Reflect on your leadership.

Toxicity thrives in darkness. We need to expose it for what it is. Work on the “It’s not them, it’s me” mantra. If you are, in fact, the problem, how can you recognize that and find your way through it? If the problem is your super stars, how do you separate the desire for performance from your need to establish and maintain a safe, healthy workplace?

Sacred cows are everywhere. They can keep us from unlocking our company’s, teams’ and people’s true potential, unleashing the power of change and innovation, and block the road for implementation.

The role of the board in effective board governance is to focus on directing the organization and protecting its owners (and stakeholders) through sound policies, rather than the actual implementation and execution of these policies. That’s the job for the CEO or senior leader. Let the players play and the coaches coach. Noses in, fingers out. Easier said than done – but it’s worth the effort.

Anyone who has been in leadership for any amount of time knows how painfully true it is that what you don't know can hurt your people, your customers, your reputation, and, ultimately, your ability to operate a successful, and sustainable, organization. If what you don’t know matters, getting insight into those blind spots is necessary work. If you're one of those leaders who is ready to learn, read on, because these are four things most leaders don't understand about organizational health.

Is there anything we cannot automate, thanks to advances in artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality? We already interact frequently with chatbots when we need to ask a company a question or perform a relatively simple ask. But some jobs cannot be automated. Some tasks just can’t be relegated to technology. Compassion and empathy cannot be automated, nor can trust.

What’s the difference between coaching and consulting? And what does your organization need? What do you need? Are you ready to humble yourself and accept that you don’t know how to solve this? Am you prepared to hear and see where you need to change, and to go the distance with what it takes to make those changes?