Norm Smallwood

Unlocking Potential: Succession Planning with Purpose The KSAs of Potential: Coaching & Succession Planning — Certification Everyone says they’re developing future leaders. Most practitioners are still putting everyone through the same leadership programs. The Succession Certification from TalentTelligent® helps you stop developing “general leaders” and start developing people for the role ahead—using real science, real discipline, and real strategy. It starts with one very simple question: Potential for what? That’s where STORI comes in. Research into the top ~2% of roles—the ones driving ~80% of material decisions—revealed five distinct KSA destinations: Strategy, Technical, Operations, Relationships, International. Destinations. As Talent Thought Leaders, Roger Pearman and Bob Eichinger remind us: Develop people for the STORI the role actually demands (a destination), using the right DIVA experiences to get them there. That’s succession planning—with purpose. If you’ve been asked to “do succession” but never taught how, you’re not alone. Join us. This certification builds real succession skills—clear, practical, and role-ready. https://lnkd.in/gQrNxtZf

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A recent Business Wire report citing Research & Markets shows the U.S. professional coaching industry has grown to $16 billion, more than doubling since 2016. This growth is because coaching gets results. It's a smart bet to invest in coaching because: ‣ Leadership mistakes are expensive ‣ Internal feedback loops can be easily compromised ‣ Performance plateaus require objective challenges ‣ Executive coaching is no longer seen as a "nice to have," it's now a differentiating proven risk-management and performance strategy. Contact Blue Sky Consulting to learn about executive coaching opportunities and read the Business Wire article at https://buff.ly/W3hR0J4. #executiveleadership #organizationalperformance #executivecoaching

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Executive Leadership in Chaos In times of chaos, the executive leader must remove organizational confusion even in the midst of external uncertainty. Today, I share three executive leadership success strategies for these times. Listen to this week's episode of The Voice of Leadership: https://lnkd.in/gSetWV2d Tracy Curington, Hussein Cheayto

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Most leaders try to stabilize organizations during change. The best leaders do something different. They create clarity in uncertainty, connection in fear, and action when others freeze. That is exactly what the L.E.T. framework — Logic, Emotion and Tactics — is about. Honored to see these ideas being applied in leadership programs at Duke Corporate Education and shared by Shaun Rozyn Because change is not just a strategic problem. It is a human one. #Leadership #ChangeManagement #LETitHappen

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4 steps to drive meaningful change as a leader. This insightful article by Paul Thornton shifts focus from leadership traits to a practical process for driving change. Here's the breakdown: Diagnose the situation: Like a doctor, assess what's working, identify problems, and analyze data. Understand your team's output and morale. Identify opportunities: Look deeper than surface issues. Interview stakeholders, benchmark competitors, and reframe problems creatively. Present your message: Clearly explain your ideas and their value. Practice your delivery to ensure it's compelling and holds up to scrutiny. Plan and implement: Develop a detailed plan, build ability through training, boost motivation with incentives, and stay flexible during execution. The golden thread? Involve others at every step. Thornton argues that this process significantly improves success in implementing change. How does this align with your approach to leadership?

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Most leaders are delegating wrong. We’ve been taught that delegation is about getting tasks off our plate. But what if the real purpose is something much bigger—growing your people while growing your business? I had the chance to explore this reframe in depth on the Grow Strong Leaders podcast, sharing insights from my book Never Delegate Again. We talked about: 🔹 Why outdated models like the Eisenhower Matrix hold leaders back 🔹 How the Growth Matrix helps assign work that stretches people without overloading them 🔹 The critical mindset shift from control to coaching 🔹 Real stories (including one about a burned-out employee who reclaimed her career) that show how powerful this approach can be If you want to empower your team, build stronger cultures, and lead with purpose in a fast-changing world, I think you’ll find this conversation valuable. 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/eZq6UPgM #NeverDelegateAgain #LeadershipDevelopment #EmployeeDevelopment #GrowthCulture #GrowStrongLeaders

