There was a recent important article/topic from the Business Standard newspaper, titled “Age of Anxiety”. The article discussed increasing cases and patterns of anxiety and mental health issues in our work environments.
It has become critical for all parties to not ignore mental health. Physical and mental health are important elements of optimal performance. Having some form of support system is critical for every individual and benefits all parties, including the employer. Even if employers take a cost focused approach, this will end up in increased healthcare and insurance costs very soon (if not already). Therefore, proactive thinking to address this benefits everyone.
Highlighting couple of notes from the article that require attention.:
* “The real need is for organisations to empower their people managers to foster psychological safety, where employees feel seen, heard and supported, not just as professionals but as people navigating the pressures of work and life.”
* Despite efforts, much of corporate India still treats stress as an individual issue, not a systemic one. But the growing number of tragic outcomes suggests that the status quo is no longer sustainable.
PURPOSE & IMPACT
Category: Coaching (page 2 of 7)
What are the effects of incivility (disrespect/rudeness) on your business and people?
A TED Talk (video link below) from Prof. Christine Porath includes useful references on this topic, which are backed by research. There are also some positive behavioural examples (if you are wondering, as a manager or leader, how you could do better on this dimension).
Selected notes from the talk:
* Small, uncivil actions can lead to much bigger problems like aggression and violence.
* According to their study, incivility made people less motivated. 66% cut back work efforts, 80% lost time worrying about what happened, 12% left their job.
* For those who witness incivility, witnesses’ performance decreased, too…quite significantly.
* Incivility is a bug. It’s contagious, and we become carriers of it just by being around it. And this isn’t confined to the workplace.
* It affects our emotions, our motivation, our performance and how we treat others. It even affects our attention and can take some of our brainpower. And this happens not only if we experience incivility or we witness it. It can happen even if we just see or read rude words.
* This can be a big deal, especially when it comes to life-and-death situations. Researchers have actually shown that medical teams exposed to rudeness perform worse not only in all their diagnostics, but in all the procedures they did. This was mainly because the teams exposed to rudeness didn’t share information as readily, and they stopped seeking help from their teammates.
* The number one reason for incivility is stress. People feel overwhelmed. The other reason is because they’re skeptical and even concerned about being civil or appearing nice. They believe they’ll appear less leader-like. It’s easy to think so, especially when we see a few prominent examples that dominate the conversation.
* According to research from the Centre for Creative Leadership, number one reason tied to executive failure was an insensitive, abrasive or bullying style.
* It ties to one of the most important questions around leadership: What do people want most from their leaders? We took data from over 20,000 employees around the world, and found the answer was simple: respect. Those that felt respected were healthier, more focused, more likely to stay with their organization and far more engaged.
* Civility and respect can be used to boost an organization’s performance.
* When we have more civil environments, we’re more productive, creative, helpful, happy and healthy.
It is amazing and sad to see how much mileage social media posts are getting from discussing and commenting about other people’s mistakes or failures. Sadly, more people seem to be interested in those types of posts more, even on LinkedIn (perhaps related to our natural human interest in listening to stories and gossips).
Within a few days, a photo of two corporate leaders from a relatively unknown company in a Cold Play concert in the U.S. reached all corners of the world on all types of social media and were shared multiple times (still keeps appearing in feeds, tiring). This is not about justifying or supporting anyone’s actions but sharing a sincere concern/observation about how we celebrate someone else’s personal mistakes with high interest and energy. Envy may also be in play.
While it would have been pertinent to discuss the organisational aspects on professional networks, like critical conflict of interest, confidentiality impact, role of power dynamics in relationships, leadership trust erosion, flow of information, culture impact, role of the board, how organisations could manage such scenarios effectively (any one of them could have been more valuable discussions professionally), very few posts seemed to do that.
Public figures understandably get a lot more limelight, interest and accountability as they get voted to power by the public based on the promises and images they highlight. Leaders in any organisation as well are always under the spotlight because of the power they hold (smaller companies as well become case studies quickly). Perhaps, public organisations get increased focus for good reason, they are using public money. Leaders in positions of power everywhere tend to have a higher bar of expectations and role modelling. Expectations of privacy are limited. This is important awareness for leaders everywhere. At the same time, leaders are also human beings with emotions. Mistakes and errors in judgment can happen.
