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.

Is Your Team-Building Leaving Some People Cold?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 25, 2019 |
Jo Ilfeld Executive Leadership Coach |Team Building|Is your team-building leaving some people cold?

This weekend, I had the opportunity to play a collaborative game called Spaceteam with a few friends of mine. This game was recently given to my son for his birthday.  My whole family played it right away that night and we all laughed a lot and thought it was fun. Plus I love the idea…

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When you are in over your head, do this!

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | March 15, 2019 |
Jo Ilfeld Executive Coach | Leadership Skills |

Imagine this scenario: My mom takes me to a spa (thanks Mom!) where there are lots of fitness activities to choose from. I, a very slow but determined jogger, show up to the spa’s trail run for all levels. “I’ll stay towards the back of the pack,” I think, “but what an amazing way to…

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Forget About Letting Your Actions Speak For You

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | February 20, 2019 |
Jo Ilfeld PhD Forbes Article | Executive Leadership Coach | Forget About Letting Your Actions Speak For You

Typical leadership advice tells leaders that you want to be on the frontlines with your crew. While this might be great wartime advice, it often falls short in today’s workplaces. Simply put, your staff might be too busy to notice what you think you are modeling. You need to do more than just demonstrate your commitments through actions — you need to narrate your values and priorities as well.

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Here’s What I’m Reading in 2019, What Are You?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | January 29, 2019 |
Executive Leadership Coach | Top Books of 2018 | What Are You Reading in 2019

As my clients and friends know about me, I’m an avid reader. I love reading fiction, I love reading leadership books, productivity books, and occasionally I’ll even sprinkle in a great non-fiction book people have been raving about to me.

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Do you know about this leadership hack?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | October 8, 2018 |
what assessments can do for our leadership

I’m currently sitting at the back of the room during my weekend launch with my executive MBA class. In case you didn’t know, I teach Leadership Intelligence to the executive MBA cohort at Sonoma State University. (You might be wondering why I’m typing at the back of the room if I’m teaching – someone else…

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How candid are you really?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | September 6, 2018 |

I’m writing this blog from one of my favorite places in my world which is Carmel, California. Although the weather is cold and overcast today, I can still feel my whole body relax in this cozy coastal town. What are the places where you can feel your shoulders drop and your mind clear of the…

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What are YOUR rules to live by?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | August 8, 2018 |

I read this interesting blog post by Seth Godin several months ago on what are Bonnie’s rules for being a better client of website design services.  They include gems like the following: White space is your friend Be open to things you didn’t imagine Nothing takes a second Tell me the problem, not the solution Then I…

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What I Learned on Vacation

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | July 15, 2018 |

The past two weeks I’ve been traveling with my family through Europe, wonderfully disengaged from work and business mode. It’s the “It’s Monday so it must be Holland, it’s Tuesday so it must be Italy,” type of trip. I wanted to give my brood a sense of Europe in the hopes that they will return later on their own…

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Everything You Always Wanted To Know About 360 Assessments But Were Afraid To Ask

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 7, 2018 |

This article was originally published on Forbes.com. “Will I be upset by my results?” my client asks me. “Who knows?” I respond. “I’ve given people critical 360s and they’ve shrugged their shoulders and said, ‘That’s about what I expected.’ And I’ve given others what I would consider an effusive 360 review, only to have them…

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What’s different between you and your CEO?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 24, 2018 |

In a recent blog, I asked for podcast recommendations so I wanted to start by acknowledging all of you who responded to my last email with your own podcast recommendations – THANK YOU! I’m trying to upload some of them currently to my iPhone and making my way through so I appreciate the suggestions. Perhaps in…

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