Executive Development Group Blog
Photo courtesy Takatuf
Articles from the field
Artificial intelligence is going to keep learning leaders very busy
By Randall P. White Image: AI, Adobe StockThe robots are coming in 60 months. Yes, I always expect bold insights like this from advanced students of leadership at the TRIUM alumni gatherings. In Cartagena last summer, a very prominent tech executive shared with the...
What does AI mean for consulting psychology?
By Randy White I was excitedly writing to my consulting psychology listserv about a panel I had been on and the question that was posed by a senior executive chief technology officer concerning artificial intelligence and leadership.My question on the listserv was...
Whitewater rafting and the frothy uncertainty of leadership
Dr. Matt Mulford and Dr. Randall P. White recently sat down with their friends at TRIUM Global Executive MBA in a conversation about the future of leadership. This video is one short segment from the hour-long session. Here, Matt brought up Randy's first book on...
When your leadership is continual learning, self-assessed failure fades on a continuum of improvement
Reframing work as a continuum of learning experiences and refinement can mitigate a self-assessed sense of failure. Andy Lopata offers teachable examples of how to stop making failure a binary, often self-assessed, judgment. Roberto Forzoni, a performance psychologist...
How to be a more predictable leader in an uncertain world By Randall P. White
Why predictable? I've studied, observed, and written much about ambiguity and uncertainty. In my book, Relax, It’s Only Uncertainty, I frame uncertainty as an opportunity for new ideas, bold action, and innovation. People who manage uncertainty with less anxiety and...
Always be learning – a snippet from Randy’s interview with Noi Ha Nguyen
"Always be closing" was the abusive boss's admonition from David Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Glengarry Glen Ross." But to be strategic, agile, and competitive, why can't we revise that to "always be LEARNING"? Here's a short clip from my conversation with...
The adult in the room has left the building as Sandberg leans out
As a leadership advocate, I think Lean In – the book, the buzzword, and the movement – has some merit. Yet, at the same time, its critics – women who challenge its premise as not being equitable to all women – also have sound points. I’ll reserve judgment on the book...
How do we develop leaders for the workplace when the workplace has disappeared?
We’ve officially moved our residence to Miami. As I look around the unpacked boxes, waiting for the decorator, I look out the windows on Biscayne Bay and the high-rise cranes around the Miami metroplex, I have two thoughts. First, I’m lucky being here for the weather,...
Ambiguity natives – are we thinking of the best ways to tap the new leadership potential?
They know all about ambiguity and uncertainty. My colleague Dr. Jeremy Ghez wrote, “Don’t bore them with talk about VUCA. They’ve lived in a VUCA world where change is constant and fast.”Gen Z’s entire world experience has been nothing but volatility, uncertainty,...
Pop quiz: What do science, democracy and uncertainty all have in common?
Pop quiz: What do science, democracy and uncertainty all have in common?
American Psychological Association apologizes for its role in systemic racism, pledges work to correct
The American Psychological Association made a historic apology for its contributions to systemic racism, October 29, 2021. The American Psychological Association failed in its role leading the discipline of psychology, was complicit in contributing to systemic...
A toxic workplace in a pandemic is even harder on marginalized employees
A toxic workplace brings down collective productivity for everyone. It typically causes lower morale, increased anxiety, depression, withdrawal, and anger. It causes a real harm to health. Long term, the loss of productivity, lack of retention of good workers,...
Toxic workplace – what leaders can do about it
The term “toxic workplace” has been widely used lately and means different things to different people. What does a toxic work environment look like and more importantly, how does it feel? Overall, it’s an environment that doesn’t feel psychologically safe. When...
Uncertainty leaders and the possibilities of “cautiously optimistic”
I predict we’ll be hearing the phrase “cautiously optimistic” a lot now. The New York Times tells us “The Economy is (Almost) Back. It Will Look Different Than It Used To.” The parenthetical “almost” sticks out as a hedge on whatever might happen in the near future,...
Letting go – the art of strategic compromise
Executive Development Group partner Dr. Sandy Shullman writes in Training Industry about the power and advantages of letting go in a debate or conflict.It's more about emotional intelligence than weakness and helps build trust, respect and – often – better solutions....
The three most important characteristics of agile teams
Agile teams are comprised of people who are able to deal well with uncertainty. They run toward it, they don’t avoid it.
