Why Senior Leaders Disengage Long Before They Leave
Senior leaders often disengage long before they resign. Learn the quiet signs that candor, ownership, imagination, and institutional wisdom are already leaving.
The Early Warning Signs Your Workplace Culture Is Already Breaking Down
Culture rarely collapses without warning. Learn the signals leaders often normalize—and how to act before trust becomes much harder to repair.
You Can’t Handle the Truth
Every Organization Says It Wants the Truth. Very Few Examine What It Costs to Tell It. There are certain movie lines that become part of our culture because they capture something larger than the moment in which they were spoken. Few are more recognizable than Colonel Nathan Jessup’s declaration in A Few Good Men: “You […]
I’m Pretty Far from Okay
What Executive Burnout Is Quietly Teaching Your Organization Burnout Is Rarely Contained to the Executive Suite There is a memorable scene in Pulp Fiction where Bruce Willis’ character (Butch) asks Ving Rhames ‘ character (Marcellus Wallace) a simple question: “Are you okay?” His response has become one of the film’s most recognizable lines. “No. I’m […]
Why Employees Stop Telling Leaders the Truth
“If My Answers Frighten You, Then You Should Cease Asking Scary Questions.” Every Organization Has Conversations Leadership Never Hears One of my favorite scenes in Pulp Fiction is a philosophical debate between Jules Winfield (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta). It includes a line that has stayed with me for years: “If my […]
Don’t Believe the Hype
Why Your Retention Problem is not an HR Problem — It’s a Leadership Problem Let me tell you something I learned the hard way, in boardrooms and break rooms, on legislative floors and hospital floors: when good people start walking out the door, the first thing leaders do is look everywhere except in the mirror. […]
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 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 […]
Before the Ball Drops — How High-Impact Leaders Reflect, Reset, and Rebuild for the Year Ahead
Every December, leaders fall into two categories. Some look back at the year and say, “I hope next year is better.” High-impact leaders take a different approach. They treat December as a strategic moment — the time to reflect with truth, reset with intention, and rebuild with precision before the noise of January hits. They […]
