I’m passionate about workplace leadership, both as a writer and former human resources executive. I spent three decades in corporate HR roles. At the same time, I wrote 17 books on effective people leadership practices and published hundreds of articles as a columnist for SHRM—the Society for Human Resource Management. I’ve taught in UCLA Extension’s School of Business and Management for years, trained for the American Management Association, and served as a keynote speaker at many conferences. I find leadership and management fascinating—hiring, motivation, professional development, accountability, innovation, and even termination. Building people's muscle while protecting companies from unwanted legal liability has been my passion throughout my career.
I wrote
101 Tough Conversations to Have with Employees: A Manager's Guide to Addressing Performance, Conduct, and Discipline Challenges
Women in leadership are our nation’s superpower...the growth and development of our economy hinges on placing more female leaders into senior corporate executive and board roles to meet the talent shortage and inject a high level of emotional intelligence into corporate America. But we’ve experienced centuries of destructive cultural conditioning, messaging, and reinforcement.
This book helped me see through the assumptions we’ve created and move beyond them. In the United States, more bachelor's, law, and medical degrees are now going to females. Yet, 80% of CEOs are male, corporate boards are more than 80% male, and women still make roughly $.80 to a male’s dollar in similarly situated roles. This book opens the door to the clarity we need to leverage our most important asset.
From the NPR host of The Indicator and correspondent for Planet Money comes an "accessible, funny, clear-eyed, and practical" (Sarah Knight, New York Times bestselling author) guide for how women can apply the principles of 16th-century philosopher Niccolo Machiavelli to their work lives and finally shatter the glass ceiling-perfect for fans of Feminist Fight Club, Lean In, and Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office.
Women have been making strides towards equality for decades, or so we're often told. They've been increasingly entering male-dominated areas of the workforce and consistently surpassing their male peers in grades, university attendance, and degrees.…
I love this book and recommend it often because of its exceptional forecasting ability. Author George Friedman can’t guarantee the future, but his arguments for likely outcomes are exceptionally cogent and well thought through. The book was written in 2009 and well before the COVID-19 pandemic, which changed things considerably in terms of economic impact, labor scarcity, global migration patterns, and so much more.
Still, its findings are more than insightful and combine a well-honed imagination with historical expertise to forecast the 21st century’s likely trajectory by decade, including the United States, Russia, China, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. It provides a healthy perspective and a 30,000-foot view of what we may likely experience as a planet, especially in geopolitical, technical, and cultural terms.
In his long-awaited and provocative book, George Friedman turns his eye on the future-offering a lucid, highly readable forecast of the changes we can expect around the world during the twenty-first century. He explains where and why future wars will erupt (and how they will be fought), which nations will gain and lose economic and political power, and how new technologies and cultural trends will alter the way we live in the new century.
The Next 100 Years draws on a fascinating exploration of history and geopolitical patterns dating back hundreds of years. Friedman shows that we are now, for…
In survey after survey, Gen Y Millennials and Gen Z Zoomers value diversity of thoughts, ideas, and voices as a top five priority. This book focuses on creating a work environment where people of all races, backgrounds, interests, and life experiences can partner together to do their best work every day with peace of mind. Kriska provides practical insights and roadmaps on how to lead diverse groups effectively, build trust and respect into team DNA, and bring out the best in others by having their backs.
Developing what she calls a “We Mindset” fosters a stronger sense of teamwork and camaraderie. As the world of work shifts more to team productivity and performance (as opposed to individual achievement), Kriska shows us the way to avoid “us versus them” constructs and excuses in order to build stronger performing teams where everyone wins and benefits, not the least of which is the organization itself.
Discover how this leader-focused approach to understanding, managing, and maximizing organizational diversity and inclusion can increase employee retention and productivity.
Workplace misunderstandings lead to lost revenue, lost time, and increased legal risk, thus your success in the marketplace will depend on our ability to collaborate across difference. Yet, inevitably, Us versus Them gaps disrupt workplace efficiency.
