Welcome to Misti's Insights

You’ve got a clear vision and some solid goals for your team. And that’s a great start. But does your team know what you’ve got in mind? Jeff, the CEO of a large corporation, is passionate about his vision for the company and the impact it could have...

Have you ever listened to an amazing vocalist, witnessed exceptional leadership or watched an Olympian win the gold by just a fraction of a second? I have, and those experiences inspired me deeply. On a recent drive with my best friend, Mali, a song came on the radio...

If you have a job and aren’t getting complaints from your managers, does that mean you are doing a good job? In Boomer world, no news is good news … but is that really true? How do you know? No news probably means your performance is up to par, or at...

Just after completing what felt like my best-ever speech last week, I was on top of the world, giving thanks and letting my colleagues in on the good news. Just four weeks prior I was hardly able to look myself in the mirror, fearing I had let my audience down. Yet,...

“The culture shift is finally happening, Misti," said Carla, so giddy with excitement that I wished I could reach through the phone and give her the world`s biggest high five.  "I got a glimpse of it today. A culture shift in an organization this big is...

Lanette burst into my office, excited to share about a gentleman who wanted to work for her company so much that he was willing to take any job. “At the beginning of my interview with him, Yao slogged through all the impressive jobs and experiences he’d...

Managing your team? Piece of cake. Managing up? Slightly more complicated. Managing sideways? Diplomatic tightrope act. But you can make an impact with your peers – if your intentions are good and your execution includes understanding and compassion. ...

Washington Post Q: We all need advice as we seek success in our careers and lives. What are your five favorite business books, and why? What advice wasn`t so helpful? A month after quitting my job in Bethesda, Md., and several attempts at finding a new, more...

Six months prior to graduating with my master`s degree, I walked into the career counseling center at my university. There was a woman, Jackie, behind the desk next to the door, who greeted me immediately. "Do you have a meeting?" she asked. "A meeting? With who?" I...

“He’s fresh out of college and has been with the company for less than six months, and I’m supposed to listen to him,” Kris muttered as she shared with me about her struggles and grievances with her new – much younger – boss....

When my best efforts fail, I ask myself if my goal is still important. If it is, I get out of my head, share my challenge and ask for help. While I have never had to personally deal with a failure of such all-encompassing significance as the BP oil spill, I can...

“You`ve got this. You can do this. You know what you`re doing,” I told myself as I prepared for a full day of meetings at a Fortune 100 telecommunications company that had just hired me to improve its dismal retention rate. Me!? I was a 25-year-old speaker...

Q: The South Korean government has a problem: Employees are working too much. The average government worker there takes only six of 23 alloted vacation days a year. How important is time off? Does productivity suffer or rise when workers forego time off? Should those...

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat; boredom did. And that’s an important lesson for those of us who wonder about the new and exciting opportunities that await us but, fearing the “worst that could happen,” never take the plunge. I met Roman, an...

Q: Will Pope Benedict be so damaged by the clergy abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church in Europe that his papacy never recovers? Or does the crisis offer him an opportunity to distinguish his leadership from John Paul II`s wildly successful years as Pope? The...

Wash Post Q: NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas was sentenced to two years of probation for his gun-fueled locker room confrontation with a teammate. Why do so many hugely talented stars -- athletes, actors, politicians -- work hard to achieve success and then behave in...

Wash Post Q: Women calling the plays? Natalie Randolph has just been hired as the varsity football coach at Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., which may make her the only female head coach in the country. What will be the obstacles to her success and how should...

Nobody likes to be micromanaged, right? Yet, so many of us expect to be trusted without proving we deserve the reigns. Traditional leadership training preaches that good managers should set clear expectations for employees. Many experts even suggest creating detailed...