Weekly Posts and Insights
Why the World Needs Catalytic Leaders
In today’s fast-changing world, urgent crises often crowd out the important work of long-term transformation. Drawing inspiration from outgoing Southwestern Vermont Health Care CEO Tom Dee—a humble, strategic, and community-minded mentor—this post explores the power of catalytic leadership. Catalytic leaders don’t just manage organizations; they spark momentum, align diverse stakeholders, and drive systemic change.
The Leadership Flex of Listening, Honesty, and Trust I Direct Application with Matt Harrington
Welcome to the inaugural interview episode of Direct Application, the podcast where leadership theory meets Monday morning reality. Hosted by Matt Harrington, this show explores how to turn good leadership ideas into better workplaces. In this episode, Matt sits down with Karin Tierney, a seasoned HR consultant with over 25 years of experience in leadership development, organizational culture, and fractional HR.
Influence Starts Within: Influence is Self-Confidence in Action
Influence in leadership begins with a grounded sense of self-confidence—not arrogance, but clarity about one’s values, voice, and impact. When leaders doubt their influence, it often stems from internal narratives rather than external evidence. By exploring personal strengths, seeking honest feedback, and aligning with purpose, leaders can reclaim their presence and lead with authentic influence.
Trust Broth
Just like crafting the perfect dish, building trust and connection within your team requires the right ingredients and careful preparation.
The Leadership Compote: Essential Ingredients for the Perfect Leadership Dish
Over the next few weeks, we’re taking a delightful detour from our in-depth writing to focus on our newest e-book, The Leadership Compote. Designed as a recipe book for leaders, this e-book offers simple, powerful, and fun “recipes” to inspire and guide great leadership.
While you can always download the full e-book, we invite you to follow along as we share a new recipe each week. And if you find this content helpful, the best way to support us is by sharing this post with another leader who might enjoy or benefit from it.
The Leadership Compote: Simple, Soul-Warming Recipes for Growing Resilient Leaders
Easy, applicable and scrumptious leadership recipes for everyone. Sometimes it takes some creativity (and a touch of humor) to better understand key leadership principles. It’s our hope that this book, above all else, sparks some ah-ha (or even ha-ha) moments for you. Leadership should be loose, fun, and adaptable. As you read through these recipes, I hope you not only chuckle but also picture exactly what we’re talking about when we think of best leadership practices and take something meaningful away.
A Leadership Recipe for the Holidays
Good food is all about timing, intention, and a willingness to experiment. Leadership is no different. So, this holiday, let’s take a detour from boring leadership jargon and straight into the heart of the kitchen—a place where raw ingredients transform into something magic. Great leadership, like great food, can feed the soul. Here are the essential ingredients for the perfect leadership dish.
The Shifting Dynamics of Work: Remote, Hybrid, and the Leadership Question
Remote and hybrid work models have reshaped the workplace, with high-performing leaders often excelling due to their autonomy, discipline, and results-oriented approach, while lower-performing employees may struggle without direct supervision. Research, such as the Stanford University study, highlights the benefits of hybrid work, particularly in enhancing productivity and retention, though challenges arise when remote work is poorly managed. The future of work requires organizations to balance flexibility and accountability, fostering environments that empower diverse employees and adapt to changing expectations.
The Overlap of Conflict, Vulnerability, Trust, and Innovation
True innovation exists at the intersection of trust, vulnerability, and constructive conflict. As leaders, our role is to create the conditions for innovation to thrive. That means checking our egos, fostering trust, and modeling vulnerability. It means leaning into conflict, embracing discomfort, and having the courage to confront the most brutal facts of our current reality.
The Takeaway at the Solutions Summit: Build More Trust in the Workplace
At the recent Vermont Chamber’s Solution Summit, I had the pleasure of discussing a topic that should resonate deeply with leaders today: trust in the workplace. In a world where technology continues to shape the future of work, the importance of human connection and trust can often feel overshadowed. However, as research consistently shows, building trust is the key to a successful and engaged workforce. In this blog, I’ll share some of the insights and strategies I presented.