2026 will not be different just because the calendar changes. That belief is comforting, and it is also wrong. Most senior leadership teams will enter 2026 with the same thinking, assumptions, and decision patterns they carried through 2025. They will call it stability. What it really is...
Why Tolerance Instead of Talent Is the True Barrier to Performance Here’s the truth no one wants to admit: 2025 didn't fail you, your tolerance did. It wasn't the market, the economy, remote work, hybrid arrangements, or competitive pressures. The biggest obstacle to performance came from within your...
Elevation, Excellence, and Legacy If Italy taught lessons in creativity and connection, Switzerland demonstrated lessons in clarity and composure. It was leadership at its best. As our Embark group left Milan’s elegance for the Swiss Alps, the journey became a reflection on leadership at its highest level....
Perspective, Patience, and People Leadership perspectives often broaden when we venture outside the familiar. Sometimes, the best leadership lessons aren’t in a conference room but on a journey that shows how culture, history, and human connection reveal what true leadership is. Leadership lessons don’t always happen in...
Seventy percent of organizational changes fail. That means for every ten CEOs or senior leaders trying to guide their teams through transformation, seven will fall short. Not because the strategy is wrong, but because the leadership is. And the cost is immense. Failed change can drain...
Leadership isn't about waiting for the dust to settle in today's unpredictable economy and ever-changing business landscape. It's about making a choice—every day—to lead yourself and your organization to higher ground, no matter how uncertain the terrain may seem. Many professionals plateau not due to a...
There have been countless moments when an executive has turned to me and said, “I need you to fix a leadership problem on my team,” expecting me to wave a magic wand. What I tell them is this: I’ve never seen a coach or consultant successfully fix...
Effective, insightful feedback is the silver bullet for career success, even for senior executives. Just because you've reached the corner office doesn’t mean you don't need to give and receive helpful feedback. In fact, the most successful C-suite leaders actively seek and provide candid and supportive feedback to...
One thing most people don’t know about me is that I’m an Indy Car fan. For years, when I worked for Macy’s in Indianapolis, I went to the Indy 500 every year. I love Indy 500 or Formula 1 racing. (I guess you could say...
In the rapidly evolving landscape of modern business, leaders find that traditional management skills are no longer sufficient to ensure success in the hybrid workplace era. My executive coaching clients who lead large organizations have struggled against the limitations of many of these learned leadership traits...