The Aspen Institute’s Post

A great session from last month's Ideas Festivals and something we have dedicated nearly 75-years to. It is in the company of peers, with the time and space to reflect, to discuss, stretch, and challenge each other through dialogue, that leaders can meet the complexity and multi-faceted nature of leadership today while preparing for tomorrow. What are your 3 key takeaways for what makes a great leader? #AspenIdeas #LeadershipDevelopment #LeadershipJourney #AspenLeadershipSeminars #wisdom #reflection #LeaderCultivation

‘Do not live by other people’s expectations, perspectives and biases. Champion yourself, secure your own champions, and champion other women.’ This was one of the key takeaways from a recent WeQual Round Table event, where members discussed what it means to be an authentic leader. When Anna Campagna, Senior Director Global Sales at The HEINEKEN Company, was first relocated to Mexico, her leadership skills were tested to the limits. At that time, she was the first woman to lead trade marketing for the company’s biggest operation and she was a foreigner in a company of 15,000 people. It was here Anna was invited to tell her story about becoming a leader. As part of the process, she collected opinions from her peers, teams and colleagues, and the answers were humbling. ‘You’re brave.’ ‘You know how to adapt.’ ‘You genuinely care about the people around you.’ ‘You’re a leader without trying to be a man.’ This feedback helped Anna to crystallize her journey and distil the essence of her leadership into three core elements: 1 - Be vulnerable and willing to embrace everything about yourself – the good and the less good – the parts that make you proud and the parts that make you feel weak or ashamed. This is the birthplace of creativity and connection. 2 - Embrace failure and make it the foundation of success. Leaders don’t want to admit when they’re failing, but owning it brings a lot of strength and self-awareness. From failure, you can become a better version of yourself. 3 - Become a situational leader. The best leaders read the room and adapt accordingly. This skill means you can become very versatile and eclectic, and you give the room what the room requires from you. So, our question to you is, what does authentic leadership mean to you? #WeQual #WomenInLeadership #Authenticity

So, our question to you is, what does authentic leadership mean to you?

Is the partnership model dead? Our panel at the PrimeGlobal - The Association of Advisory and Accounting Firms leadership summit shared their wealth of experience. Christopher Geier - CEO/Chair Sikich said firms need to find their heartbeat - who they are and where they are going - stressing the right model needs to be right for each firm. Ed Davis, CPA, CGMA senior partner at PP&Co highlighted the need for partner consensus and bringing everyone on the journey. Bryce Gibbs - Principal Pinion explained that a corporate structure helps to recruit talent and build the services clients are demanding. Business models are evolving and firms need to understand their options. The session highlighting the benefits of sharing experience and being open to change. Leading change together is so much better than trying to follow alone. PrimeGlobal - The Association of Advisory and Accounting Firms Maureen Dillmore Katie OBryan Gorana Stojanovic Thierry Delvaux George Guo

Jack Stahl is one of the many iconic global leaders who make up our #CEO Network. GENERATE combines actionable insights and approaches from former Fortune-ranked CEOs, world-class practitioners, subject-matter experts, and proven peer collaboration, empowering Fortune 1000 senior #executives to enhance their organizational impact. Learn more about GENERATE here in comment below.

Cheers to my boss and business partner Craig Huse for making IBJ’s top 250 list of the state’s most influential and impactful leaders. Did I post this behind Craig’s back? Yeah. But only because he is too gracious and humble to do it himself. He’d probably tell us not to post anywhere if he knew about it. BUT just because Craig leads with an inspiring amount of humility doesn’t mean his marketing team does! (That was a joke. Kind of.)   Craig is the rare form of leader who elevates everyone around him both personally and professionally, yet somehow does it by fostering an incredible amount of autonomy. Arguably, the most important trait of a leader is to be a person who creates more leaders, not followers. Huse Culinary has true leaders in every restaurant, department, and position, and this is a testament to the culture built by Craig Huse and Steve Huse.   He is always the first one to step up and help in any role, yet the last one to seek praise.    So yes, Craig will probably hate this. But we need more CEOs in the world like him. Celebrating people like Craig is less about giving them the admiration that they don’t need or care about and more to show what a true leader looks like in the hopes of inspiring others to emulate their example.  

