Jill Geisler

Wise leaders know that they may be smart about many things, but they don’t have to be the smartest person in every room. They lead with confidence and humility and aren’t intimidated by colleagues whose expertise surpasses their own. That’s not always easy. Managers often tell me they worry about building credibility with subject matter…

Picture this: You’re in a high-stakes situation with lots of tension. It could be in an emergency department, a board room or a boiler room. People must make quick, important decisions. Then one person walks in, and everyone’s anxiety seems to diminish. It’s the leader you respect. All eyes turn to that person, who calmly…

We work hard to create atmospheres where people enjoy coming to work, get feedback that matters, deliver results — and trust their leaders. Trust matters. It’s tough to earn and easy to lose. All it takes is a few bad decisions. That’s why I’ve been appalled at the treatment of federal employees during the DOGE rampages.…

Hello. I’m an ENFJ. I’m also a Parrot/Eagle. If you’ve taken various personality assessments, you know that those terms suggest I’m an empathetic, intuitive extrovert who’s imaginative, influential and inspirational.a Am I happy with that description? Sure. But does it mean I am a good leader? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s because you can’t predict someone’s…

Wouldn’t you like to know — with certainty — that your team truly values the way you lead and manage? It can be hard to determine. Your organization may conduct engagement surveys, but even those might not give you a clear answer. Engagement scores can be affected by economic downturns or corporate changes beyond your…

Business etiquette is still relevant today, as it refers to how we express and feel respect in the workplace, present ourselves, communicate with each other, and relate to those we serve, with the need for updates to ensure that everyone feels respected and appreciated.

Ask managers how they’re doing these days, and you’re likely to get the universal answer: “Busy. Really busy.” Today’s leaders must navigate meetings, projects, personnel issues, paperwork, planning, hiring, coaching, strategizing — and putting out the inevitable fires. But when a well-meaning person says, “Maybe you could delegate a few things,” it can frustrate the…

I ’m accustomed to hearing people refer to office politics when talking about challenges at work. It’s a negative descriptor, one that implies success is determined by game-playing. Such games may involve deception, information hoarding, power plays, sucking up, passive aggression, opportunistic coalitions, backstabbing and hidden agendas. People see or suspect that others are doing…

It was a wonderful event. The executive who promoted me and other women into management when it was still a rarity (this was the early ‘80s) was receiving an award for his efforts. In his acceptance, he told the audience, “You’re honoring me for being selfish. I want only the best people on my team,…

We want our leaders to be positive forces for good. But what happens when they prefer to deal with only the positive aspects of the job and avoid the negative? An hfm reader recently suggested this scenario might be worth exploring in a column. Indeed, it is. The reader described working with two nonprofit leaders…