Chris Goede

When it comes to leadership, most people fall into one of two categories: climbers or connectors.Climbers focus on personal career advancement—the next position, promotion, or win. Connectors, on the other hand, prioritize team development, collaboration, and trust. We can all picture leaders who fit each category. But here’s the real question: Which one are you? If I’m being honest, I...

Leadership communication shapes how people connect and work together. Every word a leader shares influences trust, clarity, and culture. When you understand how you measure communication effectiveness, you begin to see that leadership is reflected in how your message lives within the people who hear it. Even strong communicators can miss how their words land. Knowing whether your communication is...

Prioritizing may not feel like a defining leadership characteristic. Many leaders get caught in the daily rush of managing what’s urgent instead of focusing on what’s truly important. But leadership requires intentionality—especially in how we spend our time and energy. I’m not sharing this as an expert, but as someone still learning. I’ve discovered that success isn’t measured by how...

Let’s imagine for a second that your team at work is on a boat. Some of them are rowing with you toward the goal, but others are sitting with the oars on their laps and phones in hand. And worse, a few might even be in the back working hard to sink the boat completely. The reality is that according...

You often hear the phrase, “Stories sell.” But in leadership, stories do even more than that—they show. As leaders, our role isn’t just to tell people what to do; it’s to help them see the way forward. And more often than not, our stories are what make ideas stick far better than facts or instructions ever could. Stories make concepts...

We should always strive to be the kind of leader people want to follow. But here’s the truth: no matter how skilled or intentional you are as a leader, you will lose great people from time to time. It’s simply part of business. That said, when you’ve got top talent on your team—those people you know you can’t afford to...