Self-deception and leadership
There is a fascinating connection between two seemingly unrelated topics: self-deception and leadership. The two themes often come together in the lives of prominent politicians, for example, in the career of Barack Obama. Let us explain. We are both fascinated by the idea that people often do things for reasons of which they are unaware. […]
Six Lessons on Leadership From Bob Hogan
I am obsessed with the topic of leadership. Organizations need leaders to make key decisions, anticipate and manage changing market trends, and set strategic vision. When competent leadership prevails, people and companies prosper. Bad leadership almost always creates disengaged workers, corporate chicanery, and, eventually, business failure. The problem with most leadership competency models is they […]
Another Shade of the Dark Side: Derailing Due to Underuse of Behaviors
The dark side of personality concerns behaviors and attributes that derail people – getting them into trouble and making them less effective as leaders. Typically, these derailers appear when people are under stress (e.g., they have a tight deadline, they are dealing with ambiguity, etc.) or when they are not self-monitoring (e.g., they are around […]
HR’s Biggest Challenge: Succession Planning
In the 1970s, only 8 percent of S&P 500 CEOs were recruited externally. That number grew to 22 percent in 2014. Yet, outsiders are almost 7 times more likely to be dismissed within a short tenure than homegrown CEOs. No matter how much a board learns about an outside candidate, executive stakeholders simply have a […]
The Value of Values for Teams
Groups are the default human working unit. For most sorts of jobs, people tend to cooperate and collaborate to get the work done. Even when the job doesn’t need collaboration we still prefer to do it in proximity with others – think brew clubs or cruise ships. When the job requires cooperation, people are selected […]
Ed Sheeran Is Not Lorde: The Fungibility Fallacy
If you went to a concert to see Lorde and instead Ed Sheeran emerged on stage, you might be pleased to see him, but disappointed because Ed Sheeran is not Lorde and is never going to do the version of Green Light you thought you’d be watching. The fact that Ed Sheeran is not Lorde demonstrates the economic principle […]
How to Work With Innovation Killers
Although we live in an age that glorifies innovation, there is a big difference between theoretically advocating for it and being able (or willing) to actually implement it. None of this is really new. From Schumpeter’s classic definition of innovation as “creative destruction” to recent portrayals of innovators as disruptors or constructive nonconformist, we have […]
Self-Awareness in the Age of Individualism
Academics and businesspeople agree that self-awareness is a key aspect of improving performance. Studies show that without it, people tend to be closed-off to feedback, difficult to coach, overestimate capabilities, and ultimately struggle to build and maintain high performing teams. Conversely, awareness of one’s own behavioral tendencies facilitates leadership effectiveness. As it’s generally understood that self-awareness is essential […]
Leadership Lessons From Muhammad Ali
Professional sports often illustrate important psychological and life principles, even for the world of business. Traditionally, discussions on leadership tend to focus on team sports, but occasionally individual athletes emerge who can teach us a great deal about leadership, too. Here are some lessons from the extraordinary Muhammad Ali: 1) Morality is antisocial: True leadership […]
The Economy of Human Nature
Adam Smith, author of An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (aka The Wealth of Nations), is considered the father of modern economics. Since its publication in 1776, The Wealth of Nations has influenced virtually all modern economists and, to some extent, much of western philosophy. Smith argued that unregulated competition engenders unbridled, self-interested behavior […]
