There's two types of consultants. The ones who are drawn to the profession because of the potential for making great money and  the prestige that comes from working with the executives.

Then there's the ones who are in it for so much more than money. They also want to make a real difference in our overly stressed workplaces. 

Both types of consultants want and need to be profitable and deserve equitable compensation for their contribution. But the latter group also wants to be PROPHET-able meaning that they can hold their own with senior leaders and speak truth to power to encourage the creation of socially just workplaces.

We can look at our consulting as a way to make a living without being on the full-time payroll. OR we can see it through the lens of the higher purpose of our role - which is to come alongside leaders and help them be their best and create the type of workplaces where everyone can show up and do their best work.

The reality is consulting isn't a...

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One of the best things about mentoring other consultants is the opportunity it gives me to reflect on what I do as a consultant and why.

This week our group was exploring the topic of gaining and retaining leadership buy-in and it caused me to stop and really think why this matters so much and it all boils down to this - 

The one thing that we all really want from others in order to trust them is confidence that when they make decisions they take into account what's in our best interest.

When I train consultants on the importance of doing an assessment and taking the time to deeply listen to stakeholders (whether they are executives, managers, employees or customers) it's not just about a consulting approach that generates revenue for them. It's about being a a conduit to help those people in the organization be heard and have a voice on issues that effect them. 

What most leaders (and even consultants) don't get about creating employee engagement is that it's not...

Authentic leadership isn't a style. It's a stage of maturity and growth. Authentic leadership is where power and love intersect. Power and use of power are familiar concepts in business and the defining power as control, authority, capacity and influence is more than likely readily understandable and accessible. Love is a different story.

When I talk about love, I am not talking about the feelings shared between parents and children, friends or even lovers. I am talking the concept of love as expressed in Greek as agape which relates more to service and esteem.

Sources of power can be internal or external. Focuses of love can be internal or external. How these relate to one another result in one of four leadership styles:

• External source of power and internal focus of love: Alliance Leadership. This style of leadership is about who you know and where you work. Power comes by association with powerful people. Your boss becomes very important to you as you seek to gain what you want...

and Other Truths about Leadership that No One Will Admit

I have heard the refrain “everyone is a leader” ever since I got into the performance improvement/organization development business 20 years ago. The heart-felt sentiment behind this lie is good: everyone is equally important to the success of an organization and everyone has the potential and capacity to be an influencer. But having the ability to be an influencer or possessing good self-management skills is not the same as having the gift of leadership, particularly executive leadership.

The “everyone is a leader” myth, which has been blindly accepted as truth, actually waters down the significance and uniqueness of the gift of leadership and keeps people who don’t have that gift from finding out what they actually are great at doing. It’s like telling an athletic team that all of its members are star players, when that is far from the reality. If all of the team members believed they...

This week I met with three aspiring consultants who are very passionate about parlaying their experience to help companies create healthy work environments and engaged employees. They almost fell out their chairs when I told them that I am starting to see that employee engagement is actually unethical.

What I DON'T mean when I say this is that companies should not strive to have work environments free from unethical business practices and abusive and inconsiderate leaders who make their employees lives miserable. Providing safe work conditions, equitable pay and reasonable management should be considered “cover charges” for the privilege of hiring others to work for you.

What I think might be bordering on unethical is how organizations have shifted from employee satisfaction to employee engagement and how engagement goals might completely jack up our limbic systems. Let me explain.

Back in the early 2000’s, instead of measuring employee satisfaction (which is to...