New Business Year Playbook: A 30 / 60 / 90-Day Focus for Leaders Who Want Results
January 30, 2026
The underlying principle is simple and deliberate: a plan that’s too big to explain is too big to execute. By keeping priorities small, expectations clear, and progress measurable, you give your team the…
2026 CEO-Business Owner Outlook – THE Great Reconciliation
January 30, 2026
The last decade rewarded speed, leverage, and optionality. Leaders could move quickly, rely on cheap capital to smooth mistakes, and offset weakness in one area with strength in another. That margin has largely…
Leadership Capacity Assessment
January 23, 2026
The Leadership Capacity Assessment is a practical, no-nonsense tool designed to help leaders understand what their organization can actually handle right now. This assessment is not about chasing a high score. It is…
ONE-TO-ONE BEST PRACTICE DOCUMENT
January 22, 2026
The One-to-One Best Practice Document establishes a clear, practical leadership standard for running high-impact one-to-one meetings with consistency, discipline, and real accountability.
A CEO’s Framework for New Year Execution Momentum
January 16, 2026
This framework is not about motivation, resolutions, or working harder. It is about discipline. It provides a clear, structured approach for leaders who want to move beyond planning sessions and turn strategy into…
The Best Ideas I’ve Discovered About Leadership
December 19, 2025
Why I Wrote This Over the years, I’ve spent a lot of time with business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams who are carrying real responsibility—people, capital, customers, and long-term outcomes. Along the way,…
Sopheva Roundtable Discussion on How Leaders Can Manage Stress and Pressure
December 14, 2025
Leadership stress is not a personal weakness or a lack of toughness. It is a predictable outcome of ambiguity, avoidance, misalignment, and complexity—conditions that naturally intensify as organizations grow and leadership responsibility expands.
The Leaders Playbook for Managing Stress
December 14, 2025
The Leader’s Playbook for Managing Stress Leadership stress is rarely caused by long hours alone. Most leaders can handle hard work. What wears them down is unresolved decisions, unclear expectations, misaligned people, and…
The Four Pillars of Enduring Leadership
December 14, 2025
The Four Pillars of Enduring Leadership Enduring leadership is not built on personality, charisma, or short-term tactics. It is built on timeless leadership principles that consistently produce trust, clarity, and results—regardless of industry,…
Business Growth Assessment Tool
October 19, 2025
Real growth comes from strong basics executed consistently—clear goals, a tight customer focus, a reliable sales rhythm, clean handoffs in operations, and numbers you can trust. This tool gets your leaders on the…
Business Contingency Planning Made Simple
October 19, 2025
Business Contingency Planning Made Simple Leaders always need to be thinking in terms of contingencies and scenarios. Hope isn’t a strategy. Markets fluctuate, suppliers falter, and systems malfunction at inconvenient times. This guide…
Workplace Joy & Engagement Assessment
October 18, 2025
Joy isn’t fluff—it’s fuel. When people feel energized, supported, and connected to purpose, they bring better ideas, stronger commitment, and steadier performance. This assessment provides leaders with a clear, honest understanding of how…
Leaderhip Team Communication Check-In Assessment
October 16, 2025
The Leadership Team Communication Check-In turns communication from a vague, opinion-driven topic into a repeatable leadership process. It helps teams speak with one voice, earn trust through consistent follow-through, and anchor every message…
Leadership Reset & Renewal Check-In Tool
October 15, 2025
Most leaders don’t need more theory—they need a simple rhythm to reset their energy, refocus their leadership, and follow through. This tool does exactly that. It gives you a clear, repeatable way to…
Winning Moves for Uncertain Times A Strategic Playbook for Business Owner
August 2, 2025
Strategy Is No Longer a Luxury—It’s a Lifeline and We’ve Created a Playbook Running a business without a strategy is like sailing without a compass. The waves of disruption are real—rising debt, unpredictable…
Small Business Leadership Assessment Tool
June 15, 2025
Leadership can either elevate or erode your business. If you're noticing burnout, tension, disengagement, or turnover, this tool can help you identify the root cause and take corrective action. It’s not about perfection—it’s…
Systems Thinking Assessment for Small to Mid-Sized Business Owners
