“At Their Most Vulnerable”
"At Their Most Vulnerable" This week I’m speaking to hundreds of healthcare leaders about one of their toughest challenges: the rise of workplace violence. One leader said something that stayed with me — that the people attacking their workers are often “at their most vulnerable.” That phrase reframed everything. The harm isn’t just cruelty — it’s pain turned outward. I’ve seen it firsthand at the homeless hospice where I volunteer. When an angry new resident lashed out, the leader didn’t react with punishment; she sat beside him, set boundaries, and showed compassion. He stayed. Weeks later, he was calm, kind, and grateful. Leadership is holding that same tension — protecting your people...
PAST ISSUES
The Gig Economy Has Reached the Corner Office
The Gig Economy Has Reached the Corner Office A third of new CEO appointments this year are interim or short-term. That is not a blip—it’s a shift....
Pretty Uneventful Week for CEOs, Right?
Pretty Uneventful Week for CEOs, Right? A viral video of Astronomer’s CEO and CHRO at a Coldplay concert ignited more than just online gossip. It...
Fear and Faith Are Both a Belief in the Unknown
Fear and Faith Are Both a Belief in the Unknown Fear and faith are not opposites—they are two sides of the same coin. Both are rooted in...
You Can’t Collaborate With a Negotiator
You Can’t Collaborate With a Negotiator In every relationship—personal or professional—we eventually face friction. And when we do, we tend to show...
Your Culture Is Measured in Silence
Your Culture Is Measured in Silence One of the most dangerous signals in any organization isn’t conflict. It’s silence. Leaders often chase...
Culture Captures the Cost Savings
Culture Captures the Cost Savings In this week’s CEO Daily Brief, I spoke with labor strategy expert John Frehse about the growing pressure leaders...
What Becoming a Death Doula Has Taught Me About Change Management
What Becoming a Death Doula Has Taught Me About Change Management After five years volunteering in UC Davis’s No One Dies Alone program, I recently...
You Have a Leadership Problem
You Have a Leadership Problem Accountability gets tossed around in every leadership meeting, but most companies still get it wrong. It often shows...
The One Question That Changed My Career
The One Question That Changed My Career This question—What is your boss’s boss worried about?—has changed the way I work, lead, and think. It’s the...
Good Leaders Lie
Good Leaders Lie We’ve all heard the phrase “good leaders lie”—and not because they’re malicious, but because they think they have to. To protect...
A Culture for All Generations
Disrupting the way we think about generations to attract, engage, and retain all employees
There’s a real benefit in dismantling the perceptions behind Gen Z or X, or whatever the next trendy label is! Citing extensive academic research from her book, Unfairly Labeled, Jessica provides a refreshingly enlightening and data-driven perspective on how multi-generational organizations can strip away stereotypes and and biases that hinder performance and prevent progress toward a common purpose.
