The Center For Leadership Excellence

08/31/2026

Your Career is Giving You Data. Are You Paying Attention?

Career clarity does not come from reacting to every feeling or forcing one big decision. It comes from noticing the patterns your work and life are already showing you and learning how to interpret them with honesty and curiosity....

https://cleindy.com/career-clarity-data/

Your career is already giving you data. The question is whether you are paying attention. In Part 5 of the Career Clarity Series, Jessica Gendron explores how energy, resentment, avoidance, momentum, and repeated patterns can help reveal what is working, what is not, and what may need to change.

08/27/2026

What happens when your boss becomes the biggest problem at work?

In her newest blog, Patty Bowen Prosser tackles a difficult, and increasingly common, leadership challenge: what to do when your boss is a bully.

Bullying can show up as constant criticism, intimidation, unreasonable demands, exclusion, or threats. Over time, it can affect confidence, performance, well-being, and trust in the organization.

Patty explores what employees can do when they find themselves dealing with this behavior, along with what organizations can do to recognize it, address it, and hold leaders accountable. Because the way a leader treats people isn’t separate from performance - it’s part of it.

📖 Read the blog here:
https://cleindy.com/my-boss-is-a-bully-what-can-i-do/

Dealing with a bullying boss? Learn how to recognize workplace bullying, respond strategically, and protect your confidence and career.

08/13/2026

The easy choice isn't always the right one.

Leadership comes with plenty of moments when pressure, competing priorities, and uncomfortable decisions make it tempting to take the path of least resistance.

In her latest blog, “Why Leaders MUST Focus on Doing the Right Thing,” Patty Bowen Prosser takes a closer look at what it means to lead with integrity when the answer isn't always obvious.

From speaking up early to owning mistakes and thinking beyond the short-term fix, Patty offers practical reminders for staying grounded when leadership gets complicated.

Read the blog below!
https://cleindy.com/ethical-leadership-doing-the-right-thing/

08/05/2026

Leadership has a funny way of revealing itself in the smallest moments.

Sometimes it looks like a difficult conversation handled with care. Sometimes it looks like giving credit when no one is watching. And sometimes, as Simon Sinek reminds us in his book Leaders Eat Last, it looks like making sure everyone else is taken care of before you take care of yourself.

The newest addition to The Summer Shelf: Books to Inspire Better Leaders is here, and we’re unpacking the leadership lessons behind one of Sinek’s most recognized books.

Inspired by a U.S. Marine Corps tradition where senior leaders eat after everyone else has been served, Leaders Eat Last explores what happens when leaders trade ego for empathy and authority for service. Sinek takes readers beyond the title’s memorable phrase and into the bigger conversation around trust, psychological safety, workplace culture, and what makes teams truly thrive.

In this review, we explore why the strongest leaders aren’t the ones who simply have people following them -they’re the ones creating an environment where people feel supported enough to contribute, grow, and succeed.

https://cleindy.com/leaders-eat-last-book-review/

Our Summer Shelf series is almost at the final chapter! There’s only one more book review left, and we’re saving one last leadership conversation to close out a summer full of ideas, insights, and inspiration for becoming better leaders.

Happy reading!

Inspired by a U.S. Marine Corps tradition, Simon Sinek’s Leaders Eat Last reveals why great leaders serve first and put people before power.

08/04/2026

Career Clarity Doesn’t Arrive All at Once

Career clarity does not usually arrive all at once. It often starts by asking better questions, noticing what keeps coming up, and uncovering the question underneath the question....

https://cleindy.com/career-clarity-questions/

Career clarity does not usually arrive all at once. Learn how better questions, honest reflection, and curiosity can help you understand what is really underneath feeling stuck in your career.

07/30/2026

The pursuit of perfection can be exhausting. The pursuit of progress? That’s where great leadership happens.

In her latest blog, Patty Bowen Prosser explores why embracing "good enough" isn't about lowering the bar - it’s about understanding where excellence matters most.

