This week’s notes of leadership wisdom for reflection comes from a ConantLeadership conversation between Deanna Mulligan (CEO of Purposeful, former chair and CEO of Guardian Life Insurance Company) and Doug Conant (Founder of ConantLeadership, former CEO of Campbell Soup Company).
Selected notes from the conversation below:
* Leaders embrace three characteristics that have brought people through great crises in the past: Flexibility, empathy, and patience.
* Historically, empathy is highly valuable in times of change and disruption and is what gets us through, no matter where we are on the political spectrum.
* The modern penchant for instant gratification makes it too easy for leaders to forget that meaningful change takes time. The best leaders are the ones who stay the course.
* Staying the course requires a deep foundation to help you keep a steady hand on the wheel. Not only must your foundation be deeply personal, purpose driven, and performance oriented, it must also honor all the people you work with. It includes your unique purpose, values, and beliefs-from the ground up. The sturdier your Foundation, the more you can remain stable and withstand the winds of change.
* Before leaders can inspire or motivate others, they must clearly articulate why the group effort matters. You must get to the heart of the problem first and help people understand what’s at stake in any given situation. Otherwise, you risk the organization splintering into chaos-or crumbling entirely.
* Never let a good crisis go to waste. Use the lessons from one wave of turbulence to prepare you for the next one.
* Leaders have a responsibility to grow and develop employees. And often, the untapped talent you’re in search of is right in your own backyard.
* Great leaders make meaning for people. They answer the question, Why am I here today? Why should I get up and come back in?.
* It’s vital for leaders to declare their purpose..: Your audience needs to hear you say it, needs to know that you mean it, that you’re willing to declare it. And that you have every intention of walking the talk.
* You can’t do it if you’re exhausted. Find the things that renew your resolve and restore your energy, and be disciplined about staying afloat so you can buoy the people around you.
Source:
– ‘Great Leaders Make Meaning’—2 Purpose-Driven CEOs on ‘People First’ Leadership; ConantLeadership; Vanessa Bradford; Apr 24, 2025
PURPOSE & IMPACT
Category: Coaching (page 1 of 6)
Food for reflection and reminder this week, comes from Stephen R. Covey’s “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”.
The following are unedited notes from the book and Franklin Covey site.
Think Win-Win
Most of us learn to base our self-worth on comparison and competition. We think about succeeding in terms of someone else failing – If I win, they lose; or if they win, I lose. Life becomes a zero-sum game. We start to believe there’s only so much to go around, and if they get a big piece, there’s less for me; it’s not fair, and I’m going to do everything I can to get my share.
That kind of thinking is fundamentally flawed. It’s based on power and position rather than on principle. These paradigms of scarcity are worth shifting. Win-win is a belief in the Third Alternative. It’s not your way or my way; it’s a better way, a higher way.
Win-win is about constantly seeking mutual benefit in all human interactions-about finding solutions that are truly beneficial and satisfying for everyone involved. To go for win-win, we not only have to be empathic, but we also have to be confident. We not only have to be considerate and sensitive, we also have to be brave. That balance between courage and consideration is the essence of real maturity and is fundamental to a win-win approach to life.
Win-win requires that we be both high in courage and high in consideration, that we approach others with generosity and a sense of partnership. When we do that-when we demonstrate our investment in their interests and successfully advocate for our own needs, we build stronger, more trusting relationships.
In the long run, if it isn’t a win for both of us, we both lose. That’s why win-win is the only real alternative in interdependent realities.
Character is the foundation of win-win, and everything else builds on that foundation. There are three character traits essential to the win-win paradigm.
1. INTEGRITY. We’ve defined integrity as the value we place on ourselves.
2. MATURITY. Maturity is the balance between courage and consideration.
3. ABUNDANCE MENTALITY. The paradigm that there is plenty out there for everybody.
Most people are deeply scripted in the Scarcity Mentality. They see life as having only so much, as though there were only one pie out there. And if someone were to get a big piece of the pie, it would mean less for everybody else. The Scarcity Mentality is the zero-sum paradigm of life. The Abundance Mentality, on the other hand, flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is the paradigm that there is plenty out there and enough to spare for everybody. It results in sharing of prestige, of recognition, of profits, of decision making. It opens possibilities, options, alternatives, and creativity.
One thing particularly helpful to win-lose people in developing a win-win character is to associate with some model or mentor who really thinks win-win.
