Dear Crucial Skills, About a month ago, my director was investigated for violating policy. I provided information against her in this process. During the investigation, my director told my coworkers that the allegations were all lies. This caused my coworkers to view me as a troublemaker and a liar. I suspect she said the same …

You don't like everyone you work with. Now what?

The only progress you can make in emotionally charged situations is dealing with emotions.

Lousy leaders solve the same problems over and over.

Now, before you Miami Heat folks freak out about the Spurs trouncing the Miami professional basketball team last night, or before the Spurs fans freak out that this post isn’t about them, I&#…

Leadership is not celebrating victory at the end of the battle. …it’s the sleepless nights mourning the lives your decisions cost. It’s not standing on stage in front of thousands of people. …it’s knowing others talk about you behind your back, to achieve their own objectives. It’s not having your name in the history books. …it’s the […]

It’s the boss’s job to make sure they can.

George Couros designs dynamic programs to infuse innovation into teaching and leadership, equipping educators with strategies for immediate impact and

Stop assigning tasks to yourself. Successful leaders leave meetings with fewer tasks, not more.

Mediocrity is the result of peace and harmony. Rather than resolving conflict, invite it. Lousy leaders and weak organizations pursue peace at all costs.

Don’t pat yourself on the back if you’re skilled at saying no and lousy at saying yes. Weak leaders hide behind bureaucracy and love making people beg.

A young leader writes, “How do you recover from bad experiences with leadership in a previous job, and from having trust in leadership demolished as a result?”

To create a professional learning community, focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively, and hold yourself accountable for results.

“Your boss may not be perfect but they are perfect for you.” Unknown

Multiply waste by the number of people involved.

It’s Sunday afternoon. While others are relaxing, Monday weighs on your mind. You’re preparing to meet the problems, opportunities, issues, and challenges

Unless you're lucky enough to work for yourself, we all have a boss we have to answer to. Provided they're not the devil incarnate, there are quite a

Power has a bad reputation because it’s abused. We despise and reject the selfish motivations and methods of managers and leaders who manipulate and coerce

The biggest thing holding back organizations is the lack of leadership.

An adversarial relationship with a skilled office politician destroys opportunities. It could end your career. You despise their shenanigans, but unless you

I knew too much when I was younger. Now that I’m older, I have the same problem. But, the thing that most expands leadership is the belief that we don’t know.

Bad pollutes good. Pour good water into polluted water and you have more polluted water. Negative experiences usually cling longer and captivate our attention

Everyone’s watching intently and evaluating rigorously when you step into your new job. You earned this opportunity. Don’t screw it up. New roles, titles, or