Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

What you don't see about yourself can hold you back as a leader. That's typical for many leaders. What we don't see is what we  can't  see: we have  blindspots . Your blindspots prevent you from achieving your greatest success.  “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems,” explains  Martin Dubin , author of the book,  Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader . “Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward. The good news is that you can learn to do your own  blindspotting .”   “Most of us understand the idea of blindspots in a general sense—areas we can’t see, to take the term most literally, or places we have gaps that we may not even realize, to be a little more abstract,” says Dubin.  “But in the context of this book, I’m defining blindspots quite specifically: They are the...

I read many books about leadership and this book is one of my favorites. It’s  The Psychology of Leadership  by  Sebastien Page . It offers a fresh take on leadership through the lens of groundbreaking research in positive, sports, and personality psychology.  “Like exercise strengthens your body, practicing positive, sports, and personality psychology will make you a better leader,” says Page.  The book blends research, fascinating true stories, humor, and self-improvement advice to deliver simple yet powerful principles to master the mental game of leadership.  Page reveals timeless strategies for achieving lasting impact, fostering growth, and promoting well-being. He demonstrates how leaders and individuals can balance measurable goals with practical approaches to maximize performance and fulfillment.  “Effective leadership is not merely about achieving measurable outcomes. It requires aligning goals with intrinsic motivations and psychological ins...

  With 2026 fast approaching, it's a good time to identify your New Year's Resolutions for next year. To get you started, how about selecting one or more of the following 70 New Year's resolutions for leaders? Perhaps write down five to ten and then between now and January 1, think about which couple you want to work on during 2026. Don't micromanage Don't be a bottleneck Focus on outcomes, not minutiae Build trust with your colleagues before a crisis comes Assess your company's strengths and weaknesses at all times Conduct annual risk reviews Be courageous, quick and fair Talk more about values more than rules Reward how a performance is achieved and not only the performance Constantly challenge your team to do better Celebrate your employees' successes, not your own Err on the side of taking action Communicate clearly and often Be visible Eliminate the cause of a mistake View every problem as an opportunity to grow Summarize group consensus after each deci...

The book,   Reinventing the Leader ,  is an inspiring account of the magic that can happen when a leader realizes they must undergo their own transformation in order to transform their organization.  This candid and practical book by  Guilherme  ( Gui) Loureiro , Regional CEO overseeing Walmex, Walmart Canada, and Walmart Chile (now Chairman of the Board for Walmex and Regional CEO for Canada, Chile, Central America, and Mexico), and his executive leadership coach  Carlos Marin  shows how even the most successful leaders must be open to personal change in order to transform their company. The book details how the pair pioneered a data-driven, customer-centric business transformation at Walmex—Walmart’s biggest division outside of the United States. “This book is a blueprint for transformational success for leaders in any business who find themselves facing the need to retool their own company’s systems and operations and energize and inspire an entire ...

“As we age, the instinct to matter crystallizes into the fundamental need to be seen, heard, valued, and needed,” says  Zach Mercurio  Ph.D., author of the book,  The Power Of Mattering: How Leaders Can Create A Culture Of Significance . “The need to matter never goes away. And if our need to matter is satisfied, we flourish.”   Mercurio explains that mattering is created through small, repeated interactions that ensure people feel noticed, affirmed, and needed.   These three ingredients form these  three leadership practices :   Noticing:   the practice of seeing and hearing others.   Affirming:   the practice of showing people how their unique gifts make a difference.   Needing:   the practice of showing people how they're relied on and indispensable.     Part One  of Mercurio’s book illuminates the  what  and  why  of mattering and offers you a self-assessment to measure your mattering skil...

Each year, after reviewing dozens of books about leadership, management, business and life skills, I select my pick for the best new leadership book of the year. During 2025, I reviewed on this blog 48 books, and I choose  Radical Listening: The Art Of True Connection  as the best new leadership book of 2025. To be an excellent leader you need to be an exceptional listener. Sadly, too many business leaders don't listen well or don't listen to a broad enough range of their employees. This great book will help leaders become better listeners  –  radical listeners. “For leaders, radical listening must start at the top of an organization,” state the authors  Prof. Christian Van Nieuwerburgh (PhD)  and  Dr.   Robert Biswas-Diener .    “Unless there is a clear and sustained commitment to radical listening from leaders, others are less likely to be fully engaged with the idea. This is, of course, easier said than done.”  “Most leaders woul...

“Too often, we don’t find out what’s truly on others’ hearts and minds because we don’t know how to  ask  the right questions in the right ways,” explains  Jeff Wetzler , author of the book,  ASK .   In his timely, must-read book, Wetzler shows you a powerful method called  The Ask Approach™ , based on a simple premise: that tapping into what other people truly think, know, and feel is a game-changing superpower for leaders.  Wetzler explains that the only thing that allows you to understand what’s on another person’s mind better is just asking them.   Following the powerful  The Ask Approach™  method will lead you to  smarter decisions, more creative solutions, and deeper relationships. Also, by asking more questions you’ll help break down barriers, resolve challenges, encourage collaboration, and imagine new ways of doing things.   The five practical steps of the research-based, pressure-tested  The Ask Approach™  m...