in the legislature. But there was something I didn’t have yet—and I […]
You Don’t Need More Answers —You Need More Influence
In The Audacity of Leadership, I wrote about learning to lead from the front row and the back bench. In football, in politics, in the White House—I learned that people don’t follow the person with the most answers. They follow the one with the most presence. When I worked for President Obama, I saw the […]