Leadership Intelligence for the C-Suite

Often, organizational culture problems are governance design failures in disguise. Organizational culture does not fail because leaders lack a desire for something better. It fails because the systems that govern decisions, incentives, and authority are allowed to drift. Over time, organizations default toward entropy, misalignment increases, decision quality erodes, and informal norms override the written strategy. Culture is a silent operating system determining what actual

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are key growth strategies for many organizations: entering new markets, acquiring new technologies, or leveraging scale and size. Culture is acutely critical during notable changes, such as M&As, which offer an opportunity for a renewed start on culture. When two organizations combine through mergers and acquisitions for economic reasons, it is doubtful that the two cultures will remain precisely the same. Sadly, evidence suggests that 50% to 8

Have you ever sat in a meeting and wondered where the discussion was going or what was happening? Maybe the point being made seemed questionable, or the actions of others were divisive. It's frustrating and confusing when values are just words for marketing campaigns and corporate communications. A recent study found that only one in four employees strongly agree that they can apply their company's values daily. You've probably experienced this to some extent before, and mayb

No leader strives to create a toxic culture. It's a liability. Just its mention can stir up negative emotions within those with experience. Evidence from an MIT Sloan study suggests a toxic workplace is the most potent driver behind the more than 50 million workers who quit their jobs recently. Employees and leaders are trying to avoid toxic cultures at all costs. But when present, there is no escaping, even if working remotely. It is easy to understand a toxic culture is bad

The future workforce is more diverse than ever. Census data confirms cultural diversity is growing faster than predicted, especially among Gen Z. A competitive talent landscape, technological advances, and global population shifts are rapidly increasing cultural diversity in the workplace. Regardless of your industry, you will likely experience vast differences between cultural expectations among employees, challenges in attracting and retaining culturally diverse talent, and

An Examination of the Importance of Leadership Behaviors and Attributes on Shaping Culture Executive Summary Organizational culture is a critical factor in financially successful companies. But culture change is often overwhelming and elusive. In a fast-paced digital workplace, leaders face increasing pressure to innovate, make data-driven decisions, and effectively lead a remote and multicultural workforce. To thrive, change is necessary. It is crucial for leaders at every l

Despite R&D being risky and expensive, businesses are betting big on innovation to fuel growth and competitive advantage. Companies like Amazon, Apple, Alphabet, and Meta are investing billions annually. The R&D budgets from the top 100 innovation leaders total over $720 billion, an increase of 15.3% from the prior year. But evidence suggests that executives remain dissatisfied with their company's innovation performance. As the world rapidly changes, businesses and people m

Have you ever hesitated to share a suggestion or challenge the status quo at work? Yeah, you are not alone. A memorable crucible experience of mine was early in my career when I needed to give some critical feedback to a division president. But I didn’t, and the company missed an opportunity to improve. Silence is expensive. But a natural tendency is to play defense when times get tough. In a rapidly changing digital workplace, the benefits of cultivating a climate of psychol

Building a highly-skilled self-directed team and paying them well doesn't guarantee success. Motivation helps to explain the differences between times when employees just show up versus getting things done. Numerous studies suggest that work motivation regulates high-quality performance and creativity. But work motivation is not commonly understood and is a growing source of frustration for leaders in a complex employee-driven talent marketplace. So, if motivation is vital, w

This just feels like the right thing to do. Studies have revealed that more than half of us routinely use our intuition to make significant personal and professional decisions. There are situations when there isn't the time or reliable data available. However, relying on only a feeling of right or wrong would be a big mistake in today's complex and chaotic marketplace. A recent 2021 Fortune 1000 executive leaders survey revealed that 99% are investing in data initiatives to t

As the world changes, people and organizations must change too. Recent surveys suggest there is growing confidence in the global economy among executives. A PwC pulse survey of over 5000 CEOs revealed that more than 60% are expecting innovation and M&A deals to fuel their organizational growth over the next 12 months. Growth is a critical driver of organizational performance. However, not all change is innovation and not all innovation flourishes. Successful innovation produc

The advances in technology within the workplace are revolutionizing Human Resources (HR) and creating many exciting new opportunities. Technology is collecting massive amounts of data with the potential to create a competitive advantage. As the world changes, people and businesses must change too. There is a growing need to focus on using analytics within human resources (HR) to hire top talent and achieve diversity , equity, and inclusion (DE&I). CEOs and boards recognize t

Identifying and anticipating the unknown creates a competitive advantage when aligned with organizational change capability. Growing revenue amid uncertainty amplifies the need for organizations to make data-driven decisions. This past year, every organization's ability to respond to significant disruption was tested. A recent study on the economic impacts of COVID-19 found that small businesses were among the hardest hit. More than a third of small businesses in the United

Trust is an essential attribute for establishing value-added relationships with customers, employees, regulators, and investors. In addition to developing trust as a leader , evidence-based research is clear that organizational trust directly impacts the bottom line in many different ways . Corporate trust builds resilience against market chaos, enhances attitudes, intentions, and relationships with key stakeholders. Several research studies link organizational trust with dis

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting or, worse yet, leading a meeting where the sound of silence is deafening (forgive the 60's Simon and Garfunkel reference)? Questions are presented, updates are provided, and there is complete silence. Limited to no discussion, no debate, and just the noticeable absence of conversation. The evidence is overwhelming that a lack of thorough team discussion negatively impacts outcomes and organizational effectiveness. If you were researc