And, they do at least these three things very well:
How to encourage feedback in cross-functional teams
Feedback is vital to development. Dr. Lily Kelly-Radford was interviewed by Deanna deBara for Lattice.com, the HR and talent management online publication. “Having a mentor in another department is one of the most valuable things that can happen in an organization....
Dr. Sandy Shullman on strategic thinking in Business on Business
Writer Claire Turrell interviewed Sandy for this piece in Business of Business. Read here.
Helpful insights on the opportunity of uncertainty
Writer and author Maggie Jackson offers a refreshing look at new research on ambiguity and uncertainty in her article for the Boston Globe, “The Gift of Being Unsure What to Do.”
If you’re considering working with a coach, prepare to change
Journalists have a saying: “If your mother says she loves you, check it out.” The same applies to the field of executive coaching. If you tell us, “I’m good with people,” we check it out.We go looking for confirmation because while your personal assessment may be...
Learning’s role in building a diverse workplace
Photo: Adobe Stock Learning plays a role in creating a diverse workplace through the leadership examples it presents. If we’re still relying on the case studies of the past – mostly white, mostly men – how can we expect minority learners to see themselves as...
Go ahead and hit the wall. It’s normal.
Marathon runners “hit the wall” when they lose the ability to run as fast as they’d like or even come to a complete stop, when their bodies run out of fuel. In the beginning we were all about hikes, dog walks and baking bread. But now making dinner each night is a...
American leaders are rising to the occasion. Oh really?
Yes. You just have to look a little deeper than our top national leaders, according to Randy White, writing in Great Leadership, a blog by Dan McCarthy. We are seeing that leadership is a calling and it’s often more geeky than macho and certainly not...
Lily Kelly-Radford’s six tips for calling out racism in the workplace
Speaking up against discrimination is your responsibility. Here's a primer. Calling out racism in the workplace is important to create an inclusive environment for all employees, says Executive Development Group partner Lily Kelly-Radford. "When people feel safe in...
Eight behaviors to help you master uncertainty
Master uncertainty? Uncertainty in life and work can derail a career. Or it can be an opportunity to lead. Here are eight enabling behaviors to help.
Four strategies to get the best from younger workers
Rather than focusing on differences that are irrelevant to the company’s mission, focus on the energy and fresh talent that every new generation brings. Channel this toward ways to keep the organization competitive and vibrant while also doing a better job of retaining new talent with meaningful work. Here are 4 strategies for leaders to get the best from their younger workers.
LGBTQ rights preserved by Supreme Court ruling
As a firm whose mission is to help business facilitate meritocracy without regard for race, ethnicity, age, faith, sex or sexual orientation we, The Executive Development Group, heartily endorse this decision. "It is impossible to discriminate against a person for...
How has the pandemic changed coaching? Not that much.
Drs. Lily Kelly-Radford and Randall P. White were asked about how executive coaches could weather the pandemic and the move to virtual coaching. Their responses describe a practice that’s always been mostly remote. So there’s no reason to forego your development. And given the continuing upheaval, change and chaos it might be the best thing a leader can do.
A request for action and hopeful outcomes
We stand with Black Lives Matter and all those working positively for reform, justice and equality.
If you’re a leader right now, here’s your handbook
Late last summer when my team began the work to bring Relax, It’s Only Uncertainty into the digital age, we could not know how much the world would change in just a few short months. I hope that you and your families are well, sheltering safely in your...
Overcoming our natural aversion to change
Writer Michael Toebe asked Randy about resistance to learning. Read the article "Answers Behind the Resistance to Learning" here. This is an especially timely subject, as we all face increasing uncertainty, that is evolving with every news cycle.Toebe does a nice...
Learning your way through a tempest
It’s better to continue to sail through a violent storm than to turn back. If you head back, you’ll lose any progress you made getting through the storm. Depending on the direction the storm is moving you’ll be racing to outrun it. The storm could easily catch you...
Remembering our friend, mentor, and colleague Bob Dorn
As an innovative and compassionate clinical psychologist, Dr. Robert C. Dorn was a pioneer in developing our current protocols for feedback in executive coaching. Bob was also a good friend and mentor of the Executive Development Group partners, in his role as a...
HEC and TRIUM EMBA programs earn top rankings from Financial Times
The "Chateau" Building at HEC Paris. Photo by DXR. Congratulations are in order to our friends and colleagues in Paris. This is because the HEC executive MBA (EMBA) program is ranked number one by Financial Times in the publication’s annual survey of business...
