Responding to organizational decline from the inside

Feeling stuck in an organization that seems to be going downhill is not fun! Growing frustration with the lack of accountability and poor performance by leaders has led to a significant loss of talent for organizations, often causing staff to question their goals and approaches to achieving them. In Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Responses to […]

What do narcissistic leaders and the bottom-line have in common?

In a series of studies on narcissism, Professor Alex Frino, Dean of the Macquarie School of Management, concluded that “there was a clear correlation between the level of CEO narcissism and the company’s use of ‘earnings management’ – a technique which takes advantage of the flexibility in accounting rules to inflate profit figures” (Frino, 2014). The more narcissistic […]

Ancient wisdom affirms the importance of character to leadership

All of us, at some point, have been frustrated at the ineptitude of some leaders, especially when their actions reveal an attitude of ‘what’s in it for me?’, or when self-preservation is clearly the goal no matter how it affects others. A discussion on character, or values, may not be as riveting as the latest sales techniques, marketing strategies, […]

What does it mean to lead courageously?

In 2007, Robert Eckert, the CEO of Mattel Toys, chose not to recall millions of toys he learned had contained excessive lead. Instead of taking responsibility for the products and their failure to comply with safety standards, he blamed the Chinese manufacturers. While some might argue Eckert was brave to resist a global product recall with huge […]