🌟 Leadership with Values: The True Path to Sustainable Success All too often, Leadership becomes focused solely on results as the primary goal. But it’s the values and ethics we uphold that define true success. 🌱 🔗 Achieving targets is essential, but the integrity and respect we bring to our work are equally important. When values guide our actions, we not only achieve sustainable results but also earn trust and loyalty from our teams. 🎯 Leadership isn’t just about hitting numbers; it’s about setting an ethical example. Leaders who prioritize values inspire their teams to do the same, creating a culture that leads to consistent, long-term success. 📚 Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo, is a prime example of leading with values. Under her leadership, PepsiCo pursued a strategy called “Performance with Purpose,” balancing financial performance with ethical practices and sustainability. By prioritizing health, environmental sustainability, and community impact, she didn’t just achieve financial success but also transformed PepsiCo into a more responsible and forward-thinking company. 🌸 Let’s remember, true leadership is measured not just by what we achieve, but how we achieve it. After all, success built on a strong ethical foundation is the kind that stands the test of time. What are your thoughts on this ? #Leadership #Values #Ethics #Integrity #ResultsWithIntegrity #LeadByExample

I am often asked by Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management students and executives during my leadership talks, “Why do companies make so many BIG mistakes?” Since it happens so often, it is a very fair question. Simply look at the The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, or Financial Times, and almost daily you will find a story about a company blunder and think to yourself: “The company did what?!?! How and why did that happen???”🤔 The usual quick guess as to why it happens is, “Well, it’s simple. The CEO just made a mistake.” However, take a minute to reflect on this issue. The answer is not that easy. First of all, remember, the CEO usually has an executive management team of at least 10-12 people. So how did they all let the mistake happen? Wasn’t there anyone on the team capable of stepping up and stopping the mistake from occurring? Well, I believe there are two major contributors to the problem: One is the process by which the CEO makes decisions, and the other is how the senior team defines their roles. Let’s look at an example. Assume I am the CEO, and I tell the senior leadership team, “This is what I want to do.” Hopefully, what I meant to say is, “This is what I want to do IF IT MAKES SENSE,” and encourage the team to challenge me if they think what I want to do doesn’t make sense. However, if as the leader I don’t make it clear that I want to be challenged, we run into the second problem: How does the team react to my statement? Unfortunately, my observation is that if it appears the CEO does not want to be challenged, many on the team start to define their job as “make the boss happy.” They think to themselves, “I don’t really understand why he wants to make that decision, but I am certainly not going to challenge him. The CEO must know more than me.” And by the way, if the last three team members who challenged the CEO are no longer with the company, it should surprise nobody if the current team does not want to challenge the CEO. You can read my full blog post at the link below. #AskHarry #CorporateMistakes #ValuesbasedLeadership #Leadership https://wp.me/p4ONH1-2Om

This week, our focus is on accountability, highlighting the remarkable outcomes attained by our client through a subtle reinforcement of responsibility among leaders across various business divisions. Discover the noteworthy accomplishments of this leading national retailer https://lnkd.in/etazng2H. Before you move on, we'd love to hear about your approaches to embedding accountability in your business. Share your insights below! #hadaspartners #successstory #throwbackthursday #accountability #responsibility #businesstransformation #managementconsultant #businessmanagement

At 2b Limitless when we talk to leaders, we hear a common line, “our leadership team understands and buys into the vision, but the people managers beneath them don’t.” It’s not that people managers don’t get it, it’s more that the corporate vision is less meaningful outside the leadership team. In the finance teams I worked in at Kraft Heinz, we always created a finance team vision, together. This was a meaningful process, this ‘finance’ vision allowed all of us to build our priorities as sub-functions and to move towards the same North Star. This took up our leader's time, but it was worth it. Our function consistently had the highest engagement scores across the region. We believed that a big part of that was down to everyone running in the same direction. Humans need this guiding light. We are visual creatures, our eyesight is second only to birds of prey. Good leaders understand this and continually bring vision to their teams. Great leaders go further and have an ability to “carry in their hands a grand vision and an intimate understanding of the details.” They bring clarity to the vision. Gallup’s research supports this, increased role clarity leads to higher engagement. Higher engagement leads to stronger business performance. Mick and I love talking about vision, clarity and engagement to teams - to hear more about how we support leaders with this, send me a message on LinkedIn.