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Interview episode of Direct Application with Matt Harrington: The Leadership Flex of Listening, Honesty, and Trust (featuring Karin Tierney, PHR) 5 Takeaways: - Talk less, listen more: Your brain wants to jump ahead - your team wants to be heard. Slow down. Be present. Stay curious. - Fit matters more than flash: Whether you're hiring or being hired, cultural alignment, values, and trust matter more than checking every box. - Burnout is real - and invisible: The “grind culture” is gone. People aren’t just tired - they’re done. Build space, grace, and margin into your culture. - Boundaries build trust: Saying no, staying honest, and defining your role clearly isn’t rude - it’s leadership. - Leadership isn’t about you: Especially for new managers: shift your focus from your needs to your team’s. They’re watching. You’re modeling. Catch the full episode now on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Podcasts, and HarringtonBrands.com. #DirectApplication #LeadershipDevelopment #HRPodcast #WorkplaceCulture #EmotionalIntelligence #BurnoutRecovery #ListeningSkills #MondayMorningLeadership https://lnkd.in/eX6umaTR

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Boards often ask, “Do we have the right strategy?” The harder question is, “Do we have the operating bandwidth to execute it?” Growth initiatives don’t fail because they’re wrong—they fail because no one is truly accountable end-to-end. How do you see accountability break down as organizations scale?

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Even the most resilient leaders can fall into negative patterns of thinking. The PPP to CCC mindset reset is a simple but effective way to reframe tough moments. Start by identifying the real challenge, then ground yourself in your ability to act, and finally, recommit to what matters most. When you master this for yourself, you’re better equipped to help others shift their mindset too. #MicroResilienceTips #PersonalGrowth #LeadershipTools

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CHAIR’S ROLE TO ASK IF WE FAIL: HOW WILL HISTORY WILL JUDGE The concept of strategic oversight from the perspective of a Board Chair, is that one must move beyond the "what" of a business and focus heavily on the "how" and the "who." A Chair doesn’t just manage a meeting; they manage the delicate tension between the executive team’s ambition and the board’s fiduciary duty. expansion of that role is through three primary lenses: 1. The Arbiter of Accountability While a CEO is responsible for performance, the Chair is responsible for integrity. Through this lens, a statement about strategy is actually a statement about consequence • Trigger-Based Governance: A Chair looks for the "red lines"—the specific operational or ethical thresholds that, once crossed, require immediate board intervention • The "Human-in-the-Loop": Algorithms and data can suggest a path, but the Chair provides the moral and psychological weight to ensure those paths align with long-term sustainability rather than short-term gain 2. The Architect of Board Culture The effectiveness of any strategic direction is entirely dependent on the culture of the room A Chair’s priority is to ensure that "groupthink" doesn't take root • Constructive Dissent: Expansion through a Chair’s eyes involves inviting the "dissenting voice" to the table. It is about ensuring that the board isn't just a rubber stamp for the CEO, but a critical partner that stress-tests every assumption • Behavioral Oversight: They look at the psychological makeup of the leadership. Is the CEO becoming too insulated? Is the board becoming too passive? The Chair must monitor subtle shifts in power 3. Stewardship of Complexity In large-scale infrastructure or industrial operations, the Chair must maintain a "birds-eye" view while the executive team is in the trenches DeRisk vs. Vision: Every expansion carries hidden risks—regulatory shifts, supply chain vulnerabilities, or environmental impacts. The Chair’s role is to ask: “If this fails in five years, what will the post-mortem say we missed today?" • Legacy and Continuity: While others focus on quarterly results, the Chair focuses on the decade. They ensure the organisation remains resilient enough to survive leadership transitions and market volatility The Chair's Core Maxim: In periods of high uncertainty, the Chair's most valuable asset isn't a better forecast— it is the quality of the questions they ask. By forcing the room to look at "uncomfortable" data and the "unseen" risks, you ensure the organisation doesn't just survive the storm, but evolves because of it. I am here whenever you want to dive deeper into leadership psychology, governance frameworks, or even just to escape the boardroom talk for a moment to discuss the tranquility of a native forest. Trust the data, but validate the character Technology provides the speed, but human judgment provides the direction

