Bad Seed
Sometimes the truth is even more disturbing than the rumors. Here at CRL, we can’t point to a clearer case of organizational disrespect for employees, directly fostered by the leadership, than the stunning story of the troubled mortgage company Better.com and its now infamous CEO Vishal Garg. You can read all about it in the excellent Fast Company article via the link provided below. But...
Don’t Ignore Your Virtual Natives
By Cynthia Burnham, MBA I have a coaching client I’ll call Kerry, who is a successful leader with a very large organization. Kerry has a great reputation, excellent personal presence, and strong communication skills; and received multiple promotions over the years. Together, we’ve been working on strategies to help them grow quickly into a new position, which is fully remote, like the other...
It’s Just a Game, Or Is It?
Throughout history, athletes have competed against each other, very often under the flag of their country of origin. In fact, the Olympics and the World Cup are just two of many examples where nations are directly competing in an organized manner that deliberately heightens and celebrates their national achievements year after year. Beating a rival nation is the name of the game and a source...
Why the Chris Rock/Will Smith Oscar Altercation was a DE&I Issue
An Invited Opinion By Rainea Cumberbatch On Oscar night, Sunday March 27th, Will Smith became the fifth African American to win the prestigious Best Actor In a Leading Role award for his portrayal as Richard Williams in King Richard. The actor won the Oscar from an academy which, in it’s 94 years in existence, has only nominated 23 Black men for this award. We also watched Will Smith...
Will Smith “Apologized.” But Was It Full?
I’m pretty sure that by now most people have heard about the incident during the recent Academy Awards ceremony. No, not the industry-shaking fact that for the first time in history a streaming service won a Best Picture Oscar, for the indie film, “CODA,” (Children of Deaf Adults). Rather, everyone’s attention was galvanized by what is being called the “slap heard round the world,” actor Will...
The Magic Bullet For Retention Isn’t Higher Wages
My latest article in Forbes is about letting go of the false notion that we can keep good people just by paying them more. In January, MIT Sloan School of Business released the results of an exhaustive study of the reasons why a record number of people quit their jobs in 2021, a time often referred to as the Great Resignation—or as I like to call it, the Great Reconsideration. Despite the...
The Politics of Respect: Pandemic Edition
Last year, shortly after the pandemic began and the US became politically divided on how to respond, we began hearing from fearful, angry, and upset people who were asking – and, in some cases, demanding – that their opinions on the virus, it’s causes, and the steps that individuals and the country should take in response, be “respected.” This trend of people wanting their opinions to be...
The Respectful High Performance Virtual Organization Can Be Yours if….
It was February of 2020 and we were on a roll. I had just founded my latest organization, The Center for Respectful Leadership, a few months before and we were in high energy, rapid growth mode. I was huddling daily with my team of part-time marketing/biz dev folks in our leased offices in downtown San Diego; breaking bread with and enrolling major coaches and thought leaders into our Advisory...
America’s Sub-Culture of Hate
Many Americans are deeply concerned that the recent mass shootings in Atlanta are yet another horrifying sign of the escalating abuse, violence and discrimination toward Asians, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders. We at the Center for Respectful Leadership share these concerns and believe it is our responsibility to speak out and take a stand against hate. The trends are unmistakable:...