Leadership Memo 2025-10 Over the past five years, the Leadership Memo has been my way of sharing lessons and insights from decades of leading and learning alongside leaders around the world. If you’ve been reading for a while, thank you.…
Category: Leadership Memo (Newsletter)
Why Organizations Attack Their Best Leaders: The Pattern You Need to Recognize
Leadership Memo 2025-9 In the past few months, we’ve looked at the 10 qualities of authentic leadership, how insecure leaders react when threatened, and how to handle the loneliness and criticism that come with it. In this final piece, we…
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Leading Authentically Means Paying a Price — Are You Ready?
Leadership Memo 2025-8 The moment you choose to lead authentically, you also choose to be misunderstood, criticized, rejected, and, at times, alone. A few months ago, I kicked off this mini-series with the 10 non-negotiables of authentic leadership. Then we…
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Why Being Told You Have “Too Much Influence” Is Actually a Compliment
Leadership Memo 2025-7 In my last newsletter, I shared the moment a CEO called an executive meeting with one item on the agenda: me. I was just a director. Not on the executive team. But apparently, I had "too much…
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From Influence to Impact: 10 Non-Negotiables of Modern Leadership
Leadership Memo 2025-6 Leadership isn't about job titles or fancy offices. I learned that the hard way when a CEO once called an executive meeting with one agenda item: me. At the time, I was just a director, not even…
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The Ownership Shift: What Bayer’s DSO Teaches Us About Leading Differently
Leadership Memo 2025-5 Last month, we explored how Bayer’s Dynamic Shared Ownership (DSO) transformation has been going after one year. This time, let’s take a closer look at how DSO really works in everyday practice. CEO Bill Anderson points to…
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From Bureaucracy to Breakthrough: Bayer’s DSO Revolution in Year One
Leadership Memo 2025-4 Last year, I wrote a mini-series on Bayer's audacious corporate experiment under CEO Bill Anderson. A year has passed. Let’s see how this bold venture is faring. Let me refresh your memory. Bayer is a US$50 billion…
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The Secret to Stronger Leadership: Asking the Right Questions
Leadership Memo 2025-3 Great leaders don’t just provide the right answers; they know how to ask the right questions. In business, a good answer may solve today’s problem, impress a boss, or satisfy a client. But what happens when the…
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5 Leadership Lessons You Can Only Learn the Hard Way
Leadership Memo 2025-2 Leadership is often painted as a path to influence and impact. But what no one tells you is that it comes with hidden challenges that can only be learned through experience. And no textbook or training can…
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Resolution Revolution: From Finding Your Why to Slaying Meetings in 2025
Leadership Memo 2025-1 The world is moving at a frantic pace, and you may feel the pressure of staying one step ahead. Or maybe just keeping up. Perhaps you’re trying to make sense of your life and add a little…
Read More Resolution Revolution: From Finding Your Why to Slaying Meetings in 2025