June 15, 2025
Systems thinking is the ability to understand the relationships between parts of your business—how changes in one area affect others, and how unseen patterns shape outcomes. Instead of chasing symptoms, you’ll start solving…
Leadership Team Performance Accountability Analysis
May 15, 2025
Leadership Team Performance Accountability Analysis Own the results. Build a team that delivers.Most leadership teams stay busy. The best teams stay accountable. This analysis unmistakably clarifies ownership, preventing your team from incurring unnecessary…
Leadership Decision Making Workbook
May 5, 2025
The Leadership Decision Making Workbook is a tool I’ve developed to help leaders at all levels—whether they're running a business, leading a team, or guiding a nonprofit. It gives you structure without getting…
Emerging Leader – Manager Execution Assessment Tool
March 13, 2025
This practical, no-fluff assessment helps emerging managers and team leads pinpoint the habits, systems, and leadership behaviors that drive execution. In minutes, you’ll see what’s working, what’s getting in the way, and where…
Checklist for Managing Multiple Generations in the Workplace
March 7, 2025
Managing multiple generations well isn’t about catering to differences—it’s about setting shared standards, leveraging strengths, and creating a culture where people at every life stage can do great work. This checklist shows leaders…
Center for Creative Leadership
June 2, 2024
CCL’s approach is straightforward: help people lead better by giving them practical ways to grow, backed by decades of insight into what works. It’s not about buzzwords or a quick fix—it’s about building…
BCG Henderson Institute
December 16, 2022
Since its founding in 1963, BCG has become known for its analytical approach to problem-solving, as well as the emphasis it places on the exploration and development of new business ideas and pursuits.…
Growth Institute
November 25, 2022
Professional development resource/community for leaders looking to scale their business.
Leadership-Tools
September 9, 2022
The purpose of this page is simply to share some insights into how and why our website was started. Back in September of 2002, the vision for Leadership-Tools.com was born out of a…
Coaching Real Leaders Podcast
March 25, 2022
Real-life coaching sessions with leaders working to overcome professional challenges produced by the Harvard Business Review
Free Business Lessons – Harvard Business School Online
February 6, 2022
Gain actionable skills and insights through free, interactive, online business lessons from leading Harvard Business School faculty and industry experts.
Reading Graphics
December 31, 2021
Summarize top business and personal development books for entrepreneurs, leaders and professionals.
Wharton@Work
August 25, 2021
Nano Tools for Leaders® are fast, effective leadership tools that you can learn and start using in less than 15 minutes — with the potential to significantly impact your success as a leader…
CFO Magazine
August 5, 2021
Resource for financial executives on current trends and important issues.
London Business Forum
March 31, 2021
Membership organization that provides live event and online learning trainings for leaders and managers.
CEO Update
February 16, 2021
an influential news source on executive careers and pivotal events that shape the association sector
You”re The Boss Blog – NY Times
February 16, 2021
Blogging done by CEOs on various topics
VISTAGE International
February 16, 2021
online presence of the worldÕs foremost chief executive leadership organization
Totally Accountable
February 16, 2021
offering tips and tools on how to build a more accountable business or organization
Strategy + Business
February 16, 2021
provides executives with commentary, research, and practical ideas that bridge the gap between theory and practice in contemporary global business
Meeting Science
February 16, 2021
makes it easy to steadily increase the quality and purpose of meetings in your organization
MIT/Sloan Review
February 16, 2021
how the practice of management is transforming in the digital age
McKinsey Quarterly
February 16, 2021
combines powerful insights from McKinsey with ideas from other world-leading experts and practitioners to help readers stay at the cutting edge of management thought, become more effective leaders, and boost the performance of…
JohnMaxwell.com
February 16, 2021
the official website of of leadership expert/author John Maxwell
Knowledge@Wharton
February 16, 2021
Knowledge@Wharton -business content published by The Wharton School of Business
Kellogg Insight
February 16, 2021
