The Building Champions Leadership Development Blog
Drawing upon their decades of leadership experience — and the hundreds of conversations they have each week with leaders across the country — our team of coaches deliver insights, strategies, and tips to help you improve how you lead and live.
The Culture of Better Humans & Leaders
The most successful organizations are filled with people who show up every day feeling valued, inspired, and connected to their work. And this truth helps to validate a core belief we hold at Building Champions—that better humans make better leaders. We’ve seen it play out time and time again; those who prioritize their self-leadership experience the positive ripple effect of that strong foundation, helping them to navigate team dynamics and organizational obstacles with effective decision-making and greater influence.
In this article, we explore how a culture built on the core belief that better humans make better leaders gains tangible benefits for individuals, organizations, and the bottom line.
Defining Better Humans Make Better Leaders
Leadership isn’t just about strategy or execution—it’s about who you are as a person. Your beliefs, habits, and mindset don’t just impact your own success; they influence your team, your organization, and even your community. In this Coach Video Tip, learn from our CEO and Founder, Daniel Harkavy, on how organizations can live out the belief that better humans make better leaders and help their people to prioritize both personal and professional growth.
Better Humans Make Better Leaders
Over the last nearly 30 years, we’ve coached thousands of leaders across various industries and at varying stages of leadership; yet we’ve consistently seen one principle ring true: Better humans make better leaders. This foundational belief is a key differentiator in our approach to coaching—influencing our frameworks and methodologies. And we’ve got the results to prove its effectiveness.
Our belief that better humans make better leaders is so integral to who we are at Building Champions that we even turned the phrase into our company tagline. But we understand that it can sound a bit ambiguous in meaning if you’re new to us, so we’d like to better explain what we mean by it, so that you can better understand who we are. In this article, we define what it means to be a better human and how when you work toward personal growth and align action with conviction, you’ll become the leader you’ve always wanted to be.
The Persona of a Future Leader
What does the ideal leader of tomorrow look like in your organization? As industries progress, technology advances, and workplace expectations shift, the skills needed in leadership are bound to evolve too. If your organization wants to stay ahead, you can’t wait for leaders to emerge—you need to intentionally define the qualities they’ll need to thrive.
By clearly outlining the persona of a future leader, you create a standard for recognizing, developing, and promoting talent. This proactive approach ensures that your leadership pipeline is strong, aligned with your long-term vision, and equipped to navigate the inevitable challenges that come with life and leadership. In this article, we cover how to define the persona of a future leader and highlight the three key areas you need to consider: mindset, skills, and knowledge.
Identifying Future Leaders
Strong leadership doesn’t happen by chance. The most successful organizations are intentional about identifying, equipping, and empowering the next generation of leaders. But how do you do this well? What happens when companies neglect leadership development? And what are the real benefits of investing in it? In this Coach Video Tip, learn from CEO Mentor Jim Wetrich on why identifying and developing future leaders is critical to an organization’s success.
How to Prepare Your Organization for Tomorrow
Strong leadership is the foundation of every successful organization—but are you preparing your next generation of leaders for what’s ahead? The skills and strategies that work today may not be enough to navigate the challenges of tomorrow. As industries evolve, client expectations shift, and technology transforms how we work, organizations must proactively define the leadership capabilities they’ll need to stay competitive.
If you want your business to thrive in the years to come, you need to anticipate the future (as best you can) and start developing the leaders who will take you there. In this article, we discuss the importance of future leadership planning and share three steps to help you understand and predict your organization’s future needs.
Role Clarity and Its Connection to Vision
Are your employees clear on what’s expected from them in their work? Do they believe that the work they do matters? Are they excited about helping the organization reach its envisioned future?
If you don’t know the answers to the above questions, then it’s time to find out—and help your employees get clarity in their role so that they understand the part they play in helping the organization reach its vision. In this article, we cover the importance of role clarity for both the employee and the leader, as well as share three steps to take to gain role clarity and increase employee engagement levels.
From Vision to Execution
Vision is the cornerstone of effective leadership, but how do you set out to achieve the vision you create for yourself, your team, and your organization? In this Coach Video Tip, learn from Executive Coach Jonathan Rogers on how to create a vision rooted in current reality, engage your team in the strategy of it, and actually execute on it so that you can reach your envisioned future. It’s possible, and we’ve got a proven framework to help you get there.
Vision: The Secret for Success in 2025
It’s a new year—rife with opportunity. And it’ll likely hold its challenges, as most years do, but it’s how you respond to those inevitable challenges that determine their impact, because you, and you alone, get to decide how you show up in 2025. As a leader, you have the privilege to not only create a vision for yourself but also for your team and organization too.
At Building Champions, we believe in the power of vision. We’ve seen countless leaders find success both at work and at home because of the compelling vision they set for themselves. And we believe our structure around vision can help you too. In this article, we discuss the importance of vision, summarize our framework for vision setting, and even share our free vision guide for you to download.
Toxic Productivity
It’s every leader’s goal to be as productive as possible, right? Well, what if it comes at the expense of your health, relationships, or well-being? That’s when your productivity is no longer healthy but likely leading you toward burnout. In this Coach Video Tip, learn from Coach Annette Pellinat on how to tell when your productivity is becoming toxic, tactics to combat it, and ways to embrace a healthy balance so that you can find success both at work and at home.