Leadership’s ESG Imperative and Practical Suggestions for Addressing It
Idea: Multiple internal and external stakeholders increasingly insist that businesses address ESG issues. Leaders must apply emotional intelligence and change management skills to actualize ESG goals within their organizations. What Is the ESG Imperative? Multiple business stakeholders require...
Bouncing Forward: The Resilient Leaders’ Mindset
As we all struggle to come to grips with the human and economic devastation caused by the ongoing evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the most insightful leaders are identifying ways forward. They are adept at adapting their organizations' established contingency measures to the unprecedented existential...
Managing in a Time of Crisis
James de Gaspé Bonar Ph.D., CEC, PCC March 29, 2020 Issue: Running a business is predicated on two things: • Making decisions • Executing the decisions made well The importance of rational, effective decision-making in a crisis cannot be overstated and the biggest impediments to making such...
Business as Usual: A Quaint Idea of a Bygone Era – Uncertainty is the Only Certainty
Issue: The current pace of change is unparalleled in human history. This is due to exponential technological advancements coupled with the instantaneous dissemination of data and information in our interconnected world. The increasing adoption of artificial intelligence and machine learning...
Maturity Models for Leadership Risk Mitigation, Coaching, and Development
John Barker JD, CCEP, CHC, CHPC, CHRC December 8, 2019 John Barker is a Chicago-area management consultant specializing in innovation; and corporate strategy, product and market strategy & development. He is affiliated with the Bonar Institute Idea: Maturity models are a powerful visual aid...
Results-Driven Coaching in a Rapid-Fire World – Bonar Institute’s Proven Methodology
"I have had a number of executive coaches in the past, but in the end of the day they went nowhere. I need real, lasting results!" We have heard this refrain from corporate, government and non-profit clients at the Bonar Institute. To ensure productive executive coaching, we offer clients our...
Time Management Conundrum in Rapid-Fire World
Our org chart has so many vacancies that our senior people have to fill multiple roles. And, in some cases, they’re even unaware of all their managerial responsibilities! Does, this situation sound familiar? If so, you are not alone. Many organizations are reeling in the turbulence of...
How Business and Government Leaders Create a High-Performance Culture
The role of an executive in today's global economy is not for the faint of heart. The pace of economic, technological and social change is unparalleled in human history. Executives must also keep pace with a flood of instantaneous gathered, disseminated and analyzed data and information. Many are...
Leadership & the Power of Influence
"Leadership is influence." - John C. Maxwell, New York Times Best Selling author One of my clients recently shared with me her frustration on being passed over for a promotion in her hoped-for ascent up the corporate ladder. A very capable executive, she is well-liked and would appear to have all...
Servant Leaders and Unicorns
During the Q & A session after a talk on Success Through Purpose & Service, I was asked to elaborate on my comments on servant leaders, specifically in business. Below is an expanded version of my response. All organizations need leaders to provide focus, purpose, strategy and...
Abusive Leaders, Wounded Workers
"I hate to have to speak to you about this Paul [all names have been changed]… but I feel I have to... I can't go on like this… Sarah's bullying is too much for me". Sarah reports to Paul and is his star performer. "She often humiliates me in team meetings: 'You're dropping the ball Jake! You're...
The Private/Public Management Divide
Some of my executive clients share that they are attracted to the government by the desire to improve service to the Canadian public in a more cost-efficient way. They appreciate not being chained to quarterly results, allowing for more considered long-term goal setting. They complain, however,...
Corporate Consciousness – A Key to Success
As I have previously written, organizations need to develop new ways of adapting to prosper in our complex, volatile and hyper-connected world. (See my August 27, 2017 article Surviving or Thriving? Prospering Through Purpose.) They need to foster greater corporate consciousness based on a...
Leadership & the Law
As an executive coach, mentor and management consultant, I work with leaders who are required to manage complex legal and regulatory issues on a daily basis. In my experience, clients who have acquired a solid understanding of their legal responsibilities as managers - or owners – are more...
The Power of an Impactful Value Story
You can if you believe you can, and then others will believe you can. — Adapted from Virgil An old friend asked me recently how many of my coaching clients can tell their value story convincingly? I asked him what precisely he meant by value story. He responded that in his experience as a...
Government: The Forgotten Collaborator
Many of our executive coaching clients report feeling overwhelmed due to the daunting challenges of dizzying technological change coupled with instant dissemination of vast amounts of information -- and increasingly, disinformation -- in our hyper-connected world. The current rate, magnitude and...
Between Jobs? Now What?
I was speaking recently with a former colleague who is between jobs. He is an experienced and highly respected senior executive who is struggling to know what to do next. He shared that he wasn't particularly happy in his previous job, and that he wants his next opportunity to have purpose and...
The Greening Economy: Private Sector/Government Collaboration
We have been reflecting on the threats and opportunities the environment poses to economic sustainability. Many have noted the economy is increasingly removed from nature and natural processes. Our natural resources are being consumed at an unsustainable rate. The Earth's ecosystems cannot survive...
Mitigating Leadership Risk in Uncertain Times
The current pace and scope of global change are unparalleled in human history. This dramatic upheaval is largely due to dizzying technological development that enables instantaneous global sharing of information. Moreover, the world order established after World War II is also undergoing a seismic...
Stuck at Work? Choose to Become Unstuck!
If you are in a rut and feel stuck in your job, you are not alone. Research shows that up to 40% of managers and executives in the US are dissatisfied in their jobs (Pew Research, October 6, 2016). There are many reasons for this dissatisfaction ranging from stress, issues with your...