Next Generation Leadership

“I took a management skills workshop that you led 15 years. It changed the trajectory of my career. My biggest take away was that management doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating, and that as a manager, I’m not being mean by sometimes having the tough conversations. You have this ‘kind but firm’ approach that really stuck with me.” This was the beginning of a conversation last week; a dean...

There’s a moment many leaders are finding themselves in right now—and it doesn’t always have a clean name. It shows up somewhere between intention and reality. You’ve set direction. You’ve aligned on priorities. You’ve named what success looks like. And then, almost immediately, something shifts. Not enough to start over. But enough that what you defined no longer fits quite the same way. And...

Think about a time when you were learning something new.

It’s performance review season.

2025 was tough. Whew. Even writing that, I can feel my jaw tighten a little. And it wasn’t just me. Almost everyone I spoke with this year used the same language. Heavy. Disorienting. Relentless. If I had to choose one word, it would be this: uncertainty. Uncertainty is painful. Not knowing what is coming next. Not knowing whether who we have been is the same as who we will be. Not knowing...

Change is not primarily a communications issue, or a morale issue. And it's definitely not "just" a cultural issue. Though, that's where a LOT of emphasis is placed during and especially major organizational changes. Change is about alignment. Alignment between vision, strategy, structure, and culture. When one of these shifts, the others must follow. If they do not, the organization fractures. ...

Most leadership journeys don’t begin with power.They begin with care. Yesterday, I was in conversation with a client—also a colleague and a friend. At one point she paused and asked, “Have you always been like this? Have you always really cared this much?” Yes-ish. I’m not perfect—especially up close. I can be quirky. I can be impatient. But I have always carried a clear-eyed sense that something...

Most communication failures in organizations do not happen because people are careless, unskilled, or unwilling to engage. They happen because people are operating on different frequencies—sending and receiving messages through fundamentally different lenses shaped by role, pressure, power, and context. In healthy working relationships, communication feels almost effortless. Meaning transfers...

It’s a fair question.