Executive Development Group partner Randy White to chair APA Council Leadership Team
Greensboro, NC—Dr. Randall P. White, a consulting psychologist, executive coach, professor, and author, has been elected to Chair the Council Leadership Team of the American Psychological Association. He will serve as Chair-elect for one year before assuming the Chair...
Architects of Change – topically edgy, ultimately inspiring
I’m recommending a new book, Architects of Change: Designing Strategies for a Turbulent Business Environment, by Dr. Jeremy Ghez. But first, some disclosure is in order. For decades now I’ve been studying the effects of ambiguity and uncertainty on leadership....
Post #MeToo, are men ready to adjust?
Earlier this year, LeanIn.org published a survey—Working Relationships in the #MeToo Era—and the results made big news with coverage in major media.The most notable finding from our perspective is that in light of the #MeToo movement, men now report being less...
Lily Kelly-Radford leads HEC Paris Master Class on corporate integrity
Corporate integrity was the subject. And "Little Lies Cost Big Money" was the title. Both were integral to a HEC Paris Master Class in Doha, led by Lily Kelly-Radford. Corporate lies are not just a moral quandary, but a financial problem—in millions of dollars—when...
Women Helping Women seminar in Doha reveals progress in gender parity, along with many of the same old obstacles
In 1987, the idea of some 200 women, in mostly STEM careers, many with advanced degrees, gathering in Doha, Qatar to discuss women in leadership seemed impossible.
Facilitating “Women Helping Women” seminar in Doha
Women employees from Qatar Petroleum (QP), Qatargas (QG), and ExxonMobil Qatar Limited (EMQL) took part in the event and made it a successful endeavor in inspiring other female professionals to join the women leadership consortium.
Exploring uncertainty. Pretty much all the time.
Read "Uncertainty. Learning's Final Frontier" Randy White's latest article on ambiguity and uncertainty as factors of the leadership equation appears in the April issue of CLO Magazine. Uncertainty is constant and as a co-author of the book Relax. It's Only...
Let’s explore the role of failure in success
Illustration: Dialogue Where does failure fit? Much of the Executive Development Group’s work focuses on the development of emotional intelligence and learning leadership. Emotional intelligence is key to the interpersonal workings of the organization. Without it, a...
Sandy Shullman wins election to serve as 2020 president of the American Psychological Association
(From APA press release) — Executive Development Group partner Sandra L. Shullman, PhD, a consulting psychologist internationally known in leadership assessment and development, has been elected 2020 president of the American Psychological Association. I am...
A look back at The Lessons of Experience research project
From CCL—The Center for Creative Leadership celebrated the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Lessons of Experience: How Successful Executives Develop on the Job by Morgan W. McCall, Jr., Michael M. Lombardo and Ann M. Morrison, on October 29. Having sold more...
Can Women Reach the Top of America’s Largest Corporations? It’s not happening.
In 1987, “Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Can Women Reach the Top of America’s Largest Corporations?” was first published. The book addresses the barriers to women trying to advance in the workplace and concludes on a hopeful note that positive change, while incremental,...
Who’s up for some experiential learning?
Uncertainty is part and parcel with experiential learning. Workplace experience is key to learning leadership as most in our field subscribe to something close to the 70-20-10 model of leadership development. The 70% is for experiential learning. Twenty percent is...
Uncertainty is good for learning. Are you good with uncertainty?
A Yale University study last month says we learn when uncertain. “We only learn when there is uncertainty, and that is a good thing,” said Daeyeol Lee, Yale’s Dorys McConnell Duberg Professor of Neuroscience and professor of psychology and psychiatry. “We really don’t...
Executive Development Group leads Masterclass in Doha
"Are Leaders Born or Made?" was the title of a Masterclass we just completed at the Commercial Bank Plaza in Doha. It's the latest special session tailored specifically for Commercial Bank in a partnership between HEC Paris in Qatar and the Qatari bank. HEC Paris, one...
Teaching in Singapore – what to expect and how to prepare
Teaching in Singapore can be a choice assignment for Western trainers and instructors. Lily Kelly-Radford shares her experience on what to expect and how to prepare in the April 2018 issue of Training Magazine. The cultural experience on the ground is rich and varied...
Deep engagement and how to get it
In this month's edition of Dialogue, colleagues Hervé Coyco, Roger Hallowell and Randall P. White present and discuss the concept of "deep engagement" and suggest two vital principles in the journey to achieve it: 1) People before rules Break the rules when the...