Sources:
* Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change
* Franklin Covey; The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People; Habit 4: Think Win-Win®
The grass is not as green as it looks when it comes to corporate C-level leadership. Are C-suite jobs becoming more complex and short lived? If you are an aspiring C-suite leader, what does this mean for you?
These are selected notes from recent Korn Ferry Insight articles:
* According to recent updates from Korn Ferry, around 222 CEOs (US) left their roles in January, the highest number for the month in at least 23 years. This comes after a record 2,221 top bosses – at US public, private, or government organizations – left their posts in 2024, a figure which itself topped the prior record of 1,914 set a year earlier.
* Disruption is a major cause of CEOs leaving, and then the CEO actually leaving is probably impacting that disruption further. Directors, themselves under pressure from a surge in activist investors, are showing less patience with CEOs who aren’t delivering positive results. At one point in 2024, nearly 40% of CEOs who left were forced out.
* When a CEO quits, it’s almost always a shock to the system. “All types of dynamics surface calling the success of the company’s future into question”.
As a result, experts say that firms need to make a special effort to develop promising talent. That may mean identifying potential successors who are currently working two or even three layers below the CEO job.
* Firms also seem to be reducing C-suite roles by collapsing and combining positions. Some tech companies have merged the CFO/COO roles, for instance, while others have folded CCO duties into those of the CMO – a role that has added responsibilities for sales, customer experience, and more – or have rebranded them under titles like CRO. This may be because combining roles could enable firms to respond faster to changes involving markets and competitors. The role-merging has happened thus far only on a small but noticeable scale.
* Developing C-suite leaders with cross-functional experience also helps firms build a pipeline of ready successors. Still, experts caution that consolidation in the C-suite runs risks. The executive who’s taking on the additional responsibilities might not perform well in their new role. Burnout is a risk.
—
These are some of my reflections:
1. Companies have to increase focus on consciously developing and retaining leaders. Only focused efforts lead to positive outcomes at a systemic level.
2. A CEO change mostly leads to further leadership, talent and structural organizational changes. This can lead to major disruptions for talent, especially when uncertainty is high. Key talent engagement and retention should be on top of a leader’s agenda in such environments.
3. When a senior leader takes on multiple functions, time and attention tends to become a major challenge. Consciously or sub consciously, some teams and topics will get lesser leadership attention, leading to frustration for those members. This could lead to further disengagement. In such scenarios, it becomes critical for C-level leaders to ensure a strong second level of leaders, who can lead with high autonomy.
4. There seems to be increased chatter about broader job cuts in organizations in 2025 as well (which normally accompanies organization, work structure changes across all levels). eg. even when teams get consolidated, there are leadership and direction changes, which end up impacting even the junior levels.
5. Based on the trend of consolidation of leadership responsibilities, cross-functional/generalist experience could be back into serious leadership development focus.
Sources:
* The Shrinking C-Suite?; March 18, 2025; Korn Ferry Insights
* The Great CEO Exodus… Continues; March 12, 2025; Korn Ferry Insights
A March 2025 article in the IMD site from a clinical/organisational psychologist, Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg, covers perspectives on this complex topic.
Selected notes from the article below:
“What to do when those in positions of authority behave in ways that contradict widely accepted norms of civility, empathy, and ethical leadership.
The only path forward is to engage and maximize your influence by building enough power and clout to respond effectively and understand the psychology of omnipotent leaders.
* Omnipotent leaders see themselves as exempt from the norms of ethical or socially acceptable behavior due to a heightened sense of self-importance and entitlement. The mission (or rather their mission) justifies most, if not all, means to an end. Such leaders often exhibit moral licensing, believing past good deeds justify present transgressions. A tell-tale sign is excessive risk-taking and skirting formalities and rules of procedure.
* Omnipotence can also be understood within the broader framework of leadership overconfidence and hubris. The hubris syndrome is a condition wherein prolonged power and success lead to narcissistic tendencies, overconfidence, and diminished capacity for critical self-reflection.
Three key approaches can be employed while engaging with omnipotent leaders:
* Rather than challenging an omnipotent leader head-on, anchor your ideas as a natural plot in the leader’s vision, define yourself as a main character, and shape the narrative early. Whoever speaks early sets the stage.
* Frame feedback to omnipotent leaders that align or complement their self-image. Validate their leadership before steering the conversation toward constructive insights.
* Speed matters – shape the story before they do. Build rapport by finding even the smallest points of agreement. If escalation is inevitable, don’t go for it alone.
