Leadership Blog

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From Incite to Leadership founder and CEO Jo Ilfeld, read the latest on strategic vision, leading change amid complexity, and honing the way you communicate and collaborate with others. Get resources, practical strategies, research, and more.

How To Continue to Build Your Leadership Intelligence

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 31, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on leadership intelligence the image shows the hands of two people dressed in suits playing chess

This article originally appeared in Forbes I teach leadership intelligence in an executive MBA program. Every year as I say goodbye to another cohort of graduating eMBAs there is still so much I wish I could have taught them. The truth is that if you’re growing and shifting throughout your career, your leadership intelligence is…

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Post-Mother’s Day Tribute

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 24, 2023 |

How can we be present for our employees without micromanaging them? In honor of Mother’s Day this month, I was talking with three clients, all three of them mothers and they were striving to support their almost-adult children, keep track and be helpful, notice when things are going wrong, but not fall into the trap…

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The Groan Zone in Meetings: Why It’s a Good Thing

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 17, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on the groan zone in meetings the image shows a woman sitting in a meeting looking bored.

Have you ever found yourself in a meeting that seems to never end? You could have fallen into the groan zone. But don’t worry – that’s a good place to be. You know those meetings where people keep talking about the same thing over and over again, and everyone is struggling to come to an…

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The Hierarchy of Communication

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 10, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on the hierarchy of communication the image two people sitting on a log using tin cans with a string attached pretending they are telephones

Communication is not just about conveying information, but also about understanding the message and the intention behind it. Sparked by a recent discussion with a client, I shared with her my hierarchy of communication and the most effective ways to communicate an idea or a disagreement. The top priority in communication is face-to-face communication. Sitting…

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How to Stay In the Picture With Online Presentations

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 3, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on presenting online the image shows a Black man sitting in front of a laptop wearing a headset.

Do you hate it when you give an online presentation at work and your slides take up the majority of the screen, while you and your expressions, your thoughts on your face about what you were presenting, is all off the side, maybe not even very visible? As an executive leadership coach, I often see…

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Get Some Sunlight…and Some New Ideas

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 27, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on zoom meetings and getting outside the image shows sunlight shining through the trees.

As an executive leadership coach, I understand the challenges of a Zoom meeting-filled day. It can be draining to sit in front of a screen for hours on end, especially when our space may not look like the beautiful, spacious, and well-lit background you can see on my screen in this video (thank you, Dina…

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Effective Communication: Making Requests Clear and Easy

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 20, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on making clear requests the image shows a woman with her hand out.

Communication is a common area where many of us struggle. Don’t you hate it when you remember just as you’re about to fall asleep at night about the text you forgot to reply to or the email you never responded to? This happens to me frequently. With so many requests coming in through various channels,…

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Can Your Strengths Have a Dark Side?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 13, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on strengths the image shows two arrows one representing strength, the other weakness.

In all my years of doing 360s, one thing that I often see is how someone’s strengths can have a dark side that can come back to derail them or bite them in the behind. One of the most common things I hear almost every single time is that someone’s growth opportunity is usually an…

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Uncertainty and Change: It Needs to be Addressed

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 6, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on uncertainty the image of an old typewriter with the word change written on the paper.

Uncertainty and change are key aspects that leaders often overlook when planning team-building events or an off-site but it is important to address these issues as they can be particularly challenging for teams. All too often, team building events can get focused on what’s ahead or what is expected from people and how you want…

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How to Give Introverts Time and Space in Meetings

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | March 30, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on introverts the image shows two people holding up pictures of other faces to cover their own.

When running a meeting, how long do you give the introverts in the room to come up with their opinion about a proposal and how much space do you give the introverts in the room to come up with a proposal? This was a question that a client and I were discussing recently. She likes…

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