Hypotheses: Blog Posts from The Leadership Laboratory

The future of leadership isn't about managing from an office or a screen—it's about creating connection, trust, and impact wherever your team happens to be. It's Monday morning. Sarah's in Denver, Marcus is next door, and Alex is in Portland. All three are connected, participating in your team meeting. Everyone's engaged, ideas are flowing, and by the end of the call, your team has not only solved a complex problem but feels more connected than ever.

In a world where technical skills get you hired, emotional intelligence gets you promoted, and keeps you thriving as a leader. Here's a fascinating insight that might reshape how you think about leadership development: 90% of top performers possess high emotional intelligence. This isn't just a nice-to-have soft skill, it's become the defining characteristic that separates extraordinary leaders from the rest.

It's Monday morning, and your team meeting includes Sarah joining from her home office in Seattle, Marcus connecting from the company headquarters in Chicago, and Lisa dialing in from a coffee shop in Austin while traveling for client meetings. Three different locations, three different environments, but one shared goal—creating meaningful work together.

Picture this: You’re in a meeting where everyone’s sharing different perspectives, the project deadline is approaching, and the team needs clarity on next steps. Suddenly, someone speaks up with genuine curiosity, asks thoughtful questions, and helps the group discover a path forward together. Here’s the beautiful thing—that person might not be the most senior person in the room, and they definitely don’t need a fancy title on their business card to make a meaningful difference.

Trust isn't just a nice-to-have in leadership—it's the foundation that determines whether your team thrives or merely survives. When Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft in 2014, he inherited a company with tremendous potential for deeper connection and collaboration. Today, Microsoft's market value has increased by over 1000%. The transformation? Nadella didn't just focus on strategy or technology—he rebuilt trust by fundamentally changing how leaders connected with their teams on a human level.

In partnership with JDC, I recently had the opportunity to participate in a cultural exchange in Rwanda, where we engaged in exploration of Rwanda’s rich history and integrated ourselves into the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village (ASYV). This immersive experience was an incredible opportunity to interact with the culture directly, and immerse myself into the daily lives of the students at ASYV. Given my work in leadership development, when I decided to take this trip to Rwanda, I had three primary concepts I wanted to observe and research during this exchange: resilience, trust, and community building. Beyond the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi (referenced hereafter as “The Genocide”), I was fairly unfamiliar with Rwanda. It was incredible to observe the beautiful culture of today juxtapo...

I recently had the opportunity to watch this TedTalk from Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler, founder of The Equity Project and former Chief Inclusion Officer for Children’s Hospital of Colorado.  She began by saying that you could ask just about anyone, and they’ll admit they are tired of fighting for justice.  She said that from her research, members of marginalized communities are tired of carrying the burden of stepping up or speaking out, and their allies are feeling that fatigue too.

We love when leaders reach out directly to The Leadership Laboratory about organizing an event for their team! Historically, we have found that the teams who proactively schedule opportunities for team connection and learning have the tools necessary to navigate ambiguity, positively challenge one another during times of conflict, and have the strengthened relationships needed to promote psychological safety.

Imagine that you are out at the bar playing darts. You are normally an excellent dart player, with an incredibly high bullseye average. This time while you were playing, you totally missed. And not just the bullseye – you missed the dart board completely, and ended up hitting the karaoke singer, who was singing way off key. Your intention was to hit the dart board. The impact was that you hit the karaoke singer. The singer now assumes that you hit her on purpose.

At The Leadership Laboratory, we often talk about our approach being the blend of the art and science of leadership development. In addition to our deep background in research and theory, we also have experiences rooted in the performing arts. As such, the improv curriculum is one of the most fulfilling for us to facilitate.

As was discussed in Part I, at The Leadership Laboratory, we provide workshops and learning experiences to teams, leaders, and executives for organizations across the United States and around the globe. While a percentage of our partnerships are one-off collaborations for retreats or team meetings, we collaborate with a number of organizations as a part of formal leadership development programs. Whether programming for new leaders, high-potential leaders, or executive leadership development, there are a number of considerations we’ve found are most helpful to consider as you put together your program.

At The Leadership Laboratory, we provide workshops and learning experiences to teams, leaders, and executives for organizations across the United States and around the globe. While a percentage of our partnerships are one-off collaborations for retreats or team meetings, we collaborate with a number of organizations as a part of formal leadership development programs. Whether programming for new leaders, high-potential leaders, or executive leadership development, there are a number of considerations we’ve found are most helpful to consider as you put together your program.