In a world where power dynamics are accelerating and all-powerful leaders set the tempo, the challenge is not simply to resist or comply but to navigate strategically and psychologically. “
—
What other approaches have worked for you?
Source: Three ways to deal with the almighty boss; Merete Wedell-Wedellsborg; 14 March 2025; I by IMD
Image Source: TungArt7, Pixabay
We are seeing this phenomenon play out quite a lot. Success or expertise in some areas does not translate to expertise in other/all areas.
At a personal level, we need to be really conscious and careful about whom we listen to or believe blindly. It’s always helpful to reflect, ask questions and think deeper before giving the benefit of doubt to any point of view (including experts) and allowing it to influence/become our own. It’s also important to remind ourselves and watch out constantly to not fall into this fallacy.
——-
“The idea that expertise in one area automatically translates to expertise in another is a cognitive bias, often called the “spillover fallacy” or “ultracrepidarianism,” where individuals mistakenly assume their knowledge in one field applies to unrelated areas.
The Fallacy:
Expertise is highly specific to a particular field. A person’s knowledge and skills in one area don’t necessarily extend to other, unrelated domains.
Examples:
A brilliant scientist might be a poor writer, or a world-renowned geologist might not be knowledgeable in philosophy.
Someone who is an expert in a particular programming language might not be an expert in other programming languages or in web development.
(Success/expertise in business might not translate to expertise in science.)
Related Concepts:
Dunning-Kruger Effect: This cognitive bias describes individuals with limited competence in a specific area overestimating their abilities.
Curse of Knowledge: This bias occurs when experts assume others share their knowledge and understanding, leading to difficulty explaining things clearly.
Why it Matters:
Recognizing the limits of one’s expertise is crucial for effective learning, decision-making, and collaboration. Overestimating one’s knowledge can lead to poor decisions, wasted resources, and even harm.
How to Mitigate:
Seek diverse perspectives: Consult with experts (listen to multiple points of view with an open mind) in different fields to gain a broader understanding of a problem.
Acknowledge your limitations: Be open to the possibility that you don’t know everything and be willing to learn from others.
Think like a beginner: Try to understand concepts from a novice’s perspective to better grasp the complexities of a field.”
Develop, constantly work on a growth mindset.
——-
A valuable comment that I received from an ex colleague on this topic:
“The mindset to think like a beginner is a blessing if there is a mentor. I did waste a lot of my time when I was learning something new since there was no one to guide me. Rabbit hole is one aspect where I spent my whole weekend on something and I couldn’t answer what new did I learn related to the new topic I was planning to learn. Finding a mentor never occurred to me at that time.
Today, AI can play the role of a mentor to provide roadmap when I start learning something new so that I can save my time and energy. Yes, asking the right questions and validating the response is one of the key thing.”
Source: Notes from Google Search Generative AI, with few personal edits
Image Source: OpenClipart-Vectors, Pixabay
What makes it difficult to address toxicity in organisations, especially when they centre around star employees?
If you do not address toxicity, the resulting damage to teams and organisations can be immense. The more senior level this happens, the higher the potential for damage.
According to a recent post from Stanford faculty, Dr. Bob Sutton, based on an interview between Wall Street Journal and Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn, they even observed how a star job candidate treated the driver who picked him. How the candidate treated the driver was part of the job interview.
Bob wrote in his book, “The No Asshole Rule”, “the difference between how a person treats the powerless versus the powerful is as good measure of human character as I know.”
When a leader of a large, successful enterprise like Siemens shares perspectives, it’s valuable to listen, reflect and act. This is the gist of how Siemens President and CEO Roland Busch responded to the question, “What leadership qualities are most critical in the Intelligence age?”, during a LinkedIn event, from Davos on January 23, 2025.
Coincidentally, I was discussing Growth Mindset and Psychological safety during a session with a group of experienced managers on the same day.
1. Growth Mindset – Constant learning, trying new things, keep on going even after failing, learning from mistakes. (Belief that everyone can learn and push the limits).
2. Collaborative spirit, build a network, especially important while working in a virtual world.
3. Empathy, with strong communication skills to communicate, connect with people.
4. Especially in management, Empower people. Let them do what they are good at, and that goes together with Accountability.
Last but not least, having a solid set of values.
Couple of additional notes:
* He also said in his experience, diverse teams deliver better results than those that are homogeneous.
* Also, emphasised the importance of staying curious, open.