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Nobody knows what coaching looks like in 2036. But the ICF just gave us four educated guesses, and each one breaks your current ops stack in a different way. Their 2026 Coaching Futures Report maps four futures based on two forces: how fast tech gets adopted, and whether the world collaborates or fragments. → High tech + low collaboration = AI coaches everywhere, humans optional, standards a mess → High tech + high collaboration = coaching goes global, platforms connect everything → Low tech + low collaboration = digital divides, access gaps, local-only programs → Low tech + high collaboration = community-first, trust-driven, relationships over software Four futures. Four completely different operational playbooks. The uncomfortable truth.....? The decisions you're making this quarter about platforms, delivery models, and program design are already choosing one. Full breakdown here: https://lnkd.in/eBKy-K2X

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Systems scale. Processes optimize. But culture? It requires intentional design. The most successful leaders use AI to handle routine work—then invest that time in deeper team connection and strategic collaboration. Connection isn't a soft skill. It's your competitive advantage in an AI-enhanced world. #ExecutiveLeadership #BridgeLeadership #CultureMatters #TransformationalLeadership

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Peer advisory or 1:1 coaching? What if the most powerful growth comes not from choosing one or the other, but from intentionally combining both? As a Vistage Chair and an executive coach, I’ve seen firsthand how transformative it is when leaders sit shoulder to shoulder with peers who challenge their thinking, while also working one-on-one to sharpen their vision, strategy, and execution. This article nails the distinction, and the value of each. The magic happens when you know which hat to wear, and when. If you're a CEO, business owner, or key executive navigating complex decisions, I’d love to hear your thoughts: ➤ Where do you find your greatest breakthroughs: peers, coaches, or both? #Vistage #ExecutiveCoaching #PeerAdvisory #ShawnKWoods #VistageChair

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After 23 years of practice in organizational development with major  Japanese corporations, I've come to a structural conclusion that  keeps proving itself in the room: Executives who appear similar in "developmental level" diverge  sharply when the stakes rise. Some retain coherence and integrate  conflict. Others fragment, narrow attention, become defensive. This isn't a question of capability, experience, or character.  It's a question of structural retention under pressure—what I now  call "stability" as distinct from resilience. Resilience is bouncing back after breaking. Stability is not breaking in the first place. I've been building a multidimensional model of cognitive  architecture (structural abstraction, inclusion scope, de-centering,  transformation capacity, and stability under pressure) and a  measurement instrument that operationalises it through both  self-report and behavioural logs. The paper has been accepted as a Developmental Paper at the British  Academy of Management Conference 2026 (Organisational Psychology  track). The instrument—Successor Compass—is now opening for a limited  number of organisations who want to move beyond aggregate  "developmental level" scores and see, in structural terms, who is  holding under pressure and who is regressing. If your succession architecture is currently making decisions on  opaque signals, I'd welcome a conversation. DM me. #OrganizationalPsychology #Succession #Leadership  #VerticalDevelopment #BAM2026

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The leadership challenges of 2025 aren't what any of us prepared for. Hybrid teams need authentic connection. Regulatory shifts demand agility. Talent shortages require new approaches to engagement and retention. The old leadership playbook - leading from expertise, enforcing structure, managing tasks - isn't designed for this level of complexity. But here's what I'm seeing: the executives who are thriving have recognized this as an opportunity to evolve how they lead entirely. It's time we start having real conversations about what leadership needs to look like moving forward. What would shift if executives started talking openly about what we really need to lead well in this environment? #ExecutiveLeadership #LeadershipChallenges #Leadership2025 #FutureOfLeadership

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If you’re asking managers to “coach more” while increasing urgency, escalation, and inspection, consider reading FOCUSED, authored by my colleague Steven Rosen, MBA. This book challenges conventional thinking by reframing coaching as a practice that must be intentionally designed and protected, rather than left to chance. It is a valuable resource for VPs and CROs who are responsible for driving execution through their managers. https://lnkd.in/eh-PRuG7

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