I was new to the company, new to the department and trying to get my bearings and connect with the staff by hosting an informal, brown bag lunch.  There were eight of us including Ms. A., a woman who was the temporary department secretary.  She had been working for the man I replaced.  Mr. D. orchestrated his retirement seamlessly, allowing for a one-month overlap between us to show me the ropes and introduce me to the regional offices; he even chose not to offer his temporary assistant a permanent job in case I had other thoughts about the position.  Now he was gone and I was getting to know people. The group, mostly young women, was making small talk, focused…

When I first became CEO I read everything I could get my hands on about management, leadership, business strategy and how to run a successful company. Some of these books seemed to speak to my values, offering wisdom and advice that made sense and felt comfortable. Others, written by business gurus, inspired and overwhelmed me, none more so than Good to Great by Jim Collins. I love that book.   I learned a great deal from it. And I lost sleep at night worrying about how to become a Level 5 leader. But it was the second stage of attempting to take my company from “good to great” that really made me appreciate what no one really spells out in the business books.   That second…