Be an Active Listener How can we listen to build community? Active listening is a tough thing to do.  We have to speak less, eliminate distractions, and get beyond the small talk. We have to avoid giving advice unless asked.  We have to repeat to clarify and follow up with someone after a conversation.  It’s […]

Be an Encouraging Developer How can we develop others to create community? Develop those around you by cheerleading, complimenting, challenging, and displaying gratitude. Sometimes, we simply forget to point out what people are doing well.  If we maintain a culture of “catching people doing something right” and pointing it out, it will have a ripple […]

Can we be done dogging Millennials now?  Thank you. We’ve heard them all – Participation ribbons.  Super flexible work schedules.  Asking for promotions way too soon…Snowflakes, right?  If this sounds like your mindset on Millennials, you’re taking a big risk and missing a huge opportunity.  The key to your organization creatively overcoming future challenges lies […]

Want crisper lettuce?  Cool…stay with me here. We’ve all been there.  You’re sitting in the middle of a tense situation and are quickly approaching a decision point.  Your pulse picks up (whether you realize it or not) and you start thinking through your options as fast as you can so you’re prepared when the crossroads […]

Everyone wants to be liked and respected. Often Leaders fulfill these desires by surrounding themselves with people who are like us, who like us, and avoid people who cause of trouble and disagree with us. However, there is a danger in only surrounding ourselves with like-minded people. No one likes to be told “no”. Nothing […]

Leadership is hard. That’s probably not a newsflash to anyone, but it bears repeating, leadership is hard. Sometimes you feel like everything is falling into place and other times you wonder how you ever managed to get where you are.  From my own trials and tribulations, here are my most important lessons in leadership so […]

So we’re all super messy, right?  It sucks, and I hate it, but it’s true. In the constant quest to leave a big, positive impact, I struggle with this idea a lot.  I used to think that you could follow certain rules and easily glide through the hiccups, but it never works.  So that means […]

The corporate world is pretty homogeneous–basically everyone looks the same. Being black, this is something you notice. You’re always slightly aware of not only the melanin differences, but the differences in mentality as well.  That’s just the way it is. It’s not always a bad thing, it just correlates with the differences people have. However […]

When I graduated from college I was ready to tame the world. I was brimming with knowledge, and ready to show people how intelligent I was. I quickly learned that the book knowledge I had gathered was a great foundation but “experiential knowledge” is what propelled me forward along the skill set path. Most of […]

Career goals and 5- or 10-year plans are important to your development, but often times young professionals box themselves in too tightly based on plans they have before launching their careers. One of the beautiful things about the beginning of your career is the ability to occupy many different roles quickly to gain exposure to […]