The announcement comes down from above: the current boss is leaving and a new boss from outside the team has been chosen. What if this change takes the team by surprise and little more is shared about the situation? Now, if the current leader has been ineffective or difficult to work under, then this news may come as a relief to the people on the team. Regardless, cue the side conversations and speculation and the range of emotions that come with it, chief among them nervousness. What will this new boss be like? Is the person a command-and-control type who will dictate all sorts of changes? I ..read more

With all of the dialogue about how AI will shape our futures, let’s not forget to consider the impact of AI on one of the most important drivers of personal well being and organizational performance: human connection. In this new article published in IE Insights, a publication of IE University in Spain, Katharine Stallard and I explore ideas raised by companies and individuals such as Aro, The Atlantic’s Adrienne LaFrance and Jonathan Haidt, Gallup’s Jon Clifton, The New York Times’ Kate Murphy, and the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy. Ultim ..read more

Can real-life office connections save lives? Consider this: a chance meeting in an office setting years ago set in motion a vaccine to prevent untold number of deaths due to Covid-19. Dr. Katalin Kariko and Dr. Drew Wiseman, both researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, got to talking one day about their respective areas of RNA and immunology as they took turns using a copier. That friendly conversation led to a collaboration that ultimately resulted in the mRNA technology used in the first Covid-19 vaccines. For their pioneering work, in 2023 the two were awarded the Nobel Prize in Phy ..read more

“People first… Love ‘em up” is a phrase that Alan Mulally has been consistently saying at work for more than 30 years. He said it as general manager of the multi-year project to develop the 777 aircraft at Boeing, he said it as CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, and he said it as CEO of Ford Motor Company as he led the turnaround that brought it back from the brink of bankruptcy to become one of the most profitable automotive companies in the world. When he retired from Ford in 2014, Alan was named by Fortune magazine as one of the top three leaders in the world. “People first… Love ‘em up ..read more

Alan Mulally, the former CEO who saved Boeing Commercial Airplanes and Ford Motor Company, was recognized by Fortune as the best business leader in the world in 2014. In a series of conversations that I had with Alan, he made a point about communications that is especially relevant in the first quarter of the year. I subsequently discovered this quote in Twenty-First Century Jet in which he elaborates: “One of my most favorite expressions is that the biggest problem with communication is the illusion that it has occurred. We think when we express ourselves that, because we generally understa ..read more

Holiday movies may not be the first place one might look for gleaning leadership lessons we can apply in the workplace. But if we did, what might we see? Think of a movie and see what comes to mind. Off the top of our heads, from Home Alone you could talk about the need to think out of the box and be innovative when facing adversaries or threats to your territory (looking at you, 8-year-old Kevin). Or you could draw inspiration from Buddy’s commitment to pursuing his vision while adapting to a completely different environment in Elf. Comparing two classics, A Christmas Car ..read more

During the challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr. Tooba Kazmi and Patient Services Manager Lauren Thayer of Yale New Haven Health were tasked to spearhead a novel unit designed to provide care for chronically ventilated patients. The outcome of their dedicated efforts was they achieved record results in successfully weaning patients off ventilators. It wasn’t until they attended a Connection Culture workshop that the team fully understood what had happened. In this new video, they explain the “a-ha” moment they had about why the unit was so successful. Being able to pinpoint the ..read more

The final months of a calendar or fiscal year are an important time for teams. When you consider the goals you established for the year (or were assigned to you and your team), how are things looking at this juncture? Are you confident you will meet the goals by the end of December, cautiously optimistic, concerned, or slightly panicked?  A helpful practice for leaders and managers to undertake is to have the people you are responsible for leading document what they’ve accomplished year-to-date. In these documents, encourage people to include as many accomplishments as possible — big and ..read more

At some point in life, many people experience some form of trauma. This may be a personal trauma that occurs at home or in the workplace. It might also be a collective trauma, such as the trauma experienced by many in the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. A number of books have been written about trauma and how to heal from it. Two books we recommend are Untangling the Mind: Why We Behave the Way We Do by David Theodore (“Ted”) George and What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry and Oprah Winfrey. For those of you who don’t have t ..read more

Ever since learning that a movie was being made about J. Robert Oppenheimer and The Manhattan Project, I have been waiting for it to come to movie theaters, curious to see how the man and his work would be portrayed. In my first book, Fired Up or Burned Out: How to Reignite Your Team’s Passion, Creativity, and Productivity, I had written about a particular angle of The Manhattan Project in reference to an element that teams need in order to function well.  Opening weekend came, my wife and I bought tickets, and we settled into the comfy chairs (with foot rests!). Three hours later, the c ..read more