A collection of reflections, tools, and leadership insights to help you communicate more clearly, navigate change more confidently, and lead with greater generosity.
New insights are added monthly, including expanded versions of Shannon’s LinkedIn articles and fresh content designed to support your growth.
Motivation Comes From More Than Money
So much of our lives are spent working and, of course, you can pull together a good team if you offer very high salaries, but what you’ll find over the long term is that there are other ways to motivate your team, beyond the dollars and cents. These motivators are often quoted as being more…
6 Mentorship Myths That Need To Go Away
Whether you are a mentor or a mentee, the whole relationship of mentorship can be fraught with myths and misconceptions. Here are six myths that you should dispel from your thought processes right away. Myth #1 — The best mentors work at other companies and make more than you do While you are likely to…
Why You Need to Let Your Team Go
Unless you’ve been living under a rock these last years, you’ll have heard about the phenomenon known as ‘helicopter parenting’. These are parents who won’t let their children experience failure of any kind. In the business world, this is known as micro-managing. “Micromanagement is a management style whereby a manager closely observes and/or controls the…
How to Get Rid of Your Toxic Work Culture
The recipe for a productive, happy team isn’t complicated. Like actual food recipes, it’s all about working with real, authentic ingredients. No fake elements, no aggressive attitudes! Toxic work cultures aren’t new but they all tend to operate the same way. A culture of ‘motivation by fear’ works, but only in the short term. If…
How to Conquer Your Fear of Public Speaking in Just 6 Steps
In real estate, the mantra is: ‘location, location, location’. In public speaking? It’s ‘practice, practice, practice’. Ask some actors and they’ll tell you that they never get over the stage fright, the butterflies that come before the cameras roll or the curtains part. One thing they will all tell you is that they beat…
10 Things Mentally Strong Leaders Do
Really, it’s a bit of a misnomer to refer to ‘mentally strong leaders’. Most leaders, by definition, are mentally strong. But like the chicken and the egg argument, which came first? The leadership or the strength? Most successful leaders started out with many of these strong traits in their back pockets, but their time…
7 Tips to Help You Command the Room
“Whenever you do a thing, act as if all the world were watching.” — Thomas Jefferson Whether you’re at a networking event, or about to chair a board meeting with a slightly hostile majority, fear is your enemy if your goal is to command the room. Instead, do as Thomas Jefferson suggests: act…
One Quality That Can Be Found in All Innovative Leaders
You might be thinking charisma, or speaking ability. Perhaps you think it’s about their communication style or their ability to delegate? Wrong. The quality that you will find in virtually ALL leaders who are at the head of change and innovation around the world is a willingness to solve problems. “Problem-solving leaders…
Do You Know Your Next Career Move?
“If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” – Milton Berle “If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat! Just get on!” – Sheryl Sandberg What are your options to grow and evolve, when you’re already at a senior level? Obviously, that depends on your organization, your industry and your…
How to Prepare Your Team for Fast Growth
Like the video that goes viral, fast growth can lead to some unintended consequences, both good and bad. How your team reacts in moments of upheaval and change is entirely a reflection of the leadership. Fast growth can reveal tremendous opportunities and also major flaws. You and your team need to be ready for…