Preparing the Next Generation

As a former school teacher, I remember the endless debates between the school board and the parents on who should be accountable to teach sex education to the children. Was it the school system’s responsibility or the parents? Should they teach abstinence or safe sex? When should the subject be introduced?

The business world is also struggling with the accountability questions of who, what, and when, but in our case it’s on the subject of leadership. Who is responsible for preparing the next generation of leaders? Is it the universities or the employers?  What do we teach them about leadership, and when should we start developing leaders? (more…)

We know that today’s workers don’t stay with the same company for a lifetime. According to the BLS, the younger Baby Boomers held an average of 11 jobs from the age of 18 to 44. It’s probably safe to assume that Gen Xers and Millennials will likely change jobs more frequently than their predecessors.

As leaders, this means many of us will have the opportunity to lead different teams in different organizations over the course of our careers. Leading a new team can be a challenge, but the same can be said for the existing team getting a new leader. So how can both parties deal with it? Here are tips from some of my real-life experiences. (more…)