Forward Thinking
Welcome to Forward Thinking, where we explore the ideas, insights, and strategies shaping the future of leadership, organizational change, and culture. This is where we share what we’re learning in the field—what’s working, what’s shifting, and what leaders need to be paying attention to. Grounded in practice and informed by research, our posts are designed to help you think more critically, act more intentionally, and lead more effectively in times of change.
They Told Me This Place Was Different. On the gap between stated values and the systems that quietly contradict them
She wasn't looking for a perfect organization. What she was looking for, and what the interview process seemed to promise, was a place that meant what it said. She accepted the offer with genuine excitement. By month eight, she was quietly updating her resume.
This pattern has a name. Chris Argyris and Donald Schön (1974) called it the gap between espoused theory and theory-in-use: the distance between what an organization says it believes and what its behavior actually reveals. The gap rarely lives in ethical failures or visible hypocrisy. It lives in the intricacies of ordinary decisions, made under ordinary pressure, by people who probably do believe in the values they posted. The problem isn't conviction, it's design.
Read the full post to explore the four places where the values gap most reliably lives, the questions worth asking before your next promotion cycle or all-hands, and what it actually takes to close it.
How to Turn Stakeholder Engagement into Strategic Learning
Many organizations are good at listening. They host focus groups, distribute surveys, and facilitate retreats. But listening is not the same as learning. In this post, we explore how to design stakeholder engagement that drives real strategic insight. From sharper question design to disciplined interpretation and focused decision-making, we outline what it takes to move from input to action.
Managing Up Is a Bridge Worth Building
“Managing up” gets a bad rap—but it’s a critical leadership skill. This post explores how to clarify, translate, and challenge upward with intention, so you can lead across and up the org chart with confidence (not flattery).