Rodger Dean Duncan's Blog

“Escape the Bubble” and Learn from Opposing Views

Most of us cling to our personal opinions like Velcro. In fact, we prefer reinforcement from like-minded friends and commentators. The problem with that kind of echo chamber is that we miss the opportunity to learn. I’m not suggesting that we abandon our values or opinions. What I’m saying is that opposing views can be […]

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Get Real: It’s the Only Kind of Leadership That Works

What kind of leader (and person) do you choose to be? Popular definitions of leadership tend to focus on the outer manifestations of leadership—such as vision, judgment, creativity, drive, charisma, podium presence, etc.—rather than getting to the essence of leadership itself. This external pattern continues at the organizational level. People often receive recognition for their external mastery. […]

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Is Your Project Lost in a Black Hole?

Trying to create change without the engagement of key stakeholders is as risky as a one-man band trying to imitate an orchestra. Don’t kid yourself. The change you try to orchestrate in your workplace does not occur in isolation. No matter how brilliant your ideas may be, no matter how compelling your case for action, […]

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How CPR Can Save Your Leadership

The best leaders I know practice CPR. But it’s different from what you may think. Here’s an example: As the new CEO of a multi-billion-dollar service company, Jim was hired to reverse a serious decline in the business. He was concerned about turf protection and other forms of infighting that had become a cancer to […]

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4 Ways to Boost Your Value in the Workplace

If we keep our eyes open, we can be surprised and delighted by important life lessons that are right in front of us. Years ago, our family was on a vacation in the Rocky Mountains. I was having difficulty with allergies, so I drove down the road to a small grocery store to buy some […]

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You Want to Lead Best? Follow Your True North

A wise man once advised living life by a compass, not a clock.

In today’s option-packed world, that counsel is more pertinent than ever.

Look around you. Many people—“busy” though they are—seem to amble through their days in a directionless cadence, leaving the footprints of their lives meandering down a road that’s meandering itself.

There’s a better way to live life and do work, and Bill George provides the ideal guidance.

Who’s Bill George? He’s former chair and CEO of Medtronic, the world’s ...

Do You Really Understand Shyness? Probably Not

If you Google “famous introverts,” you’ll get an interesting list of luminaries: Albert Einstein, Rosa Parks, Bill Gates, Steven Spielberg, Eleanor Roosevelt, Al Gore, Marissa Mayer, Abraham Lincoln, Warren Buffett, Mahatma Gandhi, Barack Obama.

“But wait,” you might say. “How can people like that be shy? Barack Obama? Are you kidding me?”

If that’s your response, you’ve made the common mistake of confusing introversion for shyness or shyness for introversion. They may be second cousins, but the...

The ‘Secret’ to User-friendly Negotiations: Split the Pie

For some people, the very idea of “negotiating” is not just unappealing, it’s downright scary. It’s often tainted with connotations of coercion, pressuring, or even trickery. All those tired clichés about used car salesmen perpetuate the myth that negotiations are something to be dreaded.

In short, negotiating is stressful and can bring out the worst in people.

Barry Nalebuff is working to change that. He knows how to humanize the practice of negotiation and render it comfortably useful to anyon...

Good Leader or Good Person? It’s Not a Binary Choice

When it’s done right, leadership is hard work.

There’s always the delicate balance of caring for people while getting important things accomplished. The two are not at all incompatible, but there’s still the balance.

And it always occurs in the context of “what’s happening now.” Today’s context includes a global pandemic. Economic turmoil. Civil, political, and social unrest. And a multitude of other things that influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Leaders don’t have the luxury ...

Good Leader Or Good Person? It’s Not a Binary Choice

When it’s done right, leadership is hard work.

There’s always the delicate balance of caring for people while getting important things accomplished. The two are not at all incompatible, but there’s still the balance.

And it always occurs in the context of “what’s happening now.” Today’s context includes a global pandemic. Economic turmoil. Civil, political, and social unrest. And a multitude of other things that influence people’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.

Leaders don’t have the luxury ...