Posts Tagged ‘leadership’
Where have All the Leaders Gone?
by Odilia McLeod Very early in my career, I reported to a CEO who set a standard I’ve rarely seen matched since. He ran a manufacturing facility and he knew every single person by name. He’d sit in the cafeteria at lunch, not to be seen, but because he genuinely wanted to connect. He was…
Read MoreNot All Pressure Creates Diamonds
by Odilia McLeod 𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘀. 𝗦𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵. That’s the part not emphasized enough. We’re told pressure can build resilience, sharpen performance, drive growth. And it can. But it can also distort your perspective, slowly, quietly convincing capable, high-performing people that we are simply not enough.…
Read MoreA Quiet Sense of Dread!
by Odilia McLeod Sunday evenings used to come with a quiet sense of dread. At first, I ignored it. Then it became impossible to shake. By Sunday afternoon, I was already mentally at work. I would open my laptop, “just for a minute,” and instantly felt the heaviness in my chest return. From the outside, my…
Read MoreMaking Space for Mindful Decision Making
by Odilia McLeod I remember looking at my calendar week after week and realizing 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗻𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸. Every hour was booked, back-to-back meetings, calls, email and Slack messages in between. I was constantly moving from one conversation to the next, with little or no dedicated time to fully process it…
Read MoreIntrinsic Motivation
by Odilia McLeod Work, at its core, is an exchange. A transaction. After decades in corporate environments, I’ve come to see this more clearly, something I wish I had understood early in my career. We give our time, energy, and talent. In return, we’re compensated, we grow, we contribute, and there can be real fulfillment…
Read MoreWanted: Emotionally Intelligent Leaders
by Odilia McLeod I recently heard someone say, “People don’t leave jobs, they leave bad leadership.” That statement resonated deeply with me because it reflects what so many professionals experience every day. When people talk about work, I often hear the same themes: stressed, stretched thin, overwhelmed, overworked, unfulfilled, and underappreciated. For many, it eventually…
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