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The Leadership Blog

March 5, 2026

How To Measure Self-Accountability

Why do some C-Suite Leaders take ownership of their failures, and others make excuses? The Importance of High Internal Locus of Control C-Suite mis-hires still average between 50% & 60%, costing millions in lost earnings and growth opportunities.  Locus of Control is the assessment measurement the Center for Executive Performance...

December 2, 2025

Imposter Syndrome at the Top: 8 Ways CEOs Can Overcome Self-Doubt

Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2024 Global Report found that 71% of U.S. CEOs experience imposter syndrome, compared with 47% of general employees. These statistics paint an unmistakable picture: the boss is not always as confident as you might assume. Howard Schultz, American businessman and former CEO of Starbucks, may have said...

July 1, 2025

How To Build The Skill That 85% Of Senior Leaders Lack

Building Self-Awareness Through Mindfulness Lead. Breathe. Repeat: Meditate Like a CEO In our recent post, we identified that 85% of leaders lack self-awareness. You don't need an executive coach to level up your leadership. Meditation is the CEO-approved strategy for building focus, clarity, and next-level self-awareness. If you or your...

April 24, 2025

The One Skill That Boards Are Demanding that 85% of CEOs Do Not Possess

According to a January 2018 article in the Harvard Business Review, "Self-Awareness Can Help Leaders More Than an Elite MBA Can." The article says that approximately 40% of CEOs are MBAs. Many large-scale studies have found that leadership based solely on MBA-trained logic is not always sufficient for delivering long-term...

December 5, 2024

The Challenge and Dangers of CEO Loneliness

Whether you are the CEO of a startup or a billion dollar plus company, you need a go-to-person. "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," wrote Shakespeare – a sentiment that resonates deeply with modern CEOs. Research confirms that leadership isolation intensifies as executives climb higher, creating a dangerous...

November 28, 2023

The Selection Process and How We Get It Wrong

HOW HR CAN HELP AVOID THE COSTLIEST MISTAKE ALMOST ALL CEOs MAKE Poor selection outcomes indicate businesses are measuring the wrong attributes. Consider the selection process used by General Electric to replace Jack Welch. Over a six-year search for his successor, Welch narrowed the race down to three handpicked finalists:...

October 13, 2023

The Selection Process and How We Get It Wrong

THE COSTLIEST MISTAKE ALMOST ALL BUSINESSES MAKE, including Jack Welch. Poor selection outcomes indicate businesses are measuring the wrong attributes. Many studies have shown that 30 % of Fortune 500 CEOs have lasted less than three years, with two out of five new CEOs failing in their first eighteen months. 50%...

February 21, 2023

You’ve Had a Successful PE Exit – Now What?

Life after being a CEO – The emotional crash after CEOs hang up their spikes. Over the past thirty years, we have noticed an almost universal issue among the CEOs we have coached.  They are afraid of retiring because of boredom and not knowing what they would next do with...

February 21, 2023

Why Companies Hire Narcissists and How to Avoid the Ultimate Mis-Hire

Extreme differences in needs and behaviors are the first indicator of potential narcissism. Behaviors are an illusion – The closer a person’s needs correlate with their leadership style, the more authentic and predictable their actions. I participated in a continuing education webinar with psychologists and executive coaches a couple of...

February 20, 2023

READY . . . FIRE

While it is not typical for CEOs to immediately fire their direct reports as soon as they realize they might need to, it is our opinion that they should not wait. They absolutely must pull the trigger as soon as they realize they have lost confidence in the individual. Granted,...