In The Business of WE, cross-cultural consultant and diversity expert Laura Kriska will:
Provide a practical roadmap for creating trust with others who are culturally different from yourself
Help you create a WE mindset throughout your organization, bringing teams together into cohesive units.
Walk…
I value this book because of its timeliness and relevance in today’s changing world. W-2 “employee” incomes are quickly being replaced by 1099 “independent contractor” incomes, despite the federal government’s attempts at slowing down the trend.
Workers across all fields need to begin thinking more about “income security” than “job security,” especially those in dwindling industries that could be impacted by AI, outsourcing, offshoring, or digitization. If nothing else, it raises the reader’s awareness of vulnerabilities that can derail otherwise successful careers and preaches the importance of “living lightly” and “doing more with less” (think renting versus ownership and multiple versus single income streams).
This book doesn’t recommend quitting your day job, but it provides meaningful insight into considerations to remain agile, flexible, and ready for significant, disruptive career change.
Today, most Americans are working in the gig economy--mixing together short-term jobs, contract work, and freelance assignments. Learn how to embrace the independent and self-sufficient world of freelance!
The Gig Economy is your guide to this uncertain but ultimately rewarding world. Packed with research, exercises, and anecdotes, this eye-opening book supplies strategies--ranging from the professional to the personal--to help you leverage your skills, knowledge, and network to create your own career trajectory.
In this book, you will learn how to:
Construct a life based on your priorities and vision of success
Cultivate connections without networking
Create your own security
Build…
This was the best book I’ve read for new managers because of its broad coverage of key areas of responsibility and its practical application and wisdom for newly minted leaders to build their self-confidence and transition effectively into their new roles and responsibilities.
New managers are the base of the leadership pyramid—the foundational structure of what makes businesses work. They set the tone, serve as role models, and literally create each organization’s unique culture. And they need training—lots of it—to master their craft and forge strong relationships (sometimes with people who, until recently, were their peers).
This book gets them off on the right foot and helps them build critical muscle around effective leadership principles, legal awareness, self-care, emotional intelligence, remote team management, and so much more.
The trusted management classic and go-to guide for anyone facing new responsibilities as a first-time manager.
Learn to conquer every challenge like a seasoned pro with the clear, candid advice in The First-Time Manager. For nearly four decades, this expert guide has brought newcomers up to speed on the realities of managing people.
The updated seventh edition delivers new information that helps you manage across generations, use online performance appraisal tools, persuade with stories, oversee remote employees, build a team dynamic, match a boss's style, and more.
My book is a bestselling resource for managers navigating difficult discussions with staff members. By framing these conversations as coaching opportunities focused on employees' best interests and their career and professional development, the book encourages constructive dialogue aimed at improvement rather than punishment.
Providing managers with the right language and strategies to address challenging topics helps them build their self-confidence and prevent minor issues from escalating into major problems. No matter how challenging the topic, no matter how defensive the employee is, and no matter how conflict-averse the manager is, this book gives you the right words, prepares you for common rebuttals, and helps you solidify your expectations going forward. This will help your employees grow while protecting your company legally.
The 19th century women's rights movement and the rise of public education intertwine with one woman's story of struggle, perseverance, and love.
Alice Harris is pressed to marry a Civil War veteran twice her age when her family’s inn fails in 1882 in western North Carolina. She remakes herself by learning to farm tobacco, campaigning for the city’s first public schools, and immersing herself in the large and divisive Carter family. But marriage offers a tenuous promise of security. When tragedy strikes, Alice turns to the courts to fight for her independence and discovers an unexpected love.
The 19th century women's rights movement and the rise of public education intertwine with one woman's story of struggle, perseverance, and love.
When her father dies and the family inn falls to ruin in 1882, western North Carolina, thirty-year-old Alice Harris is compelled to marry Jasper Carter, a Civil War veteran twice her age. Far from home and a stranger in a new family, Alice remakes herself. She learns to farm tobacco, mothers her stepson, and comes to love her husband.
However, Alice uncovers pending trouble with the family's land holdings, which threatens their livelihood on the farm. The growth…
