How to Lose Gracefully: A Leadership Lesson from the Super Bowl
Read moreThis week finds me doing two things I never thought I would do. First, I watched an entire Super Bowl from my home in Switzerland. Now, that may not seem so extraordinary, other than for the fact that it was my second day back in Europe, where the game begins well after midnight, and the coverage ends around 5 am. In
A hiring lesson from American football
Read moreThis week has been an unusual one. I have been in the US for over two weeks now, to take care of some of my business here, and to attend two board meetings. It was already planned as a period full of activity, with visits to family and friends squeezed in among the rest. Of course, as some of you
The possibilities of a middle management role
Read moreFor a little more than a month now, I have been writing about topics related to middle management. In early December, we began with a discussion of why these people—particularly those in the middle of large industrial groups—seem to be so discouraged and disengaged. When I started writing about managers and engagement, I cited studies that indicate that only about
How Gandhi inspires middle managers to lead
Read moreThere is a potential drawback to using the stories of great men such as Gandhi when I teach a seminar or work with middle managers in companies. People sometimes react by commenting that such examples are interesting but far removed from their realities. How much can we take the lessons of men and women who have truly changed the world
More on the three paths
Read moreWhen I teach about the three paths we often have before us (discussed in the previous post)—to leave, accept, or master your context—I sometimes illustrate the concept with a transformational event from the life of Gandhi. The reasons I keep coming back to this particular story are several. First, Gandhi’s experience refutes one of society’s great myths about leaders, that they
A story of three paths
Read moreAfter the last post, I received several requests from readers for a further explanation of exactly how I use the term “surrender to the context.” So, my purpose today is to elucidate this concept and to fit it into a broader picture. If we consider any situation that is making us unhappy, we can often view it in terms of