Developing youth leaders demands a holistic and collaborative approach between various organizations in order to nurture their intellectual, spiritual, social, psychological, moral, and professional growth. By doing so, we ensure that they are productive and well-equipped to

“We have HR, but not an HR function.” A CEO said this to me recently, and it is something I sometimes hear from founders and executives, especially during pre-opening phases or periods of rapid growth. Here is a practical approach I recommend: 1- Position HR from the start as

As people entrusted with leading teams, we must recognize that: • Authority ≠ Credibility • Experience ≠ Competence • Knowledge ≠ Wisdom • Information ≠ Skills • Planning ≠ Execution • Coercion ≠ Influence • Commands ≠ Inspiration • Control ≠ Guidance •

Organizations tend to spend an average of $1,111 per employee on professional development training each year. While some L&D teams can show completion rates, far fewer can demonstrate skill shifts, role readiness, or impact on retention. Yet some still ask for bigger budgets to

When leaders are position-driven and inaccessible, trust breaks down, teams disengage, and strategy execution suffers in the silence between hierarchy and reality. When leaders are mission-driven, accessible, and engaged in the work alongside their teams, they build credibility.

Since the beginning of the year and under the new U.S. administration, I have seen some HR professionals respond in ways that seem to fall into one or more of the following ways: - Resisting out of reflex and ideological affiliation. - Complying without question or thoughtful

Micromanagement is often criticized and macromanagement commended, but effective leadership requires both. The key is knowing when and which lens to apply, whether zooming in for detail, zooming out for direction, or doing both simultaneously. #LeadershipDevelopment #HR #L&D

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Do not wait for talent shortages to happen. Anticipate them as much as possible. Having advised organizations through periods of rapid growth, restructuring, and leadership transitions, I have noticed that organizations that embed workforce planning into their strategic planning

Redesigning organizational structures and operating models exposes areas where teams are overstretched, redundancies persist, and critical capabilities are deficient. But without deliberate integration, elimination, and reallocation, followed by clear documentation,

We need to stop pretending our training plans are effective. If they are not driven by real business data, they are just educated guesses and assumptions. And guesswork wastes time and money, and does not build strong teams or drive performance. We cannot afford to skip the

Sometimes HR and L&D leaders find themselves working in isolation, not because it is effective, but because it’s easier, or subtly reinforced by other functions that praise collaboration in theory but sideline HR and L&D in practice. Whether implementing company wide initiatives

One of the most common pitfalls I have seen in large change management efforts is underestimating the importance of who leads the change. Internal OD practitioners usually bring fluency, trust, access, history, and cadence, but their nearness can blur perspective, soften

Dear youth, beware of dangerous movements that wrap themselves in righteousness, virtue and struggle but not grounded in truth. When an ideology begins to collapse under its own contradictions, its most loyal advocates and naive followers rarely walk away. They cling tighter

Performance management is a double-edged sword. One edge sharpens clarity, alignment, motivation, and accountability through effective goals, feedback, and rewards. The other cuts deep, breeding distrust, misalignment, disengagement, and favoritism when misused. Rigid

Dear nonprofit leaders: Stop the recklessness. In nearly every nonprofit board workshop I facilitate across the U.S., I provide leadership, HR, and organizational development guidance, and consistently offer one clear warning: stay out of political campaigns. It is deeply

As a follow-up to the concerns I raised about political involvement by some nonprofit leaders, allow me a moment of candor regarding a related issue. It is understandable to feel a sense of connection and affinity with those who appear to share our identity. But it is troubling

In high-growth regions, the relevance, contribution and impact of executive leadership development on national workforce priorities should be non-negotiable.  If you work in human capital, executive education, or HR in such regions: - Position leadership development as an

I can’t count the number of times I have heard leaders admit how much they regret overlooking internal or external talent, only to watch those same individuals thrive and exceed all expectations in other departments or organizations. It’s a costly reminder that talent often