January 1, 2015 One of the highlights of 2014 was my December 4th visit to the United States Military Academy at West Point. At the invitation of Colonel Bernie Banks, Director of Behavioral Science and Leadership at the Academy, Ip resented a two-hour program on Advanced Coaching Skills to 35 company commanders. All members of this racially and gender diverse group had field leadership experience in the Middle East. Many graduated from the Eisenhower School of Leadershi

A privileged dimension of my work with organizational leaders is the daily opportunity to hear real-life stories about how people respond to challenging relationships. In the last weeks of the year, the stories turn sharply towards family gatherings. For example, during the days leading up to Thanksgiving, I heard the following: A family business owner’s adult daughter married a man that “just doesn’t mesh” with the rest of the family. Her parents see him as an aloof, behi

To business owners and leaders: You say, “The business is important, but the family is more important.” That’s a good-sounding motto, but do you really believe it? If you did, you would be thinking about your relationships with individual family members. You would be thinking about your family the way you think about your business. You would be thinking about what those relationships mean to you. You would be imagining all the ways that strong family relationships t