When leaders stop spending energy perfecting everything, they create more space for what truly drives impact: thoughtful decisions, meaningful connections, and sustainable success.

Read "How Leaders Can Learn to Embrace 'Good Enough'" and discover why sometimes moving forward is the most effective leadership decision you can make!

https://cleindy.com/good-enough-leadership/

Perfection isn't the goal. Learn how embracing good enough leadership helps leaders reduce stress, prevent burnout, and focus on what matters.

07/24/2026

We've been sold a pretty convincing story.

Work harder. Achieve more. Then you'll be happy.

Shawn Achor says we've had it backwards all along.

The newest addition to The Summer Shelf: Books to Inspire Better Leaders dives into The Happiness Advantage, a book that challenges one of the biggest assumptions about success. Instead of treating happiness as something we earn after accomplishing our goals, Achor makes the case that a positive mindset is actually what helps us perform at our best in the first place.

In our latest review, we're unpacking how happier leaders create stronger teams, why celebrating small wins can have a bigger impact than we realize, and how simple daily habits can transform workplace culture. It isn't about walking into Monday morning meetings with an overly enthusiastic smile and pretending your inbox isn't waiting for you; it's about using research-backed strategies to create workplaces where people actually want to show up and do their best work.

And the best part? These aren't ideas reserved for CEOs or keynote speakers. They're simple practices any leader can start using today. Dive into our latest Summer Shelf review and discover why this might be one of the most practical leadership books you'll read all year.

Happy reading! ☀️

https://cleindy.com/happiness-in-leadership/

The Summer Shelf continues with The Happiness Advantage - a fresh look at why happier leaders build better workplaces

07/16/2026

Comfort zones rarely create great leaders.

The moments that define leadership often happen when the path forward feels uncertain, the conversation is uncomfortable, or the right decision isn't the easiest one to make. That's where courageous leadership begins.

In our latest blog, Patty Bowen Prosser, Co-Founder and Coaching Practice Leader at The Center for Leadership Excellence, explores what courageous leadership looks like in practice. From having honest conversations and embracing vulnerability to balancing accountability with empathy, Patty shares practical ways leaders can build trust, strengthen their teams, and lead with confidence - even when the stakes are high.

If you're ready to challenge yourself to lead with greater courage and purpose, read the latest blog today and discover how small, intentional actions can make a lasting impact.

🔗 Read the full blog here!
https://cleindy.com/courageous-leadership-in-practice/

Courageous leadership means leading with integrity, vulnerability, and accountability—even when the path forward isn't easy.

07/10/2026

Summer reading season is still in full swing, and The Summer Shelf: Books to Inspire Better Leaders is back with another leadership favorite!

This time, we're diving into Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown - a book that asks a surprisingly difficult question: What if doing less is actually the key to accomplishing more? (Go ahead...let that one sink in.)

In a world filled with packed calendars, nonstop notifications, and meetings that could've been emails, Essentialism is a refreshing reminder that great leaders don't say "yes" to everything. They focus on the work that creates the greatest impact. In our latest review, we're sharing the book's biggest leadership lessons, why "busy" isn't always the same as "productive," and how making room to think might be the most valuable item on your calendar.

So grab an iced coffee, find a sunny spot, and take a few minutes to explore the next chapter of The Summer Shelf. We think you'll walk away inspired to simplify, prioritize, and maybe even cross a few things off your to-do list for good.

Happy reading! ☀️
https://cleindy.com/the-summer-shelf-essentialism-book-review/

07/08/2026

The Career You Built May Not Fit the Life You Have Now

The Career You Built May Not Fit the Life You Have Now By: Jessica Gendron There's a version of success that makes sense in one season of your life, and then there's a version of success that makes sense in this one....

https://cleindy.com/career-no-longer-fits-your-life/

The version of success that fit one season of life may not fit the one you are in now. Learn why changing your career path is not failure, but evolution.