My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book. Let me be honest with you… Prior to watching Kung Fu Panda 4, I had never watched a Kung Fu Panda movie all the way through. And there’s a lot of them before this. That being said, I went into the movie knowing very little about Po (Jack Black) and his compatriots. It was a new world to me and one where I didn’t need to know much about the past history. I don’t think you will need to know much about them either. In Kung Fu Panda 4, Po is the Dragon Warrior, a powerful p ..read more

“Vulnerability sounds like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weakness.” – Brené Brown. Vulnerability is a scary-sounding word. It makes you believe that you have no control over life and that there is no safe place where you can be because harm can come in your direction at any moment. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Vulnerability is a superpower that leaders can wield. By embracing vulnerability, you can actually be a strong leader. Photo by Pierre Bamin on Unsplash Think about the courage and strength that it takes to ..read more

Every time someone subscribes to receive updates from my blog, they should receive an email asking them what the biggest struggle they’re facing today is. I recently had a subscriber respond with an issue most leaders have at some point.  I shared my thoughts on the topic with them, and they said I should make our conversation a blog post. I hope you will enjoy this interaction made into a cohesive topic about leading others well.  Photo by Headway on Unsplash Here’s the struggle the reader was facing: I would say my biggest struggle is mentoring new, younger employees. At times t ..read more

A Reel Leadership Article My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book. The previews for Civil War were exciting. The United States had been engulfed in a civil war that shook the foundation of the country to its core. The various factions were fighting hard against one another. What would it spell out for the country? I went into Civil War expecting a film about the conflict caused by the breaking up of the country. Rather than that, A24 gave us a chilling look at the world of military-embedded photojournalists o ..read more

What do you think of when you think of a business meeting? Is it a time to be productive? Or is it a time and money waster?  There are valid arguments for both ideas.  Photo by Mapbox on Unsplash Meetings get people together. They can brainstorm, hash out ideas, and come together as a group. It’s powerful when you have multiple people in a room together to work through a pressing matter. Then there’s the flip side. Meetings waste money. Think about how many people are involved in your meetings. How many are there? If there are five people in your meeting, each person gets paid an a ..read more

This is a contributed post to JMLalonde.com. For more information on contributing a post, please see our <a href=”https://www.jmlalonde.com/an-invitation-to-guest-post/”>contributing policies</a>. Finding the perfect career that aligns with both your personality and skills can seem like a daunting task. However, understanding yourself and the various career options available can lead to a fulfilling professional life. With the right approach, aligning your interests, strengths, and career goals isn’t just possible; it’s within reach. Keep reading to discover how to navigate this cr ..read more

As a team member, feeling appreciated beyond the paycheck is important. You put a lot of effort into fulfilling your job requirements, finding things to do, and making the organization money. The daily grind can be mind-numbing. Add to that working for a leader who doesn’t show appreciation can destroy any motivation they have to continue working hard. As the leader, it falls on you to make sure your people know that you are grateful and appreciative of their hard work. Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash I think back to some of my roles where I had a leader who didn’t show their appreciation ..read more

A Reel Leadership Article My latest book, Reel Leadership, is now available on Amazon. If you love movies and leadership, you will love this book. Watching the previews for Monkey Man, I had flashbacks to the John Wick movies. It looked like the typical revenge thriller with an Indian twist. The action and adventure had a similar feel to those classic action movies. One of the characters even quips about John Wick in the film. In Monkey Man, an anonymous man named Kid (Dev Patel) fights in underground battles wearing a monkey mask. This gets him the name Monkey Man. He’s always on the los ..read more

Does your mind dwell on the difficulties or troubles of your position? Do you constantly feel stressed beyond your breaking point? Is anxiety starting to feel more like a friend than an enemy? Then, you may be in a worry trap. Worry is giving way to anxiety and unease, dwelling on difficulties and troubles. It’s also a leadership killer. Photo by Frank Alarcon on Unsplash Worrying will shorten your life. And it’s not healthy. Worry will put undue stress on your body and mind, activate your base instincts, and fills your body with cortisol.  That’s something none of us want in our lives ..read more

On a warmer February afternoon, Pamela and I walked through our neighborhood. We walked over a creek, which is a hotbed of activity during the summer. In the winter months, there’s not much going on. However, on this day, we saw two ducks and two swans. The two ducks and one swan were swimming along fine. They were having a great time in the water. But then there was the second swan… He’s in the middle of an ice patch. All around him is a crunchy layer of ice. What we saw happen next surprised me. The swan didn’t take flight. He pushed himself forward, again and again, into the ice. He was br ..read more