Business focused content published by The Kellogg School of management
JimCollins.com
February 16, 2021
Free access to videos, audios, articles, & tools to aid in understanding and applying the ideas from Jim CollinÕs books and research to both business and life
Harvard Business Review
February 16, 2021
best selling business magazine of Harvard Business School
Executive Book Summaries
February 16, 2021
outlines the key points and ideas of full-length business books into quick and easy-to-read print summaries
Employee Engagement & Organizational Culture Report (Tiny Pulse)
February 16, 2021
The TINYpulse 2015 Employee Engagement & Organizational Culture Report
CEO Tools
February 16, 2021
Management, manager tools and CEO toolsby Kraig Kramers for improved business performance
CEO Express
February 16, 2021
Desktop to fast access to news and information for executives
Best-In-Class.com
February 16, 2021
a research, consulting and publishing firm that is a world-leader in the field of best practice benchmarking focused on the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and health care industries
AllBusiness
February 16, 2021
small business resource site full of useful info and tools
TED.com
February 16, 2021
Riveting talks by remarkable people, free to the world
VIDEO
What do we do about bad leaders? What Do We Do About Bad Leadership? Let’s be honest—bad leadership shows up more than we’d like to admit. In this sharp TEDx talk, Barbara Kellerman, a leadership expert from Harvard Kennedy School,…
VIDEO
How To Lead By David Rubenstein How to Lead – A Masterclass in Leadership with David Rubenstein Step into the minds of the world’s greatest leaders—through the eyes of one of the world’s most curious interviewers. In this powerful…
VIDEO
Amazon’s 14 Leadership Principles via Jeff Bezos From the very beginning, Jeff Bezos knew that building Amazon into a world-changing company would require more than just great products—it would take a culture of relentless innovation, long-term thinking, and an obsession…
The CEO as elite athlete: What business leaders can learn from modern sports
February 6, 2026
Elite athletes obsess over how their time is spent — training, rest, nutrition, and competition. High-performing CEOs do the same by rigorously prioritizing the few activities only they can do and protecting time…
Building Your Own High-Performance Organization
November 1, 2025
“Building Your Own High-Performance Organization” lays out a practical path for leaders who want to turn strategy into sustained results. The authors introduce Bain’s Organizational Navigator, a way to diagnose where you’re strong,…
How Coach K Does It
September 13, 2025
A Coach’s Journey Beyond the Wins Mike Krzyzewski—known to the world as “Coach K”—built one of the most remarkable legacies in the history of sports. Over four decades at Duke University and on…
Where Traditional Succession Planning Falls Short
July 25, 2025
Where Traditional Succession Planning Falls Short Why Your Leadership Pipeline May Be Weaker Than You Think—and What to Do About It For decades, succession planning has been a standard feature in most leadership…
How Great Leaders Communicate
July 16, 2025
How Great Leaders Communicate In a world flooded with information, great leaders rise above the noise — not by talking more, but by communicating better. Communication is no longer a soft skill —…
20 Qualities of a Bad Leader You Should Avoid
July 10, 2025
Avoiding Leadership Pitfalls: What NOT to Do as a Leader Leadership isn’t just about what you do—it’s equally about what you avoid. The article, “20 Qualities of a Bad Leader You Should Avoid”,…
The CEO as Chief Resilience Officer
July 2, 2025
The CEO as Chief Resilience Officer: Why the Future Belongs to the Steady and Adaptable CEOs are no longer expected to simply drive growth or execute strategy. They are now expected to be…
The Value of Being a Curious CEO
April 29, 2025
The Power of Curiosity in Leadership Being curious is a prerequisite to being a successful leader. It’s not just a personal strength—it’s a strategic advantage. In “The Value of Being a Curious CEO,”…
An enduring portrait of courage in the C-suite
April 3, 2025
An Enduring Portrait of Courage in the C‑Suite Rediscovering timeless leadership through the lens of fiction and moral clarity In today’s boardrooms and executive suites, leadership is too often confused with charisma, performance…
What Self-Awareness Really Is (and How to Cultivate It)
March 7, 2025
In a world that rewards emotional intelligence, authenticity, and adaptability, self-awareness is no longer a luxury — it’s a leadership imperative.