From the Siemens website:
Siemens Limited is a technology company focused on industry, infrastructure, digital transformation, transport as well as transmission and generation of electrical power. Globally, Siemens employs 312,000 people. It had a revenue of EUR 75.9 billion in fiscal 2024.
Siemens’ long-term commitment in India began in 1867, when the company’s founder Werner von Siemens personally supervised the setting up of the first telegraph line between London and Calcutta. Today, Siemens has a strong manufacturing footprint across the country, various Centres of Competence and R&D centres as well as a nationwide sales and service network.
There is a 2011 HBR article with the title, “We Need More Mature Leaders”.
It definitely seems to feel that way while seeing many news articles and discussions nowadays.
While we can say a lot about mature leaders, how do we observe immature leaders/leadership? Here are some notes from “Understanding Leadership Maturity (John Mattone Blog, July 2024)”. The list is not comprehensive, there are surely many more. This also indicates where getting leadership coaching early could be helpful.
—
“Recognizing the signs of immature leadership is crucial for addressing and correcting these behaviors before they lead to significant negative outcomes.
Immature leaders are often emotionally reactive and have poor interpersonal skills, which can harm their teams and organizations.
If a leader does not possess maturity, the below signs may show:
* The impression that they simply do not care about the opinions or feedback of other colleagues.
* Refusal to listen to others and remaining stuck in their own ways.
* Constantly interrupting others without allowing them to speak about new ideas or feedback.
* Leaning on emotions, rather than facts, during challenges or obstacles within the workplace.
* Not paying attention to how they come off to others and how this impacts them.
* Using unclear messaging and communication creates confusion within the workplace, which could lead to conflict and mistakes.”
—
Some leaders don’t realise they need help and drive ahead, blissfully unaware. Others know but don’t care or use excuses, regarding why they can’t change but are still great/successful (while their teams suffer). There is much hope for the category of leaders (and their organisations) who are self-aware, identify the leadership behavioural gaps within themselves and work on getting better.
Another Christmas is nearing. While the world is evolving in many ways difficult to understand, there is valuable wisdom and reminders for improvement from the Bible.
Here are few selected notes, especially those with links to personal development. Personal development is continued work in progress, with a basic intent to become a better human being. There is no one perfect state, only continuous improvement actions and improving wisdom in life. It is valuable to take some time during the last week of the year to reflect on one’s own progress and evolution in life.
* “…So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another….And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity.” (from Colossians 3)
* “If you give food to the hungry and satisfy those who are in need, then the darkness around you will turn to the brightness of noon.” (from Isaiah 58)
* “Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort.” (from Ephesians 4)
*”Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall.” (from Proverbs 18)
* “Intelligent people are always eager and ready to learn…” (from Proverbs 18)
* “…When you stop learning, you will soon neglect what you already know (from Proverbs 19)
* “What you get by dishonesty you may enjoy like the finest food, but sooner or later it will be like a mouthful of sand.” (from Proverbs 20)
* “He remembered that they were only mortal beings, like a wind that blows by and is gone.” (from Psalms 78)
* “We leave this world just as we entered it – with nothing. In spite of all our work there is nothing we can take with us”. (from Ecclesiastes 5)
* “Be grateful for every year you live. No matter how long you live, remember that you will be dead much longer.” (from Ecclesiastes 11)
This is a revisit to a short, interesting 6 minute Ted talk video.
Remembered this when I noticed a LinkedIn post about someone’s death last week. An ex-colleague from years back had also passed away couple of weeks back.
Reflection –
* What would you want/like to be remembered for? Or not?
* What would your connections (at least the people who crossed paths with you) honestly say about you?
Steve Jobs famously said, “..Almost everything-all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure–these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important…”
About Tojo Eapen
Leadership Coach, Consultant, HR Leader with diverse, global experiences (U.S.A, Europe, APAC).
Master of Human Resource Management from Rutgers University, New Jersey, U.S.A. Recipient of the U.S. Garden State Council SHRM HR Leadership Scholarship.
Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, India.
Certifications: MBTI, Hogan, RBL Leadership Code, SHL 360, Team Management Profile, NeuroLeadership Results & Team Coaching.
Facilitated coaching sessions, workshops and programs with multicultural teams in Helsinki, London, Berlin, New Delhi, Bangalore, Kerala, in addition to multiple Global/Virtual sessions.
Mission: Enable healthy, purposeful, and impactful organizations, through leadership knowledge and wisdom.
Contact
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