Next Generation Leadership

Every organization has one.

You're in a meeting with a colleague. They've just walked you through an idea — a plan, a proposal, a first draft of something they clearly put real effort into — and you want to be useful, so you jump in with a question: "Have you thought about doing it this way instead?"

Saturday was the first football game of the season. My son is a first-year student and football player at Tennessee State University. He didn't play — not surprising for a first-year player — but you couldn't have kept me away. It was the John Merritt Classic: Tennessee State and Jackson State, two Historically Black Colleges and Universities, opening the season in Nashville. And yes, there was...

We underestimate decision-making.

If you asked me the number one “topic” people come to me about, I would say communication. That's the specific word cited most often. When I ask more questions, what gets shared ranges from trust to transparency, from inclusivity to managerial effectiveness. But when we finally land on the actual thing, 99% of the time, the real topic is decision making.

Here is something I have watched play out in organizations for years, and it still catches people by surprise. We complain about something for months, sometimes for years. "Nobody knows who to go to to make a decision." "There's no coordination across departments, and when it does happen, it's fraught with miscommunication." "Our silos are making it impossible to get work done without twice...

A few months ago, I went to Bangkok. It was magical. And one of the first things I did — right off the plane — was climb onto the back of a scooter. A little Vespa. You order it on an app, the way we order an Uber at home. Up pulls a driver who looked all of fifteen, hands me a helmet, and tells me to hop on. He was going to take me to a restaurant on the river — about ten miles away, over a...

We love a butterfly. We rarely think about the cocoon.

Do you know anyone who gardens? Are you a gardener?

It’s hard to find anyone who isn’t feeling overwhelmed by the state of the world right now. Political division is running deep. Civil unrest continues to flare. Institutions we once trusted are under scrutiny. Employees are burned out. And leaders—especially those with a deep sense of responsibility—are exhausted, disillusioned, and wondering whether they’re up to the task of leading in such a...