Straight from the desk

“Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” — Groucho Marx Bella has never read a leadership book. She has never attended a workshop on psychological safety or workplace dynamics. Yet, she has taught me some of the most useful lessons I know about trust and leadership. Bella is my dog. As she's grown older, I'm becoming more aware of the fact that she has a mind of her own. There are days when she listens to everything I say. And t

“Leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in action.” — Harold S. Geneen If there is one thing I've learnt in relationships, it is that people won't remember what you said to them, but they will remember how you made them feel. For life. This is a universal truth. Your team member will not remember what you said in the appraisal meeting, but they will always remember how you made them feel after it. And I've had the unique opportunity to be on both sid

“Everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.” — Joe Louis Come March every year, every team member I have worked with wants a promotion. Very few want to hear the feedback or understand that they have to earn one. And contrary to popular belief, no manager looks forward to telling that talented person that they did not get the rating they hoped for. I have had this conversation more times than I remember, and it never gets easy. But over the years, I've chipped