Delegation Isn’t About Doing Less. It’s About Building Organizations That Can Do More. Harris Whitesell Consulting Celebrates Lori Harris’ Featured Article in the Summer 2026 Issue of Enterprising Women Magazine What if delegation isn’t a management skill at all? What if it is one of the clearest indicators of organizational maturity? Too often, delegation is […]
Executive Leadership
The Conversation You’re Avoiding Is Probably the One That Matters Most
The Conversation You’re Avoiding Is Probably the One That Matters Most A practical framework for direct conversations that build clarity, responsibility, and accountability. During a recent leadership workshop, I asked participants to name a conversation they knew they needed to have. Not someday. Not eventually. A real one, sitting on their desk right now.
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Leadership in the Trenches: The True Test of Executive Effectiveness
Leadership in the Trenches: The True Test of Executive Effectiveness Most leadership literature focuses on vision, strategy, transformation, and inspiration. Yet the daily reality of executive leadership is often much less glamorous. Leadership in the trenches is where effectiveness is tested. It is found in difficult conversations, competing priorities, limited resources, imperfect information, organizational politics,
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Leadership Drift: Why Standards Erode and No One Calls It Out
Leadership Drift: Why Standards Erode and No One Calls It Out How small lapses in responsibility and accountability quietly erode leadership effectiveness, team alignment, and organizational culture Most leaders never decide to lower their standards. In our work with leadership teams, drift rarely begins with a major failure, a dramatic conflict, or a visible breakdown.
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The Mirror No One Wants and Every Leader Needs
The Mirror No One Wants and Every Leader Needs Why 360-Degree Feedback, done well, provides value, growth, and opportunity for leaders, teams, and organizations. “What if the greatest risk to your leadership is not what you know… but what you cannot see?” Michael R. had spent twenty-seven years building his reputation. As President of a
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Stop Training Yourself to Stay Comfortable: Why Ignoring Problems Costs More Than Facing Them
Stop Training Yourself to Stay Comfortable: Why Ignoring Problems Costs More Than Facing Them A leadership perspective on difficult conversation, team performance, and organizational effectiveness. Patrick Lencioni puts it plainly: “Every time you ignore a problem, you train yourself to stay comfortable.” That line sticks with us because we see it play out again
From Promotion to Leadership Readiness: Fixing the Leadership Development Gap in Modern Organizations
From Promotion to Leadership Readiness: Fixing the Leadership Development Gap in Modern Organizations Organizations continue to promote high-performing individuals into leadership roles without preparing them for the complexity of leading people, systems, and change. The result is predictable: diminished performance, cultural erosion, and costly turnover. Nearly 60% of new managers report receiving no training
The Ripple Effect: Creating Value, Growth, and Opportunity for the Next Generation
The Ripple Effect: Creating Value, Growth, and Opportunity for the Next Generation Leadership creates ripples. Long after titles change and careers evolve, the influence of leaders lives on through the people they encourage, develop, and empower. We are honored to share that Lori Harris, Partner and Principal Consultant at Harris Whitesell Consulting, is featured in
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The Canary in the Coal Mine (Workplace): Listening to Early Warning Signs in Culture and Performance
The Canary in the Coal Mine (Workplace): Listening to Early Warning Signs in Culture and Performance In the early days of mining, workers carried small canaries deep into the tunnels—not for company, but for survival. The canary’s fragile lungs were exquisitely sensitive to toxic gases like carbon monoxide. If the bird grew silent or fell
Scaling Executive Leadership Effectiveness: Guidelines, Guardrails, Pitfalls, and Priorities for Today’s CEOs
SCALING EXECUTIVE LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS: GUIDELINES, GUARDRAILS, PITFALLS, AND PRIORITIES FOR TODAY’S CEOS In a world where trust in leadership is declining and disruption is constant, the effectiveness of the CEO is not optional — it is existential. The role of the Chief Executive Officer has never been more demanding, complex, or visible. CEOs today are
Succession Planning and Management: The Nuance of Maximizing Excellence in Leadership Continuity
Succession Planning and Management: The Nuance of Maximizing Excellence in Leadership Continuity By Lori Harris, Harris Whitesell Consulting Leadership transitions are one of the most disruptive events in an organization’s lifecycle. They test not only continuity of operations but also investor confidence, employee trust, and market competitiveness. Despite this reality, less than 35% of organizations
Symbiotic Leadership: Building Mutually Empowering Team Relationships Success
Symbiotic Leadership: Building Mutually Empowering Team Relationships Success has never been a solo act. The most resilient, adaptive, and high-performing leaders and teams operate not through command-and-control or transactional cooperation—but through symbiotic relationships. Borrowed from biology, the term “symbiosis” refers to a close and long-term interaction between two or more different species that benefit from
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