Sean McDonald

We’re excited to introduce the first installment of Getting to the Balcony, our monthly video interview series designed for higher education leaders. In each episode, senior executives step back from daily demands to gain perspective and share actionable leadership insights that matter.  In this episode, Brandon Bernier, Chief Information Officer at Colorado State University, talks with Sean McDonald, […]

Recently, I had the opportunity to join Craig Anderson on his popular Executive Evolution podcast. So I wanted to share my perspectives from what was a great and fun discussion. We covered a lot of ground—leadership challenges, decision-making in uncertain times, and the lessons I’ve learned along the way in higher education and beyond. As […]

Addressing change fatigue requires a more human-centered approach to leadership. Originally contributed to TrainingIndustry.com Change isn’t new. But in today’s volatile climate, the rate of change is increasing. We must do better at meeting people where they are to enable this change. From technological overhauls to political unrest, economic volatility to institutional restructuring, individuals and […]

Where will the next leaders come from? Think about the talent around us and how we might think differently in answering this looming question.

Intentional relationship building is a cornerstone of effective leadership. You can make meaningful strides by integrating the 4 I’s in your routine.

Leaders influence the growth and development of their staff. They choose assignments, assemble teams, and provide direction. Two other significant leadership competencies to develop are the ability to provide feedback and feedforward. Feedback refers to sharing observations about behaviors that have happened or are happening, and feedforward refers to anticipating future growth opportunities. In both […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates. Sean may be reached at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.] In a recent taxi ride home from the airport, Faisal, the driver, was eager to share his frustrations with the world’s problems. He was smart and thoughtful about seeing the big picture of complex systems. […]

Leadership presence. You have it. In fact, everyone has it. But not everyone is aware of it. And very few people take full advantage of its power. So what is leadership presence? For starters, it’s one of those intangibles that’s easier to recognize than describe. We see it when some people enter a room and […]

Believe [Today’s Tuesday Reading is written in remembrance of Rick Fredericks and is written by Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates. Sean may be reached at [email protected].  Editorial Note: This is the last Tuesday Reading of 2021.  The next Tuesday Reading will be in January.]   It is a great time of year for believing. Believing is […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates. Sean may be reached at [email protected].] Like you, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about relationships over the course of my life, especially these past 15 months. Given the work MOR does, my reflection often explores the connections between relationships and results. Two […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates and David Sweetman, MOR Associates Leadership Coach and Consultant. They may be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].]   We recently had a number of MOR program graduations.  Graduations are a wonderful time in celebrating the accomplishments of our program participants, as well as looking […]

Leadership and Forgiveness [Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates with contributions from Thomas Bourgeois, currently in his second week as Interim CIO of the University of Arizona Global Campus. They may be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].]   Tom turned to me, after the Leading Change segment in a workshop […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates. Sean may be reached at [email protected].]   Last week I had the chance to speak briefly with a help desk team member from a university whose campus plans are in flux. This person and their team have not been part of the decision chain […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates with contributions from Firmin Charlot, Identity Management Officer, and Nicholas Oas, Head of Security Operation, both at Michigan State University. They may be reached at [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected].]   Over the course of the past six weeks I have consumed numerous resources and […]

Supporting Leaders at this Time [The text for today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates and the video is from Brian McDonald, President of MOR Associates. They may be reached at [email protected] and [email protected].] MOR Associates was founded with the belief that anyone within an organization can contribute, regardless of where they were within […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sean McDonald, Vice-President of MOR Associates. Sean may be reached at [email protected].] Last week when we wrote about leadership during this time we also asked you to share your most pressing leadership challenges. We appreciate the many responses we got and will be using these inputs to influence near term Tuesday […]

At MOR Associates, we provide a platform upon which leaders take their leadership abilities to the next level, to up their game.  We provide a design and a set of experiences that support people in making sustainable improvements in their behavior as leaders. Of the several thousand participants in MOR Leadership related programs, although we […]

When participants come back from MOR workshops they are brimming with energy and excitement, raring to put new skills and ideas into action, but they come back to the same places they left, where often little has changed—except maybe their to-do lists, which have grown. While it is ultimately each participant’s responsibility to claim ownership […]

In a recent survey 125 alumni from across MOR’s leadership development programs were asked to identify areas of their ongoing development that they had a good handle on and also areas they need to focus on improving.  Alumni were first asked how invested are they currently in their ongoing development: 78% were very invested 21% […]

One of the central tenets of leadership is that you put your leadership skills to work wherever you are.  This follows from a strong belief that leadership is not about a position or a title but rather the simple idea that leadership is more about a set of skills that you can develop and make […]