john bailie, PHD
Faith. Life. leadership.

“In quiet and untroubled times, it seems to every administrator that it is only by his efforts that the whole population under his rule...

Change happens slowly, and then… all at once. Some changes are rather small in the large scheme of things. Some changes we choose. We...

Many years ago, a colleague and I found ourselves in a conversation with a competitor in the professional leadership training market. The...

A longtime colleague in leadership training and consulting recently said to me during a discussion, “You know, I’m increasingly...

When it comes to giving feedback: Speed + Accuracy = Power. I was recently giving my oldest son some beginner boxing lessons. Like I was...

I was in my early thirties. I was going through a very painful and complicated breakup. Work was going great, but that success came with...

I take full responsibility for my behavior. This is what I did and my part in what happened. How has what I’ve done affected you? I am...

An aging facility in need of environmental remediation, an overfunded unit producing a product past its prime, or a culture that prizes...

Several years ago, a family member asked me how to make my (delicious, I might add) pulled pork chili. I responded by giving her a few of...

What if being generous was a better business strategy than clinging to control? Many years ago, one of my first entrepreneurial...

The single greatest driver of happiness and performance in the workplace is the quality of your relationships. When we are strongly...

“Everyone has a plan, until they get punched in the mouth.” Truer words were never spoken. In this case the philosopher was former...

Just because people are clapping, doesn’t mean they agree. A few years ago, I did a mini speaking tour in Eastern Europe – one of my...

How do you win when you’re in a position that is strategically unwinnable? A “Kobayashi Maru” is any situation in which all available...

Every great and truly interesting villain believes they are the good guy. Darth Vader believed he was bringing a more efficient galactic...

Sometimes we must be broken before we are ready to change. I heard an impactful homily this year from a priest that I greatly respect. He...

The world is facing a hydra of social tensions unlike any other time in the last hundred years. Leaders and organizational cultures will...

Some of the best lessons in life are hard to hear. Early in my career, I was fortunate enough to have several key mentors who were...

In the wake of the 2016 US election season, I did a lot of reflecting about online behavior – for myself and leaders in general. As I...

I won’t waste time writing anything clever in this post. All of your lives around the world have been disrupted as we all adjust to the...