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 ...

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 ...

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 yo...

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 “wha...

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...