Allies are accountable for the communities they are working for. An ally speaks and acts on behalf of a marginalized person or community, feeling a sense of accountability to ensure their voices are heard.

At The Leadership Laboratory, in addition to offering programming in the leadership development space, we also offer a number of team building and improv workshops aimed at helping in-tact or new teams work more effectively together.  Whether you’re in search of a virtual workshop to spark team collaboration or are looking for a formal experience to add to a team offsite retreat, The Leadership Laboratory has a number of solutions to consider.

The area just beyond the Comfort Zone is called the STRETCH ZONE. The Stretch Zone is where growth and leadership development happens. It’s here where we are able to step slightly outside our comfort zone in an effort to expand it. Think about a rubber band – the first time you try to pull it, it’s tight and hard to pull. Yet after a while, it gets easier and easier to expand. The same concept is true with us as well; each time we push ourselves beyond our Comfort zone and into the Stretch Zone, we are actually expanding our Comfort Zone. The next time we are faced with a similar challenge that we experienced in the Stretch Zone, we are significantly more prepared and comfortable. Our Comfort Zone has grown, and so have we.

We've all been there -- a series of successful interviews, the promise of a budding romantic relationship, or navigating a crucial sales pitch process.  As much as we try to stay cool, our brains have plans of their own.  Somehow, and especially during a job search, we expend more time and energy than we'd like to admit daydreaming with this new possibility on our minds.

In an earlier blog post, we discussed that in World War II researchers from the Center for Naval Analyses conducted a study of the damage done to the US Aircrafts that had successfully returned home from missions.

Think about the last time you had some really exciting news to share: a promotion or new job, being selected for an impressive non-profit board position, or even an important life milestone. When we’re excited, we hope that others can share in our joy, and whether intentional or not, all hope that their joy is reflected when we express our happy news to them.

Parents of young children may be familiar with the phrase “name it to tame it”, or the research lead by Professor Dan Siegel at UCLA in child development and psychology. Siegel’s research generally asserts that in order to curb a child’s emotional meltdowns, one of the first steps they must do is to actually name their emotion of what they’re feeling and thinking as a method of teaching emotional regulation.

According to the American Psychological Association, about 90% of the readers for this blog post are right handed. Dr. Brenda J. Allen, author, Professor Emerita & former Vice Chancellor for Diversity & Inclusion at the University of Colorado, brilliantly highlights handedness to explore the concept of inclusion.

With the seasons changing, many of us are kicking things off with a new professional challenge. Whether it’s a move to a new organization, a new team, a new internal position, or even accepted a new project, it’s healthy and helpful to expand outside of our comfort zone, flex our creative muscles, and stretch our minds. To help us think through where we’re at in this process, it’s beneficial to review the Conscious Competence model. This framework helps us to identify where we are currently at, the emotions we may be feeling, and remind us that it’s a process!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever felt personally victimized by a “Regina George” at work. While conflict in the workplace can lead to positive outcomes and even stronger relationships, toxic colleagues take their words and actions way over that line, leveraging controlling and manipulative behavior to get their way, and to make YOU feel guilty about it. Susan Forward has been one of the leading voices on this research for decades, and our most recent blog post summarizes her published theories of Emotional Blackmail. Take a quick read for extra awareness on the psychology behind these individuals, and begin to think through how you can take the situation back into your own hands.

During the shelter-in-place happening in cities around the United States, we are asking our essential employees to bravely step up and serve to allow our communities to keep running. Over the next few weeks, The Leadership Laboratory will be publishing stories of leadership from the front lines of COVID-19 to showcase the characteristics that keep these teams engaged, supported, and feeling safe. Our first story focuses on leadership lessons from Jeremy Klaben, Founder & CEO of Brightwok Kitchen in Chicago. Klaben’s foresight, optimism, and strong culture of trust have supported his team to effectively navigate the situation at hand. Click above to read more about leadership in action on the front lines of COVID-19.

As organizations take the important steps to encourage their employees to proactively prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), leaders play an important role to help their people successfully navigate through the change. Check out our four key tips to support your team and help them grow during this transition period.

Do you remember the “Three Styles of Learning”, Auditory Learning, Kinesthetic Learning, and Visual Learning? Which resonates the most with you, and why? Each of us have a natural dominant, second, and third preference in the way we like to learn, and each choice means something for the way we pay attention. Check out our blog to learn what your choices mean for the way you learn best!