Do we also have a tendency to jump to conclusions and make judgments very fast in our current world?
Do we tend to celebrate other’s failures, while being reluctant to analyse our own and focus on becoming better human beings?
It’s also worthwhile to remember what Jesus Christ famously said, “The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone.”
Image Source: Pixabay; CDD20
These are valuable notes below for reflection on “Curiosity” from a recent Harvard Business Review article titled, The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation. Curiosity mindset seems to drive learning. The powerful impact and related behaviours appear in many articles and studies, including leadership potential (Egon Zehnder).
—
“In a world where information is abundant but insight remains scarce, curiosity may be the ultimate competitive advantage.
If you wouldn’t fly on a plane that hadn’t had a preflight check, why head into a high-stakes conversation without first checking your most vital mindset: curiosity?
The question isn’t whether you’ll face disagreement and pushback in your next high-stakes conversation—it’s whether you’ll be mentally prepared to transform that into insight and constructive action.
Curiosity is a choice, and that choice begins before you speak your first word.
By honestly assessing where you sit on the Curiosity Curve, setting realistic intentions to move toward greater openness, and deploying targeted Curiosity Sparks, you can transform your most challenging interactions from battles to be won into opportunities for mutual discovery and collaborative problem-solving.”
According to the author, there are four surprising benefits of curiosity.
“1. When We’re Curious About People, They Like Us More.
2. Curiosity Begets Curiosity
3. Curiosity Creates Empathy
4. Curiosity Makes Us More Resilient
To get more curious, try asking yourself one of these “curiosity sparks.”
1. What might I be missing?
2. How else might someone else interpret this situation?
3. How might I be affecting them?
4. What can I learn from this person?“
—
Can you build the curiosity mindset into your organisation culture?
Perhaps a good place to start with is in leadership and management development.
Sources:
* The Right Way to Prepare for a High-Stakes Conversation; Harvard Business Review; Jeff Wetzler; July 2, 2025
* 4 Surprising Benefits of Curiosity; PsychologyToday; Jeff Wetzler; December 12, 2024
An interesting 2019 article by Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic (currently, Chief Innovation Officer of ManpowerGroup), discussed psychopaths and related traits in leadership roles.
These are selected notes from the article below.
* According a study dating back to 2010, there were at least three times as many psychopaths in executive or CEO roles than in the overall population.
But more recent data found it’s now a much higher figure: 20 percent.
* Spotting A Psychopath
Narcissism involves an unrealistic sense of grandiosity and superiority, manifested in the form of vanity, self-admiration and delusions of talent.
Main characteristics of narcissistic and toxic bosses:
1. They often crave validation and recognition from others.
2. They tend to be self-centered.
3. They have high levels of entitlement.
* As I highlight in my most recent book, “Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? (And How to Fix It),” many wildly celebrated character traits, such as courage and risk-taking, often coexist with psychopathic tendencies.
Finding The Balance
* To some degree, all successful entrepreneurs have problems with authority, which is why they are so eager to demolish the status quo and replace it with something else.
* So while a certain degree of nonconformity and unconventionality is needed to drive innovation and entrepreneurship, any leader will need to have a minimum level of integrity, empathy and altruism to be able to connect with and focus on the well-being of their teams, rather than on advancing their own personal agenda.
* It is this range of pro-social and ethical traits that can turn even contrarian and combative personalities into a catalyst for good in society: Replacing the status quo with a better version of progress.
Source:
1 in 5 business leaders may have psychopathic tendencies—here’s why, according to a psychology professor; cnbc.com; April 9, 2019; Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic
A recent MIT Sloan Management Review article, titled ‘Five Leadership Lessons for ‘Tough’ CEOs’, seems to be making a differentiation between tough and strong/human-centric leaders. It holds valuable reminders in the current environment, where backward steps seem to be taken frequently.
Selected notes from the article:
* Pre-pandemic, research had built compelling cases for human-centric leadership. This data was reinforced during the crisis as many businesses survived despite dire circumstances. Today, we’re seeing central corporate command try to reassert control to reinstitute old norms.
