The Last Two Months of the Year Need a Different Plan
By the last week of October, most senior leaders can see the shape of their year. The next step is deciding which commitments deserve attention through December, what needs to carry forward, and where expectations need to be managed before the year closes.
Your Year Is About to Be Reduced to a Few Sentences
At year-end, twelve months of work eventually gets reduced to a small number of conclusions about your contribution, judgment and readiness for more responsibility.
Whether your firm asks for a formal self-review, a list of accomplishments or simply a conversation with your manager, the job is the same: decide which evidence from the year actually supports the case.
Next Year's Pay and Promotions Are Being Decided Now
Most of the pay and promotion decisions people hear about in January get made in the fourth quarter, often by senior leaders who have never seen your work up close. What they hear is a few sentences from your manager or your sponsor. This article is about writing your case so it's easy for someone else to make.
The Career Risk Successful Executives Rarely Notice
Senior executives rarely become disconnected intentionally. It happens as responsibilities grow and their professional world gradually narrows. The Connection Flywheel is a way to stay connected to the people, ideas, intelligence and opportunities that keep a career growing.
AI Is Changing the Talent Strategy. Here’s What Senior Leaders Should Notice.
Companies are discovering that AI can remove work and compress teams without eliminating the need to develop future leaders. For senior financial services executives, the opportunity isn’t simply to protect an existing role from AI. It’s to build the expertise organizations will need next.
Value Creation vs. Value Capture: A Better Framework for Leadership Decisions
High performers are trained to ask how they can create more value. The better leadership question is whether the value they create also compounds into skills, relationships, reputation, influence, and future options they get to keep.
What Strong Leaders Do When a Decision Doesn't Work
What should leaders do when a decision fails to calm the room? Learn how strong executives separate emotional reactions from facts before deciding what comes next.
Your Compensation Band Isn't the Ceiling You Think It Is
Compensation bands aren't always hard ceilings. Learn how senior executives build the leverage, differentiation, and sponsorship that can create exceptions.
Stop Trying to Be Heard. Build Leverage.
Executive visibility gets you noticed. Leverage changes decisions. Learn how senior leaders build career leverage through trust, relationships, judgment, and range.
Why Performance Doesn’t Speak for Itself
Strong results do not always change how leadership sees you. Learn how executives use visibility, consistency, and narrative to turn performance into opportunity.
The Most Dangerous Room Isn't the One That Feels Wrong
JPMorgan's record quarter reveals a leadership lesson: great leaders separate the emotional weather in the room from the reality in front of them.
Why High Performers Don't Get Promoted (And What Leaders Actually Reward)
Many high performers believe hard work leads to promotion. Learn why execution earns trust, but positioning earns leadership opportunities.
When Career Decisions Aren't About You
Layoffs, reorganizations, lost clients, and missed promotions aren't always a reflection of your performance. Learn how strong leaders respond when career decisions aren't about them.