Leadership Development Carnival — November 2025
It’s my pleasure to host this month’s Leadership Development Carnival, sponsored by Weaving Influence.
The Leadership Development Carnival is a monthly collection of insights from top thought leaders around the world, and this month’s edition features topics related to business, culture, communication, artificial intelligence, career development, team building, and leadership. As with any good carnival, it’s best enjoyed when you immerse yourself in the experience and enjoy the variety it has to offer.
So, without further ado, I present to you the November 2025 Leadership Development Carnival!
A 5-Step Change Management Plan to Lead Your Organization Forward | David Grossman
- Find out what’s behind today’s failure rate for transformations and explore a practical 5-step roadmap every leader can use to communicate better, align teams, and turn change into a competitive advantage.
Seeing Ourselves Clearly: Overcoming Leadership Blind Spots | John Stoker
- We all have blind spots. And often, we’re unaware of our own lack of awareness. Being more personally aware of how we come across and how our behavior impacts our results can be the key to getting the results that we want.
The Small Habit That Transforms Culture | John Spence
- Recognizing great work is one of the simplest actions with the biggest impact on culture and performance. When you catch people doing things right and call it out with clarity and sincerity, you build trust, increase engagement, and reinforce the culture you want to see in your business or association. This article shares how to make recognition a daily practice that transforms performance.
It Doesn’t Have to be Lonely at the Top | Priscilla Archangel
- Leaders often say, “It’s lonely at the top,” because until you sit in their seat, you cannot fully appreciate the weight and responsibilities of the role. Learn how to be less lonely and to build community.
Win or Lose—Your Attitude Decides | Frank Sonnenberg
- There are two types of people in the world—those who face a challenge and say, “This will be tough, but we can do it!” and those who say, “Nobody’s done this before. Why even try?”
From DEI to High-Performance: A New Blueprint for Culture Fit | Dana Theus
- The old idea of “culture fit”—hiring people who mirror the team you already have—is holding organizations back from real innovation and performance. Instead, we need to shift toward “culture contribution,” where individuals are valued for bringing their unique perspectives, experiences, and strengths to the table.
How to improve organizational resilience? | Marcella Bremer
- Research discerns seven practices that enhance organizational resilience. Imagine future failure, and define your essential outcomes—what is tolerable if disruption strikes? Anticipate solutions, do some stress testing and develop a learning culture. Check how small to medium-sized organizations prepare themselves.
3 Leadership Reversals Required for Success Today | Julie Winkle Giulioni
- In today’s fast-changing world, the traits that once defined great leadership are no longer enough. Success now depends on a willingness to rethink old instincts and embrace a new set of counterintuitive skills. This article explores three essential leadership reversals that help leaders thrive amid complexity and change.
From Busy to Impactful: A Year End AI Strategy for Leaders | Sara Canaday
- Ever end a week wondering how you worked this hard and still didn’t move the needle? You’re not alone. This piece gives leaders a year-end reset button by letting AI spotlight which tasks drive impact versus drain energy. The result? Fewer reactive days, more meaningful progress, and the satisfaction of actually leading where it counts.
“That’s Just How I Am”: The Lie That Limits Leadership | Robyn McLeod
- In the post, “That’s Just How I Am”: The Lie That Limits Leadership, Robyn McLeod of Thoughtful Leaders Blog shares five important tips for changing unproductive behaviors that may be hindering your ability to have effective working relationships.
Breaking Free from Cycles of Judgment | Ann Van Eron
- We all get caught in moments of judgment when someone’s behavior irritates or confuses us. Yet each of us is doing what makes sense from our own perspective. When we pause, get curious, and assume positive intent, we begin to shift from tension to understanding and open the door to more meaningful connections.
The Importance of the Pause | Diana Peterson-More
- How many times have you written or said something that you later regretted—often in the moment? It’s happened to all of us—it’s that immediate, heart-stomping comeback to whatever was lobbed our way. When we do that, a quick, unvarnished apology is the best antidote. How about avoiding the need for an apology altogether? How about taking a pause before responding . . .
Open Your Heart and the Door | Bill Treasurer
- Before employees care about what you want, they want to know one thing: Do you care about them? When leaders put people first—not as “resources,” but as human beings—trust deepens and performance rises. Open your heart, and you open the door to stronger relationships and better results.
Poor vision can keep you from seeing organizational problems | S. Chris Edmonds
- Poor vision can hamper leaders from seeing how managers are treating employees, which can damage organizational health.
Execution Over Excuses: The Real Reason Businesses Struggle | Jon Verbeck
- “Execution is a discipline, and integral to strategy.” In other words, it’s not enough to have a plan. The real work is in driving that plan forward—week by week, person by person, number by number. That’s where most businesses fall short.
The Evolving PMO Series: Built for Agility, Led by People, Powered by AI | Naomi Caietti
- Project Management Offices (PMOs) weren’t built for agility, enterprise complexity, or strategic return on investment (ROI). They were built to track timelines, push process, and report progress. That was fine when business moved slower.
Beyond Goal Setting: What I’ve Learned About Leading Yourself by Design | Susan Mazza
- In this article, Susan Mazza reflects on how loss became a turning point for redefining leadership—from achieving more to living with deeper alignment and intention. She reminds us that the most meaningful leadership begins with how we choose to live and lead each day.
Why Your Leadership Team Meetings Have Become Tactical Fire Drills (And How to Reclaim Strategic Focus) | Bill Ringle
- Smart tech leaders get trapped managing tactical issues not due to poor leadership, but because of systematic “executive escalation syndrome” where operational decisions funnel upward instead of being resolved at appropriate organizational levels. The solution requires implementing escalation architecture: clear criteria, decision boundaries, and systematic frameworks that prevent tactical fire drills from consuming strategic leadership bandwidth.
