The Hidden Habits of Genius

Leadership Now is a leading source for leadership development and analysis. We believe that anyone can make a difference by leading from where they are.

Decisiveness is Just as Important as Deliberation

Sometimes, deciding what to do is the easiest part of a decision. Being decisive on an issue you hate is a whole different ballgame.

5 leadership tactics that build trust

The soft skills are what matter most.

12 Leadership Lessons from DocuSign CEO Dan Springer

How the Silicon Valley veteran transformed the e-signature pioneer Into a $37 billion powerhouse

10 Leadership Lessons from Covid Field Hospitals

The pandemic has forced leaders of hospitals around the world to adopt new practices as they have struggled to contend with the crisis. In this article, the senior leaders of two emergency field hospitals in the United kingdom and the United States — the NHS Nightingale and…

Lessons on Leading Through Chaos from U.S. Special Forces

As the crises of 2020 wear on, the unique skills of our country’s Special Operations Forces (SOF) are becoming more and more valuable in the private sector. Their adaptability, excellent judgment, and wide range of training and experience makes SOF veterans well suited to lead…

Memos

Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude: Kethledge, Raymond M., Erwin, Michael S., Collins, Jim: 9781632866325…

Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude [Kethledge, Raymond M., Erwin, Michael S., Collins, Jim] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Lead Yourself First: Inspiring Leadership Through Solitude

Army Ranger School Is a Laboratory of Human Endurance

The military's toughest training challenges have a lot in common with outdoor sufferfests like the Barkley Marathons and the Leadville Trail 100: you have to be fit and motivated to make the starting line, but your mind and spirit are what carry you to the end. A Ranger graduate…

The Great CEO Within

If you’re looking for a primer on many of the responsibilities of being a startup CEO, read The Great CEO Within. Matt Mochary wrote the book. He founded a company which he sold to MCI and now coaches startup CEOs, amongst other philanthropic efforts. The best part of this book…

All You Have to Do Is Ask

Leadership Now is a leading source for leadership development and analysis. We believe that anyone can make a difference by leading from where they are.

Quotes and Lessons about Strategy from Machiavelli’s “The Prince” – Effecti

Giving Feedback to Someone Who Hasn’t Had It in Years

If you work with someone who’s gone too long without feedback and want to help them grow, you’ll need to take an empathetic approach to the conversation. Start by asking questions to clarify their motives. If a leader is constantly forcing their ideas on others, for example, you…

In a Life-or-Death Crisis, Humility Is Everything - WSJ

Airline pilot Alfred Haynes and other leaders who’ve saved lives show that modest people can achieve miracles under pressure.

The Charisma Effect

How to bend people to your will.

Leadership Principles

The Best Employees Are Not the Agreeable Ones, According to Adam Grant

Grant said he separates workers along two axes: givers and takers, and agreeable and disagreeable.

How to Discover your Why: What I Learned from my Transition from CEO | Link

Mark Twain once said that the two most important days in your life are the day you are born, and the day that you discover why. My goal for writing this article is to share an approach to discover (or in my case, rediscover) your “why”.

Speak softly, make tough decisions: An interview with Alibaba Group chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang

The chairman and CEO of China’s e-commerce giant describes Alibaba’s approach to innovation and how he balances analytics and instinct to push himself to spot hidden opportunities.

7 Strategies for Establishing Authority

Remember that the essence of authority is that people willingly follow your lead. That is what the following strategies are designed to do.

Solitude and Leadership - The American Scholar

If you want others to follow, learn to be alone with your thoughts

Why Open Secrets Exist in Organizations

Why do issues remain open secrets in organizations, where multiple employees know about a problem or a concern, but no one publicly brings it up? Researchers recently explored this in a set of studies. They found that as issues become more common knowledge among frontline…

7 Harsh Truths That Will Improve Your Leadership Skills Overnight

This is taking your leadership to a whole new level, again.

To Be a Great Leader, You Have to Learn How to Delegate Well

One of the most difficult transitions for leaders to make is the shift from doing to leading . As a new manager you can get away with holding on to work. Peers and bosses may even admire your willingness to keep “rolling up your sleeves” to execute tactical assignments. But as…

All the best engineering advice I stole from non-technical people

As I focus on becoming a better manager of engineers, I have been reflecting more and more on the advice that produced a 10X boost in my…

The Art of Saying No to Invites When You REALLY Don't Want to Do Something

Plus how to actually do it—with sample scripts

Our 6 Must Reads for Cutting Through Conflict and Tough Conversations

Big ideas, strong-willed characters, impossible deadlines and close quarters — if you wrote out a recipe for conflict, it might bear an uncanny resemblance to the high-stakes, pressure-cooker environment of a startup. We spoke with top engineers, seasoned managers and experts in…

For Leaders, Decency Is Just as Important as Intelligence

Business leaders make countless decisions that affect employees, customers, shareholders, communities, and even society as a whole. Traditionally, there have been two important traits that leaders need to have: intellect (IQ) and emotional intelligence (EQ). Today, however, they…

Do You Trust Your People?

Leadership Now is a leading source for leadership development and analysis. We believe that anyone can make a difference by leading from where they are.

How to Create a Great Team Culture (and Why It Matters) - ACM Queue

As leader of the team, you have significant influence over your team

The North Star Approach to Goal Setting

This approach radically improves your chances of success.

The 3 most effective ways to build trust as a leader

Based on data from 597 people, the best ways to build trust as a leader aren’t what you think they are. How do you build trust as a leader? The answer seems intuitive enough. For many of us, …

How to Deliver Constructive Feedback in Difficult Situations

Thoughtful, empathetic language can make or break your business relationships

CEO interview series: Michael Seibel on leadership attributes in successful startup leaders

Explore a glimpse into how M. Seibel thinks about leadership attributes and some contrarian views that may be at the heart of how he picks great companies.

What 8 Years as a Marine Taught Me About Being a Leader

For the first eight years of my career I was in the U.S.

The Case for Realistic Generals

“There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, ‘Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,’ and an optimist who says, ‘Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out […]

Why I Encourage My Best Employees to Consider Outside Job Offers

Most bosses live in fear that their best employees will leave, so it might seem to be a bad idea to encourage your stars to consider outside offers. But in fact, it sends employees a clear signal that you really care about their learning and development. Openness allows for an…

How We Reduced Our Injury Rate by 90% at Campbell Soup Company

Reducing injuries brings down your worker’s compensation costs, but that’s not what’s should drive companies to examine their rate of serious injury. Instead, leaders should do so because they care about the people who work for them. Doug Conant, former CEO of Campbell’s Soup…

Level up with the Awesome Leadership and Management List

Whether you're an experienced tech manager, a newbie, or an engineer who wants ...

Amazon.jobs

We use our Leadership Principles every day, whether we’re discussing ideas for new projects or deciding on the best way to solve a problem. It’s just one of the things that makes Amazon peculiar.

Combat Consultant: Q&A With Retired General Stanley McChrystal

Retired Army general and special forces commander Stanley McChrystal shares his insights about adaptable teams and organizations.

Publicly credit your employees

Complete Guide to Delegation for Leaders

My earliest memories of delegation involve elementary school group projects in which my classmates didn’t take the assignment seriously. More often than not, this left me in the undesirable position…