The transition of leadership power
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The transition of leadership power

ByAlaina Love

A former coaching client, Jason, rang me last week with the exciting news of his promotion to the leadership role of his dreams. We had long ago discussed his career trajectory and created a plan for how he would develop and grow in order to achieve his goals. Now things were coming to fruition.

“I’d like your advice on how to best prepare myself for the new role,” Jason said. “I want to hit the ground running and start making some changes that I’ve felt were necessary for some time, especially if we’re going to take this business to the next level.”

The essential leadership attributes of 2020
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The essential leadership attributes of 2020

ByAlaina Love

“I’ve been through some tough times as a leader, but 2020 has really tested my mettle,” a client of mine shared recently.

For many in the C-suite and those depending on them, this year has been a whirlwind of change and ambiguity — punctuated by anxiety and fear, marked by sorrow and loss for so many and, yet, buoyed by hope and possibility. The combined challenges of a global pandemic, heightened instances of social injustice and a polarized political environment has created a learning laboratory for leadership.

The genesis of racism: One leader’s story
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The genesis of racism: One leader’s story

ByAlaina Love

“Who is going to be interviewing Jerry?”

It was the third time that morning that I’d heard the question. Each time, the person asking it seemed a bit nervous, and there was some occasional eye-rolling among everyone. Clearly, Jerry was a legend in the executive suite, although that was not apparent to me at first.

Perusing the roster of people to see that week, I found Jerry’s name listed in the last interview slot on the final day. It seemed that I was the chosen one, but for what prize I’d not yet determined.

Will your organization (finally) achieve inclusion and diversity?
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Will your organization (finally) achieve inclusion and diversity?

ByAlaina Love

I recently had a frank conversation with colleagues about the struggle we’ve observed our clients experiencing with achieving true inclusion and diversity in their organizations.
While our first instinct was to discuss possible solutions to what seems like an insurmountable problem, we had to admit that I&D is an issue fraught with complexity. “Most organizations say they believe in inclusion and diversity, but we believe that workplace intention and commitment must be met with action, or no sustained change will be possible,” said CB Bowman, CEO of Workplace Equity Equality.
Solutions, we concluded, needed to be holistic, address the systemic roadblocks that prevent inclusion from becoming a way of life inside organizations, and acknowledge that interpersonal blind spots can foster them.

WOOP your team’s goals and find success
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WOOP your team’s goals and find success

ByAlaina Love

Building great leaders and high-performing teams is more than an exercise of recruiting people with the right credentials and experience for success. And, it takes more than just assembling a laundry list of attributes that you expect your team to demonstrate — resilience, drive, vision, persistence in the face of obstacles, and so forth. While…

Who speaks truth to your power?
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Who speaks truth to your power?

ByAlaina Love

When you are the president of the United States, the stakes are always high, because you’re making monumental decisions that affect the lives of 328 million people.

Being guided by correct information, proper advice and transparency is incredibly important for a president, but it is also essential for any leader. Another trait — receptivity to challenge from someone with a different viewpoint — helps all leaders reexamine their perspectives and validate their choices.

Leading like John Lewis: 4 pillars of leadership
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Leading like John Lewis: 4 pillars of leadership

ByAlaina Love

I am fortunate to be the parent of a child who graduated from university in the pre-COVID era. Watching my son participate in a commencement ceremony at Yale, the rite of passage after four years of intense study, was both a privilege and a pleasure.

For the uninitiated, attending a Yale commencement feels a lot like being an extra in a scene from “Game of Thrones,” where the streets are filled with people and pageantry. All around the extensive campus, the roads are closed to vehicular traffic, creating safe passage for thousands of graduates from all 13 schools in the university to process toward Old Campus.

They are led by a marching band and professors in full regalia, while bystanders, family and friends crane their necks from the sidewalks for a glimpse of their student, waving wildly when that person is spotted in the crowd.

What does the TikTok uprising at your company look like?
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What does the TikTok uprising at your company look like?

ByAlaina Love

If you have a teenager in your life, you’re probably already familiar with the video-sharing social media app called TikTok and perhaps the K-pop musical genre, as well. If not, the recent fervor over the turnout in this past weekend’s rally by President Donald Trump has likely introduced you to them.

For those unfamiliar with what transpired, Trump predicted that his rally would attract enough supporters to fill the 19,000-seat BOK Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Leadership: The antidote to racial injustice
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Leadership: The antidote to racial injustice

ByAlaina Love

For many African American employees in your organization, these last two weeks feel like they’ve been 100 years long. Along with millions of people around the world, they’ve witnessed the horror of George Floyd being held to the ground by a police officer with such force on his neck that it resulted in his death.

A life was lost right before our eyes, and no one in authority did anything to stop it. Floyd’s homicide follows those of other black men and women, including Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland and many more, at the hands of those in power or in institutions of authority.

These institutional leaders, the police in this case, control the culture we experience in our neighborhoods, the very same way you control the cultural environment that employees experience in your organization.

Managing the aftermath: How diverse employees experience the pandemic
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Managing the aftermath: How diverse employees experience the pandemic

ByAlaina Love

Two months after COVID-19 sent the US into lockdown, all 50 states are now in some stage of reopening their economy.

While it varies by state and even by locality, employees will begin returning to their workplaces and will find themselves in closer proximity to others than they have been in months. For many employees, the opportunity to regain some semblance of normalcy is a welcome change from the challenges and isolation of working remotely. For others, returning to work is a source of new worries that many leaders may be unprepared to address.