By Michael Holland - If you're still spending money on high potential programs, stop now and deploy your investment to a group of employees who need it more. I do believe that some high potential development programs have proven fruitful. But most fail in their selection process and expend an exorbitant amount of executive time [...]
By Michael Holland - Your employees are frustrated with you. Yes, even though they may love you, admire you, work their tails off for you, they are frustrated with you. Some leaders cause so much frustration with their employees, they dream of how you will look when they finally tell you they are leaving for [...]
By Michael Holland - We all can get caught up in our self-perception regarding how important we are in our leadership roles, as well as the effectiveness we enable within our organization as fairly decent leaders. Leadership effectiveness is dependent upon your capability to leverage relationships to achieve goals. The depth and breadth of these [...]
by Michael Holland We all carry around an invisible piece of leadership luggage. Some stagger under the weight of a huge steamer trunk; some lug an old suitcase, bursting at the seams; others shoulder a backpack, ready for the big hike; still others sling a svelte messenger bag casually over one shoulder. Inside each piece [...]
by Michael Holland - Habits follow a fairly predictable pattern of a cue (or trigger, craving) which enacts a routine to achieve a reward. A habit is the brain’s efficient method of decreasing power consumption. Think about personal habits you perform all the time: brushing your teeth, walking, reading a text message after hearing the [...]
by Michael Holland - Steve Jobs was a grand quitter. While he was immensely successful building and running Apple, he strategically leveraged quitting. He quit acclaimed Reed College after one semester and then dropped in periodically on creative classes at the school. He later recounted how one course in calligraphy developed his love of typography. [...]
by Michael Holland - Walking up a trail in the Adirondacks with a 50-pound backpack while staring at the majestic scenery creates the prime opportunity to catch your toe on the root in the path and tumble forward. Doing it twice in a matter of 15 minutes… well, that just feels stupid. New leaders – [...]
By Michael Holland - Since December 17, 2014 I have been writing a journal entry for each day. Each morning I write about the previous day. Then I get to read what I wrote on the same day each of the previous years in my journal. This habit has helped me to gain tremendous perspective [...]
By Michael Holland - Sunflowers have it. Pine cones have it and so do pineapples. Leonardo Di Vinci used it in his art. Many architects and builders use it. In non-geek terms, the golden ratio is basically a math term that describes a ratio, 1 to 1.618 that is commonly found in nature. (See the [...]
By Michael Holland - At times in coaching leaders, I work with them on adjusting their brand within the organization. Sometimes this is a rebuild process, with the leader needing to re-brand themselves due to some difficult history. Other times it is a “build for the future” process, with the leader seeking to buildout their [...]
