Leadership Articles

Insights, tips and more from David & the world's top leaders.

Celebrating what women bring to the table on International Women’s Day

In honor of International Women’s Day, I’m passing the microphone to my daughter, Ashley Butler, a passionate leader in her own right and a mother of three young children. As many of you know, Ashley is the Executive Director of Lift a Life, the Novak Family Foundation, which provides resources and funding to non-profit organizations […]

Your Must-Have Skill for Coaching Past Doubt and Fear

What we think shapes our experience. If we change what we think, we can change our experience. With that amazing ability comes a pitfall, though. The stories our brains make up are often “threat avoidance” stories. They’re heavily focused on negative “what ifs.” The doubt-ridden, fear-based thinking these stories create gets in the way of […]

The Good News About EPIC Fails? They’re the Most Valuable Kind.

You hear the phrase “epic fail” tossed around pretty casually these days. Especially on the internet. Someone splits their pants seam or walks into a plate glass window with a tray of drinks: it’s an EPIC fail. Most of the time, the things we call epic fails aren’t really failures at all. They’re just accidents. […]

Listen to Your Critics…They Might Be Right

You’re never going to love being criticized. But learning to like it could mean the difference between stellar success and so-so results. I’ve had an evolving relationship with criticism over the years. As a young gun, eager to prove myself, I felt like I had to hold fast against my critics. My instinct was to […]

How an index card can help you finish this year stronger than you start it.

Growth is the hallmark of every great leader. But if you’re not intentional about it, you can grow in directions you don’t intend. That’s why I start each year with a deceptively simple exercise I learned years ago from an image consultant. His name was Jack Byrum, and I met him as a 27-year-old advertising […]

Want to outrun the Great Resignation? Build true change in service of your employees.

Much of the conversation around the Great Resignation has focused around compensation. And while it’s true that compensation must be part of every good employee retention and satisfaction strategy, money alone won’t cut it. When I think back on my own Great Resignation moment, even though I was early in my career, money didn’t really […]

The 10-minute Exercise Every Effective Leader Must Do

To be a great leader, you must know who you are and where you’ve been. That may sound simple, but leadership requires a tremendous sense of self-awareness, one that typically takes time and experience to develop. For years, I’ve used a tool I call the lifeline exercise to help me hone my self-awareness. The lifeline […]

Daily Habits of Highly Successful Leaders and What You Can Learn from Each One of Them

One of the most powerful secrets of effective leaders today is establishing a daily routine. Maybe you haven’t had the best track record with daily habits, and that’s ok. The good news is you can get better today and then even better tomorrow. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a CEO say […]

The Great Resignation: How Self-Coaching Can Help You Make a Change

The Great Resignation, or what some people have begun to call the Big Quit, has taken on a life of its own this year. If you turn on the news you are sure to hear about it. Monster reports that as many as 95% of workers are currently considering changing jobs, and 41% of the […]