Enjoying Work Matters More Than You May Realize
March 6, 2025
The Case for Joy: Why Enjoying Work Is the New Competitive Advantage “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” – Dale Carnegie We often assume that job satisfaction…
The Strategic Power of Hope
December 6, 2024
Drawing on insights from psychology, strategy, and organizational behavior, this article presents a powerful case: Hope isn’t just a feel-good emotion—it’s a critical business capability.
Four Leadership Loads That Keep Getting Heavier
December 6, 2024
The Weight of Leadership Is Growing—Here Are the Four Loads You Can’t Ignore “Leadership used to be about results. Now it’s also about resilience, responsibility, and relentless change.” In today’s business climate, being…
The Leader’s Guide to Corporate Culture
November 4, 2024
The Hidden Power of Culture: A Strategic Guide for Leaders Every organization has a culture—whether intentionally shaped or passively formed. Yet far too often, leaders underestimate its influence, dismiss it as “soft” or…
The art of 21st-century leadership: From succession planning to building a leadership factory
October 28, 2024
Future-Proofing Leadership: From Succession to Strategy In today’s high-stakes environment, the question is no longer “Do we have a succession plan?” but rather, “Are we building a system that continuously produces future-ready leaders?”…
When is the right time to reinvent your business?
October 22, 2024
Change is the only constant—and business models are no exception. In their article “When Is the Right Time to Reinvent Your Business?”, Wayne Borchardt, Lang Davison, Matthew Duffey, and Nicole Wakefield at PwC…
How to embrace the CEO role: An interview with Daniel Vasella
October 14, 2024
In his candid reflections, Daniel Vasella, the former chairman and CEO of Novartis, shares what it truly takes to thrive at the top. His lessons go far beyond financial performance—they touch on authenticity,…
Direct from Michael Dell: Leadership lessons and the future of AI
October 14, 2024
Leadership Lessons and the Future of AI: Insights from Michael Dell Vision, adaptability, and bold bets on technology. Michael Dell has spent decades at the forefront of digital transformation, guiding Dell Technologies from…
A Self-Care Checklist for Leaders
October 3, 2024
This article is more than a checklist—it’s a call to action. It asks leaders to pause, reflect, and redesign their routines so they can show up at their best when it matters most.…
Leading under pressure
September 5, 2024
High-pressure leadership moments are unavoidable. But the difference between leaders who crumble and those who thrive often lies in how they interpret the stakes, control their own mindset, and act deliberately rather than…
Tom Brady on the Art of Leading Teammates
August 18, 2024
If you want consistent wins, build team leadership into your daily rhythm: team first, celebrate the grinders, push standards, neutralize ego, invest in trust, complement your boss, and steady the room. Run it like…
Revealing leaders’ blind spots
July 27, 2024
There is very little overlap between the management areas leaders think they need to improve and the weaknesses identified by those they lead. Reconciling these differences will improve leaders and their organizations.
The ‘inside out’ leadership journey: How personal growth creates the path to success
June 24, 2024
In a new book, four McKinsey senior partners show why leaders must connect with themselves first before they can inspire and empower their organizations.
Lead at your best
June 16, 2024
When we think of leadership, we often focus on the what: external characteristics, practices, behavior, and actions that exemplary leaders demonstrate as they take on complex and unprecedented challenges. While this line of thinking is…
Turning Superheroes into a Super Leadership Team
June 9, 2024
In a complex, fast-changing world, leadership teams are facing challenges that are bigger than ever while trying to reach goals that are sometimes seemingly at odds. A super leadership team must: Guide the…
What are the roles and responsibilities of a CFO?
