Doing Well By Doing Good With Darrin Williams, CEO Southern Bancorp
Darrin Williams, CEO of Southern Bancorp, may have been a little surprised when a world-class business school professor came knocking at his door. He wasn’t used to that kind of attention deep in the heart of Arkansas. Yet, he could no longer fly under the radar. Professor Rebecca Henderson, an esteemed professor of management at Harvard Business School and a world-leading expert in reimagining…
What Will Female C-Suite Leadership Look Like Post COVID?
The composition of C-suite leadership across the spectrum is notably different than it used to be ten or so years ago. Recent stats from Deloitte show that females in the C-suite now account for 28% of the overall composition, a marked uptick from 18.6% a decade ago. But as the world emerges from the COVID-19 crisis, it has become clear that the pandemic's economic and social tolls have…
When a CFO’s “Head In The Cloud” Is a Good Thing
Having a CFO with a "head in the cloud" might be a good thing if we're talking about cloud computing, cognitive technologies, and AI that has significantly influenced this role. The evolutionary path of the Chief Financial Officer continues with assuming the driving seat in companies' digital transformation. Still, although they've come a long way, these professionals face a relatively steep road…
Stan Van Gundy: The Soft Stuff Is the Hard Stuff—Especially When Leading in the NBA
At the age of 19, Zion Williamson was drafted number one by the New Orleans Pelicans in the 2019 NBA Draft. Many experts immediately compared the young star to LeBron James, who had already cemented his place in history on the Mount Rushmore of basketball, alongside Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. Those are some big shoes to fill. Pelican team owners likely realized they needed a new coach to…
Improving Leadership Bench Strength
In our meetings with CEOs and HR directors, it is evident there is a growing concern within organizations needing to strengthen current leaders and support the bench of the future ones. After reading Gartner's report on How to Build Leadership Bench Strength, these are my conclusions: HR already invests 23% of its Training and Development budget in Leadership and 27% on the high potential…
Can Lawyers Lead?
Recently I taught a brand new class on leadership at the Yale Law School. Despite popular misconceptions, young lawyers are hungry to become more self-aware and to sharpen their leadership competencies. One of the best leaders I’ve met is a lawyer named Wim Dejonghe. In this interview, you’ll hear his advice to aspiring lawyers who wish to become better leaders. You should take his advice…
Are Doctors Great Leaders? Well, some of them…
Apparently, Zocdoc is doing something right. Their early investors are a ‘Who’s Who’ list of innovators and billionaires, including Marc Benioff, Founder’s Fund, Khosla Ventures, Bezos Expeditions, and Goldman Sachs. Zocdoc is an innovative medical care startup that solves a nasty problem we all face—scheduling an appointment with a new doctor. Their mission is to make patients’ lives easier by…
Feedback Is a Funny Thing with Gerard Coops Ph.D.
On a recent visit to our N2Growth EMEAA headquarters in Rotterdam, Netherlands, I visited with my new friend Gerard Coops, Managing Director of HuReMa Consulting, to discuss his views on leadership as it relates to giving feedback and providing coaching. Interview Summary JH: Leaders providing proper feedback to their team members has been a topic of conversation for endless amounts of time. Why…
Failing Forward: Brad Smith, Board Chair of Intuit Shares His Perspective
Let's face it; we all fail from time to time. But how come some people seem to "fail forward" even when times are tough? Brad D. Smith has a unique perspective. During one of the most turbulent times in Silicon Valley history, Brad D. Smith was the steady-handed, innovative, and always resilient President and CEO of Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU). During his decade long tenure, the stock price…
Here’s How Luka Doncic Won Over Mark Cuban
Why does Mark Cuban love Luka Doncic? The easy answer is that Luka is a bonafide star for the Dallas Mavericks. Luka is only 21 years old and already an All-Star He’s a permanent fixture on ESPN’s Top-10 list Maverick's season ticket demand has gone through the roof The economic value of the Dallas Mavericks continues to skyrocket since acquiring Luka But what really resonates with Mark…
Leading and Succeeding With Accountability with Thandi Orelyn
Thandi Orelyn is a South African lawyer and business executive who has been active mainly in the financial sector. She is a co-founder and executive director of Peotona Group Holdings. Thandi chairs the board of BP Southern Africa and serves on the boards of Toyota S.A. and Toyota Financial Services (South Africa). She has also served as a non-executive director of the South African Reserve…
Leaders Live in A Glass House with Arjan van Weele
Arjan van Weele, a Professor of Purchasing and Supply Management living in the Netherlands, discusses his perspective on leadership competencies that apply for any leader, no matter where you are within your career journey. Interview Summary JH: The Fourth Industrial Revolution brings unique and new dynamics when it comes to leading. There is a new business context that is happening worldwide,…
Gray Versus Green: Who Makes the Better Start-Up CEO?
This article was co-authored by Laura Musgrave, Kevin Bijas, and Jeffrey Cohn. “People over 45 basically die in terms of new ideas." said venture capitalist Vinod Khosla in 2011. “People under 35 are the people who make change happen,” he further asserted. Taking the exact opposite tack, in a recent CNBC interview, Alan Patricof, founder of Greycroft Partners, an elite venture capital firm,…
Direction, Alignment, and Commitment with Gerard Coops PhD.
Gerard Coops, Managing Director of HuReMa Consulting in the Netherlands, discusses the fact in a recent survey 80% of CEOs revealed they do not have the talent within their organization to execute on their current strategies. Because I found this disturbing, I wanted to dig deeper into what Gerard believes we can do to correct this leadership failure. JH: Gerard, let us attack the obvious first…
The Secrets of Employee Engagement with Stef du Plessis
Stef du Plessis is a thought leader in employee engagement and workplace culture space. There are very few professionals in the HR advisory field with depth, brevity, and perspective than Stef. He is a leader in the coaching and consulting industry and speaks articulately on what it takes to get engaged employees in the workplace with authority. Interview Summary JH: Employee Engagement has…
Leadership Is a Continuous Journey with Naina Desai
Often leaders reflect on moments in their lives that were significant in shaping their careers, or a lesson that they have learned somewhere along their journey. If given the opportunity, I believe most leaders would be happy to share those insights so that others can learn from them. I had the chance to speak with Naina Desai, Head of Revenue Growth Management and Bottler Strategy at Coca-Cola…