People + Strategy Journal

Fall 2022

Find Your Balance

For anyone setting out to learn more about leadership, they have to be prepared for a sense of whiplash, given all the contradictory advice they will encounter. For every article that talks about the importance of humility and vulnerability, for example, there will be others that say you should always show never-let-them-see-you-sweat confidence as a leader.

These are not either-or propositions. The challenges of leadership are, at their core, balancing acts. And in the articles that follow, veteran leaders share their observations, and personal insights, on some of the most crucial balancing acts.

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Ambition & Realism 

Managing expectations boils down to a simple formula that can help you manage the emotional state of your team: Happiness equals reality minus expectations.

By Andre Durand, Ping Identity 

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Providing Direction & Pushing Down Decision-Making  

As employees increasingly bringing their personal lives and beliefs into the workplace, it's important to equip employees and managers to have these conversations in a productive way

By Harsha Jalihal, MongoDB 

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Compassion & Accountability 

An approach of "high hopes and high expectations" for employees can only work if it's based on trust and genuine care for your team, both inside and outside of work. Here's a four-part plan. 

By Lucien Alziari, Prudential Financial

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Operationalizing Precision Engagement 

A one-size-fits-all approach no longer works with employees. Precision engagement occurs when leaders make a genuine effort to learn about each team member's unique passions, circumstances and needs. 

By Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D.


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When to Take a Stand on Social Issues

If you can align what you stand for, what your employees support and what your customers want, then you're going to get better productivity

By Linda P. Hudson, The Cardea Group