Entries by Cathy McCullough

“Time is an inelastic resource. No matter how high the demand, we cannot rent, hire or buy more of it.”-Peter Drucker

A Quick Note: This is..

From a leadership perspective, there’s a real thirst for increasing leadership accountability. Executives have recently asked me various..

My last blog, 6 Excuses for Avoiding an Executive Coach (and Why You Should Think Again) talked about all the negative internal chatter..

Max DePree noted, “Management has a lot to do with answers. Leadership is a function of questions, and the first question for a leader..

Leaders frequently ask me about how to build a performance culture focused on personal accountability, employee engagement, and results...

The Level 5 Leadership Stage is Set…

Have you ever had this "strange" feeling that you just couldn’t shake? I recently went through that...

I hear this all the time: “Our Weekly Meetings are just routine report-outs about who’s doing what; they’re so tactical!” If this is your..

In a study by McKinsey & Company, management development at all levels has been ranked as a #1 priority by 500 executives, and..

In a recent client conversation, a CEO said to me, “He’s really (really) smart, but it’s just hard to hold him accountable. On top of that,..

We read a lot these days about strategic leadership and tactical leadership (as we should). Leaders find themselves up against a multitude..

I recently spoke to a great group of organizational leaders at the Rhythm Systems Breakthrough Conference in Charlotte, NC. The session was 

Most clients I’ve worked with say they understand the key role accountability plays in making a company operate more efficiently (and..

Strategy without Tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without Strategy is the noise before the defeat.- Sun Tzu

Do you ever..

Most of us just don’t like to have hard accountability conversations. Conversations in which you need someone to hear you can be tough for..

It’s fairly understood that great leaders don’t lead processes; they lead people. You’re probably aware, too, that great bosses have truly..

In my last blog, “Lack of Accountability is Costing You,” I reviewed the expense that accompanies the lack of accountability. As I noted at..

Holding people accountable can be a chore for most leaders building an accountability culture. For a multitude of reasons, it’s simply not..

As an Executive Coach, it’s my job to know you in terms of your leadership strengths and your leadership skills. Both are imperative to..

I love what I do for a living. I meet the most incredible people who are building amazing companies. Most recently, I was sharing this..

The famous mountain climber, Phil Powers, said it best during an interview on NPR’s "This I Believe” segment: “Concentrating on how I move..

Sometimes, you just have to slow down to speed up.

Communication Leads to Better Connectivity and Team Accountability

Communication is a..

If you believe the adage, ‘time is money,’ then you’re saying that the concept of time (and the elapse  of that time) costs you and your..

“Calamity is the test of integrity.” – Samuel Richardson

Never are the Five Characteristics of Great Leaders more relevant than when..

CEOs and business leaders frequently ask me why their corporate strategies for the year falter or just don’t happen. “It’s like no one is..

With the recent spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) more and more people are being asked to work from home.  Today’s business landscape..

In my last leadership problems post, I began exploring the question of how to help your people master the skill of problem-solving. While..

Regardless of size, all businesses require strategic thinking to grow. Many leaders consider strategic thinking (and the subsequent..

There was a pause in his verbal stride as we talked. It was an awkward pause, which is why it caught my attention. As I looked at him, I..

If ROI matters to you, then you might consider “cuddling up” to the power of your company’s culture. I say this, of course, a bit..

The question of how to grow an environment of accountability is a common one.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen leading companies spend (aka “waste”) time in a one or two-day Annual Planning orQuarterly Planning Session. The..

The key question relative to becoming an accountable leader is this: How do you turn an aspiration into a reality?

At a recent Rhythm..

As noted in my prior blog, “To Assess Productivity & Engagement, Ask: Who Really Owns Your Company?,” if you want to increase productivity,..

When asked what’s needed most in today’s workforce, many leaders will list a cadre of characteristics. But the one characteristic that..

You probably hear it all the time: “But things are going just fine! Why do we have to start doing that!?” Or even better: “But we’ve always..

If we think about it, ‘excellence’ or being ‘great’ at anything is truly a lifelong endeavor. Whether striving to become one of the..

A current executive coachee from one of the three big food distribution companies recently shared with me that one of his colleagues asked..

I love organizational diagnostics. It’s probably one of my favorite things to do because I love getting to root causes instead of merely..

Everywhere I looked around the office, people were dashing, working feverishly, heads down, eyes glued to screens. It was like watching a..

I recently worked with an executive team who had just gotten an incredible new account. Once the excitement settled in, they realized how..

Someone recently said to me (very enthusiastically), “Women make better leaders!” I stood there in a circle of leaders (men and women) and..

As you set your strategic priorities for the upcoming year, remember an important distinction: Your “strategic plan” isn’t as important as..

When we hear of silos, our minds drift to a beautiful landscape where we find tall grain bins built on finely manicured and plowed fields...

There’s a chain reaction at the root of most organizational chaos. The catalyst is lack of focus. Without a clear definition of what’s most..

“I’m tired of all this ‘employee engagement’ stuff. We hire people to do a job, so why can’t they just do it!” 

“People keep telling me to..

In all the brow-beat talk about “those high maintenance Millennials!,” we might consider shifting the conversation. What may well be needed..

Life’s changing and it’s changing fast. What’s important is what the changes will mean to your organization and how well you can cope with..

Organizations are like the human body. They are intricate systems made up of extremely complex interactions between interdependent parts...

I recently had a CEO share with me that he “thinks” everything is fine in his company. After all, he said, “We know what we know!” In his..

This “thing” we call leadership isn’t as easy as we thought. At least, that’s what I’ve repeatedly heard from executives I’ve worked with..

There’s a lot to learn about being a strong and effective leader, and the journey toward this end can be an arduous one. Part of the..

Frequently, people draw connections in their minds when it comes to an org chart. To many people, an org chart defines “who” reports to..

During a recent onsite Quarterly Planning Session, a client group asked me, “How can we be more like  them?” They wanted to be like another..

It’s probably one of the most common frustrations I hear from leaders: “Why on earth don’t these people do what we need them to do!?!” It..

Herb Brooks coached the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team to win a Gold Medal. That year, the Russians were highly favored to win; they’d won..

Do you ever feel like your company is running you vs. your running it? Most executives truly desire to lead incredible and amazing..

Why is an annual ritual such as the “Annual Performance Appraisal” dying such a hard death? It’s a demonstration of how powerful habits and..

Pull the Right People In at The Right Time to Increase Effectiveness

Most all company leaders say their intention is to include the right..

If you read my last blog on this subject, you were introduced to, of all things, a grocery store (Wegmans). I shared in that blog how..

It just seems that some companies soar, and when we see them soaring we sit back and wonder what the heck they’re doing to “get it right.”..

Our next Valentine’s Day contest winner was Chris D.: “My question is around sharing ideas to motivate and improve the performance of team..

One of my favorite comedy routines of all time is Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First.” Jerry Seinfeld and friends have an updated..

Corporate Health is an exercise in discipline. But like many an exercise routine it can be a sweaty, messy, and exhausting moment in time...

The Power of One

It started like any other day at the office, and then everything went south. In one moment during that day, everything..

Strategy and People…

Many executive-level leaders laugh at getting in touch with the people-side of their business. They usually feel they..

Setting Sail…

It was a less-than-energetic Strategic Thinking Session (Annual Planning Session) between the executive team members. The..

The Story: As one CEO boasted to his executive team during a recent Annual Planning Session, "We well exceeded our acquisition goals this..