Category: The 3-Minute Leader™

James R. Rector Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal To prevaricate is to dodge the truth, to sidestep, to equivocate. Leaders who do it may not think they are lying, but they are not leading either. In the workplace, prevarication often shows up in three ways: Prevaricating may feel safe in the moment, but it corrodes… Read the full article

James R. Rector Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal Betrayal isn’t always dramatic; it can be quiet and subtle. It can arrive the day you’re promoted and a colleague is not. Or when the company brings in an outsider, leaving insiders wondering, “Why not me?” A leader must recognize that disappointment often breeds disloyalty. It may… Read the full article

James R. Rector Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal “All roads lead to Rome.” Not true. Some roads lead nowhere. Some run in circles. A few end in ditches. Rome was reached because people chose the right roads, or had the courage to build new ones. That’s leadership. The path is rarely given. You choose it,… Read the full article

James R. Rector Founder & Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal Creator of The 3-Minute Leader™ A CEO once told me he was exhausted from “talking leadership” every day, meetings, town halls, emails. But when I asked his team what they valued most about him, do you know what they said? “He listens.” Not his speeches.… Read the full article

James R. Rector, Founder & Publisher Profiles in Leadership Journal Every leader eventually runs into someone who is, frankly, hard to lead. Maybe it’s the teammate who argues every point, the one who always seems to find the gray cloud in your blue sky. Or the person whose brilliance comes packaged with a grating edge… Read the full article

James R. Rector, Founder & Publisher Profiles in Leadership Journal Resilience has become a buzzword. You see it in conferences, webinars, and blogs. These platforms can be helpful; they spark dialogue, introduce ideas, and connect leaders to one another. But resilience in leadership is not theory. It shows up in decisions; often costly, unpopular, and… Read the full article

By James Rector Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal In this issue of The 3-Minute Leader™, discover how slowing down at the right moment can turn resistance into support and create lasting wins. Imagine this: a company is preparing to launch a high-stakes product update. The leadership team knows it will spark pushback from one influential… Read the full article

By James R. Rector, Founder & Publisher, Profiles in Leadership Journal Joy Is a Leadership Competency Forget the notion that joy at work is a “perk”, like casual Fridays or free donuts. Neuroscience, organizational psychology, and medical research now prove what some leaders have known all along: joy drives performance. The Joyful Leader Award celebrates… Read the full article

By James Rector, Publisher Profiles in Leadership Journal Why Strength Begins with Something Soft It’s not a word you hear much in leadership seminars: Goodness. We hear about grit, performance, execution. But goodness? That sounds more like something for Sunday school than the boardroom. And yet, it’s the one quality that every lasting leader seems… Read the full article

By James Rector, Publisher Profiles in Leadership Journal Why the Best Leaders Don’t Interrupt, They Interpret Not all leaders speak first. Some don’t speak much at all. Instead, they do something rarer and harder: they listen well. And in a time of distractions, agendas, and constant noise, this quiet skill might just be leadership’s highest… Read the full article