Dr. Linda Henman is one of those rare experts who can say she’s a coach, consultant, speaker, and author. For more than 30 years, she has worked with Fortune 500 Companies and small businesses that want to think strategically, grow dramatically, promote intelligently, and compete successfully today and tomorrow. Some of her clients include Emerson Electric, Boeing, Avon and Tyson Foods. She was one of eight experts who worked directly with John Tyson after his company’s acquisition of International Beef Products, one of the most successful acquisitions of the twentieth century.
Linda holds a Ph.D. in organizational systems and two Master of Arts degrees in both interpersonal communication and organization development and a Bachelor of Science degree in communication. Whether coaching executives or members of the board, Linda offers clients coaching and consulting solutions that are pragmatic in their approach and sound in their foundation—all designed to create exceptional organizations.
She is the author of Landing in the Executive Chair: How to Excel in the Hot Seat, The Magnetic Boss: How to Become the Leader No One Wants to Leave, and contributing editor and author to Small Group Communication, among other works.
Dr. Henman can be reached at linda@henmanperformancegroup.com.
It’s simple enough to voice what we know we believe and identify how it shapes our decisions. Unconscious biases are trickier, more elusive. Linda Henman discusses why it’s critical to close the gap between what we say and what we do. Every decision starts with a belief. That is, we base our decisions on what we know to be true — what...
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On either end of the leadership spectrum, we have Vulcans and Roadrunners – the former often cursed by analysis paralysis and the latter known for making knee-jerk reactions. The chronically risk averse versus the risk seeking. As Linda Henman explains, the best leaders tend to fall squarely in the middle. Theorists, authors and speakers offer leadership advice to anyone who will pay...
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These days, difficult decisions abound – Is it time to reopen? How do we do that safely? – and they’re made tougher when complicated by cognitive dissonance. Linda Henman explains how to reduce dissonance and discusses a sure-fire way to make the tough call. In 1957, Leon Festinger introduced “cognitive dissonance,” a research-based theory that posits that internal psychological consistency helps us...
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Changing your perceptions and your own behavior can be key to overcoming a challenge. Linda Henman encourages leaders to turn off behavior “autopilot” to make sure what they’re doing is really working. Too often discussions of attitudes, values and beliefs center on the person, making us blind to the power of the situation. Marketers advocate finding the right psychographic for a product....
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This month marks the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 13, the seventh crewed mission in the Apollo space program. No one has forgotten that part of history, but we would do well to revisit the lessons we learned 50 years ago during this time of uncertainty. Linda Henman discusses the mentality a leader needs to lead his or her team through unexpected...
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Every decision starts with a belief. That is, we base our decisions on what we know to be true — what we believe. As Linda Henman writes, sometimes, however, we believe something that isn’t true. Both intellectual and emotional, beliefs influence our behavior when facts and reason alone don’t. How do we develop our beliefs? Our early relationships, experiences, events and situations...
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We are a nation divided, and not just by politics. When run-of-the-mill conflict has us viewing our opposition as the enemy, the business consequences can be dire. Linda Henman offers a way forward. During the Vietnam War, Americans experienced polarization that we had not felt since the Civil War. In 70s, 80s and 90s, we experienced relative unity. Now, however, the nation...
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In a strong economy, M&A activity ramps up. Linda Henman discusses what a huge swath of businesses should consider if selling is in their near future. The family-owned business has been a longstanding institution for centuries, but as baby boomer founders and owners look to retire, what can we expect? Many things have changed since these founders, heirs and current owners opened...
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The world is in better shape than we might think – an encouraging thought at the outset of a new decade. Linda Henman asserts that worry and a victim mentality impair our ability to take necessary risks. When conducting research for his bestselling book, Factfulness, Dr. Hans Rosling asked simple questions about global trends and systematically received wrong answers — so wrong...
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When you allow circumstances to define you, you lose the ability to respond objectively – and effectively – to a crisis. Linda Henman offers two contrasting examples of crisis management in practice: Merck missed the mark, but Tylenol triumphed. While we were writing The Merger Mindset, my co-author, Dr. Constance Dierickx, identified a new genre of people: the chronically aggrieved. These people...
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Linda Henman offers some guidance on making the kinds of decisions that keep senior leaders awake at night. Among this sage advice: consensus isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and it’s probably time to put those sacred cows out to pasture. Global economic turmoil has taught numerous lessons — the most important one: When leaders make good decisions, little else...
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The way a leader responds amid uncertainty says a lot about his or her tolerance for ambiguity. Linda Henman explains why those who enjoy an element of ambiguity make decisions differently than those who can’t tolerate it. Most humans hate ambiguity, and as Nat King Cole once said, “That’s a natural fact.” While most would choose to avoid uncertainty, a select few...
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