* Tough-talking leaders often fail to appreciate that reliability – the foundation of trust – is what builds results.
* Tough CEOs don’t recognize the value of human-centered leaders who tap into their emotional intelligence as much as their intellectual intelligence to deepen relationships in all the ways that improve workers’ performance.
Five Lessons for Tough Talkers From Strong Leaders
1. Tough leaders mistakenly think empathizing means giving in, but it doesn’t. Human-centered leaders empathize to better communicate and collaborate. Empathizing means connecting with what others are thinking and feeling. It’s the skill that cultivates safe spaces for creativity, builds strong team alliances, and gets to clarity on issues.
2. Human-centric leaders aren’t soft about employees’ performance. They don’t ask for less. Instead, they set clear goals and priorities. They monitor progress at the team and individual levels. And they align work with employees’ identified strengths and skills. Human-centered leaders check in regularly with team members to coach them and course-correct as circumstances evolve. They cultivate the fundamentals for exceptional performance, including a sense of belonging, by emphasizing outcomes.
3. Tough-talking leaders often fail to appreciate that reliability – the foundation of trust – is what builds results. A study conducted by i4cp found that organizations where people trusted their leaders were 11 times more likely to be high performers.
4. Strong leaders recognize that one size does not fit all. Each team’s purpose and realities are adjusted for and can be modified when business conditions and the needs of both the company and team members change.
5. Even in our fast-changing world, tough-talking leaders won’t admit to ever being wrong – despite unprecedented uncertainties. Evidence from Berkeley Haas professor Jennifer Chatman shows that such leaders cause long-lasting damage to organizations through reduced collaboration and integrity.
Challenging the tough-leader persona is essential for managing talent through volatility and ambiguity. Leaders need to nurture a sense of belonging to support strong performance.
Source: Five Leadership Lessons for ‘Tough’ CEOs; Brian Elliott and Sophie Wade; June 16, 2025; MIT Sloan Management Review
Notes for reflection this week revolve around an interesting, new word – “Anti-Mattering”.
These are selected notes from the author (Zach Mercurio) of a new book, “The Power Of Mattering.”
—
“Feeling insignificant has a name. Psychologists call it “anti-mattering”.
It can be one of the most insidious forces in an organization.
According to the author, 5 major experiences that lead to anti-mattering – the feelings of being unseen, unheard, unvalued, forgotten or dispensable.
1. Unseen – Feelings of being unseen often arise from unintentional, yet insidious, acts of social ignorance: forgetting someone’s name or how to pronounce it, not making eye contact, not asking for a colleague’s unique perspective, not acknowledging someone’s past experiences, not seeking to learn about someone’s personal life, not checking in with a coworker you know is struggling or not telling someone you missed them when they were gone.
2. Unheard – There are several ways we make each other feel unheard: dismissing someone’s ideas, not responding, not asking for their opinion, not following up on feedback, telling someone they need more experience before weighing in, not giving them adequate time to express themselves or not demonstrating curiosity or interest.
3. Unvalued – People feel unvalued when they feel unimportant and when they can’t see how they’re helpful or useful.
4. Forgotten – Regularly sensing that you’re not seen, heard or valued can lead to feeling forgotten. People feel forgotten when others don’t remember their names, don’t ask for their opinions, don’t notice they are gone, don’t acknowledge their efforts or contributions to a team and don’t express that they are missed when they’re absent.
5. Dispensable – Feeling needed is essential for feeling that we matter. Yet, too often, our organizations make people feel replaceable or like disposable resources. When people feel irreplaceable, they act irreplaceable. They show up and commit.”
Who might feel/be unseen, unheard or unvalued in your team, organisation?
Most leaders would have room for improvement in this area.
Sources:
* ConantLeadership Newsletter; Amy Federman; May 31, 2025
* Five Sources Of Insignificance At Work-And How to Combat Them; Zach Mercurio; Chief Executive; May 15, 2025
* Zach Mercurio; The Power Of Mattering
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
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
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
© 2026 Lead-Wise
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
Recent Comments