Let’s talk about the awkward truth most leadership books won’t touch with a ten-foot performance review: good managers fail all the time.

They fail not because they’re bad at their jobs, but because they confuse competency with leadership. They follow playbooks, hit KPIs, conduct polite one-on-ones, and yet. . . . their teams underperform, their top talent walks, and their culture flatlines.

Here’s the rub: being good is no longer good enough.

Helping others is one of the fastest ways to build trust at work. The colleague who always says yes becomes the reliable partner, the dependable problem-solver, the person everyone turns to when deadlines loom. Yet what begins as a strength can quickly turn into a liability. Professionals who are too generous with their time risk being stretched thin, overlooked for advancement, and quietly resentful of the very culture they helped create.

True leadership isn’t about what you achieve. It’s about who you become.

Two decades of coaching leaders and developing myself as a leader have taught me a key lesson: Leadership isn’t a destination. Just when you think you’ve reached the top of the mountain, look up—you’ll see another peak waiting.
The truth is, there’s no secret sauce for leading yourself or others. Leadership is an ever-evolving process of learning and growing. The best leaders never stop evolving.

Hour by hour, how we spend our time adds up to how we spend our lives — and for many of us, the sum can feel unsatisfying. Cultural attitudes embedded in adages like “time is money” spur us to prioritize efficiency and to look for ways to condense and consolidate to maximize how much we can get done. But which activities should we really prioritize if we want to craft our best lives at work and in life? We lack a way to assess our time spent from the perspective of the value we personally derive from it. We need such a measure if we are to make the best allocations of our time and build more satisfying lives.

A recent study by MIT reveals a concerning statistic: 95 percent of AI pilot projects fail. This alarming rate highlights significant challenges in transitioning AI from experimental stages to successful implementations within organizations. Understanding the root causes of these failures is crucial for businesses aiming to leverage AI effectively.

Key reasons for the failure of AI pilots
A lack of clear, well-defined objectives. Many organizations embark on AI pilot projects without a precise understanding of the problem they aim to solve or the specific business value they expect to gain. This often leads to projects that are technically sound but fail to deliver real results. Ultimately, this makes it difficult to justify further investment or time.

That was the start of my call with a chief human resources officer (CHRO) at a reputable nonprofit recently. They reached out looking for resources to support what seemed like a rapidly declining workplace culture. Teams weren’t working together as well as they used to, employees weren’t performing at their usual level, and managers were at a loss about what to do. Something was off.

I reminded the CHRO that they’ve been here before. The culprit? Uncertainty.

CEOs spend their careers mastering performance metrics: revenue, EBITDA, market share, retention, and more. They train for scaling, handling crises, navigating disruption, better leadership abilities, managing public relations, and much more. But there’s one leadership moment few prepare for: stepping down.

Succession arrives for every leader. And the end of a tenure isn’t just an operational shift; it’s an identity shift. The stimulation, challenges, and constant decision-making that defined daily life for years suddenly disappear.

Management professionals have a challenging but rewarding job, leading their employees to new heights and encouraging their growth. The best management books for managers and leaders can help these supervisors improve at and excel in their jobs. From offering actionable ways to inspire employees to reminding managers that they don’t know it all, these works can open doors to promotions and boost productivity. Anyone who aspires to achieve bigger things needs a game plan. This list of books for managers can help you create your plan and execute it to perfection while motivating your employees to bring their own A games to work.

Steve Jobs often talked about different traits that lead to success, if only because he was so often asked. One was being willing to ask for help. Another was taking an unconventional path, and doing things other people typically don’t—or won’t—consider. Another was collecting a wide variety of experiences so you could solve problems in unique ways. But the Apple co-founder reserved special attention for perseverance. As Jobs said:

I’m convinced that about half of what separates successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance. It is so hard. You pour so much of your life into this thing. There are such rough moments … that most people give up. I don’t blame them. It’s really tough.

In our chaotic and fast-paced world, emotional intelligence keeps us grounded. It helps us be successful in our work and remain satisfied with our lives. Often we focus on what it means to be emotionally intelligent, and what actions emotionally intelligent people take. However, we rarely ask what things emotionally intelligent people don’t do.

