David is a leadership and organizational development specialist with advanced education in Leadership, Organizational Development, Health Science, and Education. His work has been featured in hundreds of articles spanning numerous publications and various topics such as leadership, economics, health, history, politics, theology, and consumer issues. For more content, be sure to check out the podcast titled "Leaders Last."
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No doubt, the world is changing rapidly, and it seems that organizational priorities are shifting. As a result, CEOs and leaders often use this as an excuse when facing the challenge of keeping their teams motivated while maintaining organizational growth. Of course, time is always a factor, and leaders often have to juggle priorities. As a result, they often take shortcuts. However, while these leaders have the best intentions, they...
Unfortunately, most people navigate their decisions and daily lives guided by 'perception'—essentially, feelings-based responses to situations. These decisions are driven by emotions, reactions, and impressions rather than objective facts, often leading to poor or underwhelming outcomes. While perception may seem intuitive, and even promoted in many coaching scenarios, the truth is that it often leads to distorted thinking because emotions...
Learned helplessness is a terrible condition where individuals believe they have no control over their circumstances, leading them to stop trying to change or improve their situation. This mindset often develops after repeated exposure to adverse events or environments where efforts to change the outcome consistently fail. Over time, the individual learns to believe that no matter what they do, they cannot influence the outcome, leading to a...
Epistemic Rigidity is a theoretical framework that explains why individuals and groups struggle to update their knowledge and discard outdated information. This framework integrates various cognitive biases, including the Einstellung effect, the Einstein effect, the Dunning-Kruger effect, and anchoring bias. Additionally, it encompasses factors like confirmation bias, motivated reasoning, cognitive dissonance, and heuristics. These biases and...
Recently, a student forwarded an article about leadership and development. The request was to evaluate the article and share my thoughts because he felt that the author got a few things wrong. Indeed, the Forbes article "Unlocking Hidden Potential In Next-Gen Leaders: Beyond Traditional Leadership Development" brings to light several crucial aspects of contemporary leadership, but it also leaves plenty of room for deeper exploration, at least...
Organizations strive to motivate their employees effectively, leveraging various motivational theories to enhance performance and satisfaction. Adam's Equity Theory and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) are two prominent theories that organizations should consider. While SDT emphasizes intrinsic motivation and the importance of fulfilling psychological needs, Adam's Equity Theory focuses on fairness and perceived equity in the workplace. This...
Imagine being relatively assertive and being handed a self-help book about assertiveness. Or imagine having a big heart and going to a seminar on empathy. How effective or valuable are these programs or books really going to be for you? Sure, they might make you feel good by validating how awesome you are if you have these qualities, but will anything significant change in your life? Probably not. Self-improvement literature, seminars, and...
Effective leaders are not born; they are developed. Effective leaders are not "naturals;" they practice. The path to leadership mastery involves continuous learning, self-reflection, mindfulness, strategic forecasting, and mentorship of others. In this article, we'll explore the five secrets of effective leaders. Learning Effective leaders are lifelong learners. They are constantly seeking knowledge, whether it is through development programs,...
Leadership is a crucial aspect of any organization or community. Effective leadership involves guiding, directing, and motivating others to achieve a common goal. Learning how to do these effectively often comes from those providing leadership advice. However, not all leadership advice is created equal. Some advice, known as pseudo-leadership advice, can be detrimental to individuals and organizations. This type of advice is not based on sound...
There are many different styles and theorems of leadership and countless frameworks for its development. Some are better than others. Of course, the leadership novice must be aware that some leadership styles are pushed without concern for either validity or scientific foundation (Robertson, 2022). However, if validity and effectiveness are important, and if transforming lives and organizations is the goal, then there is one style of leadership...
