A five year study by Google on highly effective teams found that by far the most important characteristic of a successful team is to feel safe to take risks and be vulnerable.   So how can we create an environment in which our teams feel safe enough to be vulnerable and in which we can have open and sometimes difficult conversations?

Whether it is a change in policy or a cut in funding, we all have to have difficult conversations as aid worker leaders.  But saying or doing the...

Coaching is becoming more recognized in international development as a powerful leadership methodology that when used properly will help your direct reports develop professionally, realize their goals and become the best version of themselves. That said, there are a lot of misconceptions of coaching, what it is and how to do it. In this episode I share three common misconceptions (the wrong way to coach) which you may not know you are doing and how you can correct them.

Being vulnerable as a leader can earn you more respect and trust with your team, and also make it more likely you will find out about any problems on the horizon before they become too great.

My guest today, Lane Bunkers, shares how being vulnerable has helped him in his 30 years working in international development and some ways you can do the same when working with your team that will make your team feel more motivated to follow you.

I am reading "The Art of Possibility” and in the section on leadership co-author Bill Zander, who is the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, remarks on a momentous realization in his career in relation to leadership:  “The conductor of an orchestra’s true power derives from the ability to make others powerful.  So instead of asking “how good am I?” he replaced that question with “what makes a group lively and engaged?” ...

First impressions count. But second, third and ongoing impressions also count - especially when we are interacting with donors, community members, in government meetings or with our supervisor. Of course we all want to make a good impression on these and others in our life - but do we?  

My guest today, Gerry Sandusky, has over 30 years' experience in TV broadcasting and almost as many teaching people how to give the best impression of themselves to others.  In this episode,...