Blog

How Leaders Can Defuse Gossip Before It Spreads

By Bonnie Artman Fox / August 21, 2025
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We’ve all seen it happen. A comment that starts out as a genuine concern about a co-worker quickly turns into whispers, assumptions, and half-truths. Gossip may feel harmless in the moment, but over time it quietly erodes trust and chips away at your team’s culture. As a leader, your role isn’t just to keep projects…

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Why Empathy is the Leadership Skill that Motivates Change

By Bonnie Artman Fox / August 14, 2025
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Hank was angry. He couldn’t get his employees on board with the new computer system. From his perspective, he did all the “right” things. He provided reasons for the upgrade and training to enhance efficiency, but employee resistance persisted. What you resist, persists The more you push for change without understanding what’s behind it, the…

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Avoid power struggles with your employees like you would with a teenager

By Bonnie Artman Fox / April 17, 2025
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What can leaders learn from parenting a defiant teenager? How to avoid power struggles with your employees. Ever been caught in a power struggle, whether at home or in the workplace? I recently witnessed a moment between a parent and their teenager that was a masterclass in emotional regulation. The teen was refusing to get…

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How to Walk Your Talk to Be Both a Smart and Healthy Leader

By Bonnie Artman Fox / August 8, 2024
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Walk your talk is one of my core values. It is a privilege to work with executive leaders, helping them lead themselves effectively so they can, in turn, lead their teams and organizations with excellence. I hold this responsibility in high regard. That’s why having an inner circle of like-minded colleagues who also value “Walking…

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5 Steps to motivating abrasive leaders to change

By Bonnie Artman Fox / October 11, 2023
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If you are on the verge of losing valued employees because of a top-performing leader’s abrasive behavior, you’ll appreciate the following 5 steps to motivating abrasive leaders to change. Perhaps you’ve heard complaints from employees as they head for the door:   TEAM MEMBER A tells you she’s leaving because of repeatedly being yelled at in…

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Does the look on your face create psychological safety with your employees?

By Bonnie Artman Fox / July 27, 2023
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Most leaders don’t learn how to create psychological safety until it’s too late. The skillset necessary to strategize your business plan, create systems, and monitor metrics is not the same skillset necessary to retain employees to run your day-to-day operations. That’s why having interpersonal skills that create psychological safety with your employees is so important.…

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Why self-control is the engine of your success

By Bonnie Artman Fox / July 20, 2023
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Do you have a goal you’ve been striving for but haven’t yet reached? Whether it’s finishing a project, addressing team dysfunction, or having a tough conversation, self-control is the engine of your success. It’s the driving force that keeps you focused and persistent, and tools like the If-Then Plan can help you harness that power…

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Overcome Conflict Avoidance – Nicole Greer Podcast Episode Highlights

By Bonnie Artman Fox / June 22, 2023
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Recently, I had the privilege of joining Nicole Greer on her Build a Vibrant Culture Podcast.  We discussed the critical role healthy conflict plays in creating supportive work environments. It was a fun, dynamic conversation filled with actionable insights on how to overcome conflict avoidance. We had a great back-and-forth conversation about the crucial role…

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5 Keys To Guide Your Abrasive Top-Performing Employees

By Bonnie Artman Fox / March 23, 2023
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As a leader, you play a key role in helping your employees transform abrasive behaviors into emotional intelligence skills. Here are 5 keys to guide your abrasive top-performing employees to positive transformation. By addressing behaviors that distract from a healthy work culture, you serve as a guide for these same employees to become the hero…

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Grow Your Spine & Manage Abrasive Leadership Behavior

By Bonnie Artman Fox / March 16, 2023
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Do you know how to manage abrasive leadership behavior? As an HR professional, manager, or executive leader, you’ve probably googled something to the effect of “How to address bosses who bully”. And then you quickly realized, that most strategies follow a similar format: Set clear expectations, follow through with accountability, avoid he said/she said power…

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