Sharon Tunstall

Sharon Tunstall

Sharon Tunstall is a Consultant at Connect the Dots, a leadership solutions consulting company.

Reinventing the Manager's Role in the New Workplace Reality

Over the past two years, we've focused our writing on the myriad of challenges and evolving realities facing the “modern workplace” due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's clear that no one anticipated not only the duration of the pandemic, but also the effects it would have on both the physical workplace environment itself, as well…

Leadership Style and Psychological Safety: Moving From Fear to Innovation

We begin 2021 somewhat in the same manner we ended 2020, but with a hopefully considerable, and probably cautious, level of hope that somehow the business environment will begin to phase back to an understandable new normal in the months to come. Our recent past articles have been mostly discussions on the challenges the pandemic…

The 'New Normal': What is it?

Back in March of this year, most of us anticipated that by fall we would have weathered the Coronavirus storm and life would return to what it was like before. Oh how naïve we were and how little we imagined what the power of the pandemic would be and the long-term challenges that would be…

Empowerment and Leadership in Challenging Times

It always seems to be a cliché, but is always true when someone talks about how quickly the world changes. This is especially true during the current coronavirus crisis. We thought we knew (but couldn’t really be sure) how much our personal and business lives would be affected by the current pandemic. And even though…

Managing a Career in the Era of Diversity and Work-Life Balance

In previous articles we've discussed topics as diverse (but related) as the prevailing desire to stay relevant, working way beyond what traditionally was considered “retirement age,” and managing in a diverse and multigenerational workforce. While baby boomers seem to have the most trouble (or opportunities) adapting, there's another trend that must be reviewed in order…

Culture Fit or Culture ‘Adds’? Embrace the Chaos

How many times have we been advised to find the “right cultural fit” when involved in a hiring process, regardless of industry? Historically this is usually the place a hiring manager begins when embarking upon a hiring process. Often organizations default to evaluating talent in terms of similarities in background, experience, interests, etc. However, research…

Engagement Matters: But What Exactly is Meant by Engagement?

We noticed in the January/February 2019 Harvard Business Review there was a short article about “the limits of empathy.” Since we've been writing extensively over the last year about the importance of self-awareness and empathy, this caught our attention. The gist of the “argument” is that the idea of taking someone else’s perspective doesn’t necessarily…

Leadership: The Art and Challenge of Getting Out of the Way, Part 2

Effective leaders articulate a vision, create an environment in which people can succeed, hire the best talent for the tasks at hand, give them support and tools, instill their importance as part of the organization, and simply GET OUT OF THE WAY.

Leadership: The Art and Challenge of Getting Out of the Way, Part 1

Many of the organizational research reports argue that the best managers/leaders empower their people and focus more on giving them the tools to do their jobs rather than telling them exactly how to manage the tasks at hand. This is common sense but not quite as easy to implement as it is to proclaim. We've…

The Role of Luck in a Leader's Success, Part 2

Luck does not just happen but taking advantage of situations with a new or challenging perspective can lead to luck. Parents of the Baby Boomer generation came out of a major Depression and World War II. Those were difficult times yet people, particularly in the Western world, emerged from the 1940’s with incredible optimism and “hope” for a better life.

The Role of Luck in a Leader's Success, Part 1

In 2015, the Harvard Business Review ranked Lars Sorensen, CEO of Novo Nordisk, as the best-performing CEO in the world for that year. When most CEOs are asked what makes them and their companies successful, they usually point to a brilliant strategy with hard-nosed, diligent execution and great leadership. Not Mr. Sorensen. When asked what…