Here are seven habits emotionally intelligent people avoid at all costs.

The 10 biggest risks facing companies today underscore an important reality about preparing for the next crisis—the nature of the risks that can trigger a crisis are always subject to change.

The top threat that is now confronting companies is disinformation that is often driven by polarized political agendas, according to the latest quarterly Reputation Risk Index that was conducted by the Global Risk Advisory Council. Compare that risk to the Council’s Index for the first quarter of the year, in which the misuse of AI was the top-ranked threat.

Micromanagement gets a really bad rap. The word itself makes team members cringe and leaders bristle. But what if I told you not all micromanagement is bad? In fact, when done right, it’s not about control; it’s about clarity.

I have a fresh take on micromanagement for you: it’s all about improving your micromanagement of outcomes, not individuals. This approach isn’t about hovering over someone’s shoulder and scrutinizing every little detail. It’s more about being dialed in to what truly matters—vision, expectations, communication, and feedback. When a leader is clear, present, and informed, teams thrive. When a leader checks out, confusion follows.

Unlock potential, drive innovation, and shape the future. What separates a leader who merely manages from one who truly inspires? Today’s leaders must do more than oversee operations: they need to ignite passion, cultivate innovation and drive meaningful change.

Transformational leadership coaching is a powerful tool that helps leaders develop the mindset, skills and strategies to lead with vision, purpose and authenticity. Whether you are an aspiring leader or an established executive, embracing transformational coaching can redefine your impact and unlock untapped potential in you and your team.

Charles O’Reilly started his career in the military and probably would have stayed there but for one major problem: “I wanted more control over my life.” Although he was ambitious, O’Reilly prioritized the freedom to pursue his interests over any status or impact he might achieve as an officer. He left the Army to pursue an academic career, trading external markers of success for the possibility of meeting his own intrinsic goals. Now a professor of organizational behavior in Stanford Graduate School of Business, O’Reilly argues that those motivations and trade-offs matter.

Steve Jobs often talked about different traits that lead to success, if only because he was so often asked. One was being willing to ask for help. Another was taking an unconventional path, and doing things other people typically don’t—or won’t—consider. Another was collecting a wide variety of experiences so you could solve problems in unique ways. But the Apple co-founder reserved special attention for perseverance

Let’s be honest: people don’t quit jobs—they leave bad managers. According to Gallup’s State of the American Manager report, only 1 in 10 people have the natural talent to manage others effectively. This means that most people work under managers - not leaders, and it shows. It’s fair to say the good ones are rare, and when you work for one - you can feel it.So the question becomes, ‘How do you know when you’re working for a real leader?’ Here are some signs that you’ve struck gold.

When we talk about our personality, many of us treat it as a fixed, unchanging part of us. But the truth is our personality can evolve and often does, even without us deliberately trying. For example, many of us are more open to new experiences and willing to take more risks when we’re younger, and we become more content and less reactive to stress as we age. Our personality can also be changed with deliberate effort—not a shocking notion to anyone who’s been in therapy.

Leadership isn’t about the title on your business card or the corner office you occupy. It’s about the influence you have, the connections you build, and the positive change you inspire in others. This is where the concept of leadership as a soft skill comes into play. Soft skills—like empathy, communication, and adaptability—are the human elements that enable leaders to connect authentically and lead effectively. Embracing leadership as a soft skill means focusing on these interpersonal abilities to foster genuine relationships and drive a meaningful impact within your team.

A fun thing for my wife to do sometimes is to catch me zoning out, and then ask what random thing I was thinking about without realizing it. Now, a new study published by HHMI’s Janelia Research Campus says there might be much more going on when you daydream or zone out than you realize.

‘Entirely possible’

Writing in the journal Nature, Janelia Group Leader Marius Pachitariu, who holds a Ph.D. in computational neuroscience, and coauthors say they performed experiments in which they tracked the brains of mice during different kinds of experiments.

Some days, it can feel like your spirit is slowly being chipped away. You second-guess your instincts, overthink your emails, and start bracing yourself before every meeting. When you’re working under an authoritarian boss, even simple tasks can become emotionally exhausting. Their need to control, criticise, and micromanage can drain your energy and cloud your sense of purpose or even identity.