May 23, 2024
For years, the simple answer was that the CFO leads a company’s finance function. But the role has expanded tremendously. Today’s CFO is a key colleague across businesses and functions, and is the CEO’s…
Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Defined: Role, Responsibilities and Skills
May 23, 2024
A chief financial officer (CFO) is the highest-ranking financial professional in an organization and is responsible for the fiscal health of the business. The CFO’s responsibilities include, but aren’t limited to, building a…
The CFO of the Future
May 23, 2024
It has been said that success is where preparation and opportunity meet. Never has there been a more opportune time for CFOs to have an impact, with CEOs increasingly looking to them to…
The Role and Responsibilities of the Modern CFO: A Function in Transition
May 23, 2024
Over the last few decades, the role of the CFO has undergone a profound shift. The historical tasks of the finance function such as books and records, financial reporting, and statutory compliance continue…
Searching For The Right COO: 10 Things Small Businesses Should Know
May 23, 2024
Hiring a chief operating officer is a huge moment and one that requires a lot of thought and planning, particularly for small businesses: A good COO can work wonders for a company, while a misstep in…
Behind the Scenes: Uncovering the Vital Role of a COO in Small Business
May 23, 2024
The Chief Operating Officer, or COO, is a C-level executive responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations of an organization. The role varies from business to business, but in general, the COO is tasked…
Stepping up: What COOs will need to succeed in 2023 and beyond
May 23, 2024
COOs are increasingly important to corporations, but what skills will they need to perform at their best? Business leaders weigh in. The COO job description has never been a fixed one: it varies…
Second in Command: The Misunderstood Role of the Chief Operating Officer
May 23, 2024
Asking the question, “What makes a great COO?” is akin to asking “What makes a great candidate for U.S. vice president?” It all depends on the first name on the ticket—the CEO. New…
Your Team Members Aren’t Participating in Meetings. Here’s What to Do.
May 22, 2024
Traditional advice for leaders who want to increase meeting participation call for clarifying expectations, setting clear agendas, and asking open-ended questions. While these strategies have their merits, they might not always work because…
5 Ways Leaders Accidentally Stress Out Their Employees
April 27, 2024
Decades of scientific research show that stress and anxiety are prevalent problems at work, contributing to deficits in employee morale, well-being, and productivity. While anxiety is caused by a range of factors, including issues unrelated to…
6 Common Leadership Styles — and How to Decide Which to Use When
April 15, 2024
Research suggests that the most effective leaders adapt their style to different circumstances — be it a change in setting, a shift in organizational dynamics, or a turn in the business cycle. But…
Before You Make That Big Decision…
April 14, 2024
When an executive makes a big bet, he or she typically relies on the judgment of a team that has put together a proposal for a strategic course of action. After all, the…
Employee Motivation: A Powerful New Model
March 24, 2024
Motivating employees begins with recognizing that to do their best work, people must be in an environment that meets their basic emotional drives to acquire, bond, comprehend, and defend. So say Nohria and…
The Challenges of Becoming a Less Hierarchical Company
March 22, 2024
More and more organizations are looking to create flatter, less hierarchical models to increase collaboration, agility, and employee empowerment. But recent research at a food processing company in Colombia outlines some stumbling blocks…
Developing dual awareness
March 11, 2024
Leaders faced with volatility and uncertainty will benefit from building a keen awareness of both themselves and the operating environment around them. In their new book, Deliberate Calm: How to Learn and Lead in…
What Employees Need from Leaders in Uncertain Times
March 9, 2024
It’s one thing to lead through a normal range of uncertainty with its ups and downs. But how do you lead when the inflections, disruptions, dislocations, and other threat conditions pile up, as…
CEO excellence: How do leaders assess their own performance?
March 3, 2024
Early results from McKinsey’s proprietary CEO Excellence Assessment Tool offer insights into the key issues facing more than 100 CEOs, mostly from Asia, and where they feel most confident—and most vulnerable. The CEO…
Organizational health is (still) the key to long-term performance
February 22, 2024
McKinsey’s latest findings on organizational health demonstrate that it remains the best predictor of value creation and a sustainable source of competitive advantage in today’s global marketplace. Organizational health refers to how effectively…
What is the COO agenda?
February 3, 2024
Too few COOs have a defined agenda that reflects the role’s unique responsibilities. Here’s how to start.
Old Formulas Won’t Help You Solve Today’s Business Problems
October 24, 2023
Formulas may be road-tested approaches to business challenges, but formulas have flaws. What worked yesterday might not be applicable or even plausible today. There are three primary weaknesses to relying on formulas to…
