Since today is an important day on the business calendar, we’re going to take a short break from my Olympics Leadership Series to celebrate National Leadership Day. My Olympics series will resume tomorrow.
According to National Day website, "The aim of National Leadership Day is to instill the values of leadership in each one of us. A good leader not only leads but inspires those around him/her/they to be the best versions of themselves. Anyone can be a leader — you just have to show up and encourage others to do the same...We know that an organization is only as good as its leaders, which means that having empathetic and just leaders at the top, who lead by example, creates an environment in which everyone is inspired to be their best."
What better way to recognize this important day than by inviting a leadership expert back to my blog? Eric Jacobson and I met through our work with MicroMentor back in 2009, and since then, Eric has appeared on my blog nearly a dozen times in Q&A’s and with inspiring quotes. He also appeared in my first National Leadership Day post in February 2023. Eric has more than a quarter-century of experience successfully leading employees and teams through periods of revenue growth, new product development, and re-engineering. He is an experienced mentor and coach and holds an MBA Degree from Keller Graduate School. His passion is helping individuals to become effective leaders at work, within organizations, and wherever they are called upon to lead and inspire.
QUESTION: Deb Boelkes, author of "The WOW Factor Workplace, How to Create a Best Place to Work Culture," wrote, "It's amazing what can happen when you have the right boss." Today, on National Leadership Day, please share some traits from the best boss you had during your career.
ERIC JACOBSON: Fortunately, I worked for good bosses throughout my career.
The best boss I worked for did the following:
Listened to me.
Backed me up.
Trusted me and respected me.
Gave me feedback to help me improve and grow.
Didn’t micromanage me.
Was even-tempered.
Allowed me to be promoted and then become his peer without displaying jealousy.
Provided me with training and learning experiences.
Didn’t penalize me for making mistakes if I could explain my rationale for taking the action I took and then learning from the experience.
As you can see, I was indeed fortunate to have such a supportive boss.
QUESTION: I'd like to share an important post from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School proposing that all leaders need to be surrounded by a "challenge network." What are your thoughts?
[Link to article: https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/why-you-need-a-challenge-network/]
ERIC JACOBSON: This is a great article, and I agree with what Adam Grant writes in his book, Think Again.
I particularly value this:
Skeptics can point out blind spots, question assumptions, and help us to overcome our weaknesses.
And he writes, “We learn more from people who challenge our thought process than those who affirm our conclusions. Strong leaders engage in their critics and make themselves stronger. Weak leaders silence their critics and make themselves weaker.”
The Wharton School’s article and Grant’s book remind me of my blog post about the 2025 book, Blindspotting: How To See What’s Holding You Back As A Leader, where author Martin Dubin writes, “It turns out that we're often not great judges of ourselves, even when we think we are. Sometimes we're simply unaware of a behavior or trait that's causing problems. Bottom line: until we uncover these blindspots, we can't move forward.”
As you read the book, you’ll learn about six types of blindspots and you’ll learn the practical guidance you need to identify and manage those blindspots.
[Check out my blog post about this book:
https://ericjacobsononmanagement.blogspot.com/2025/07/how-to-see-whats-holding-you-back-as.html]
QUESTION: Many people become leaders by default, i.e., they don't actually climb the corporate ladder in positions of authority. As a result, they're often set up for failure. What action items would you recommend for new leaders to work on or accomplish in their first 100 days to lead to success?
ERIC JACOBSON: Foremost, I recommend new leaders listen to their employees and teams and keenly observe before making rash decisions or bold changes. Find out what employees and teams are doing right before assuming things are being done incorrectly.
In addition, I recommend new leaders read the book, The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan by George Brant, Jayme A. Check, and Jorge Pedraza. They outline the seven major onboarding land mines that individuals are likely to come across as a new leader. Fortunately, they also discuss the specific points in the first 100 days where you are most likely to encounter the land mines. Also, their recommendations for new leaders are to do the following:
By Day 30, share with your team:
Mission: Why here, why exist, what business are we in?
Vision: Future picture - what we want to become, where we are going.
Values: Beliefs and moral principles that guide attitudes, decisions, and actions.
Objectives: Broadly defined, qualitative performance requirements.
Goals: The quantitative measures of the objectives that define success.
Strategies: Broad choices around how the team will achieve its objectives.
Plans: The most important projects and initiatives that will bring each strategy to fruition.
By Day 60:
Over-invest in early wins to build team confidence.
SHARE THIS: New leaders should listen to their employees and teams and keenly observe before making rash decisions or bold changes. ~@EricJacobsonKC #NationalLeadershipDay #DebbieLaskeysBlog
QUESTION: As avid readers, you and I both share book reviews on our blogs, so I must ask, which inspiring leadership books have you read recently?
ERIC JACOBSON: I really appreciate the leadership books you share on your blog and always look forward to your recommendations for your blog followers.
Two books I read recently and recommend to leaders are: Be The Unicorn: Data-driven Habits That Separate The Best Leaders From The Rest, by William Vanderbloemen; and Radical Listening: The Art Of True Connection by Prof. Christian Van Nieuwerburgh (PhD) and Dr. Robert Biswas-Diener.
Be The Unicorn is timely, incredibly practical, and immediately usable for any leader wherever they are on their leadership journey. There is also a workbook that is the perfect companion to the book. Through extensive research of more than 30,000 top leaders and proprietary data, the author discusses the twelve habits that the best of the best leaders have in common. These superstar leaders are the unicorns – highly desirable but that are difficult to find or obtain.
Radical Listening will expertly guide you to move from being an active listener to becoming a radical listener. Radical listening is a profound practice that moves beyond simply hearing words to actively co-creating meaning. The book teaches you that radical listening is one of the ways of strengthening the connections between people. By listening radically, we can connect with one another effectively, have more engaging conversations, improve our relationships, and experience greater levels of well-being.
In addition, it turns out that Radical Listening is my pick for Best New Leadership Book of 2025!
QUESTION: I've often wondered what career I would have chosen if not marketing...possibly the Editorial Director of Amazon Book Clubs, an editor for a major book publisher, or Director of Horticulture at Walt Disney World's EPCOT. If you had chosen an alternate career other than as a leadership expert, what would you have chosen, and why?
ERIC JACOBSON: Debbie, you would have been great in all those alternative career choices!
For me, these three careers have always intrigued me:
Radio DJ, because I love music and have a vast knowledge of music trivia.
Race Director, because my passion is running and having completed nearly 600 organized competitive races, I know what needs to happen to create the best racing experience for runners.
Hotel Manager, because of my interest in travel and in providing the best customer service possible, I would enjoy leading a team to ensure that happens throughout the hotel property.
QUESTION: Lastly, I asked you this question in 2011 and also in 2023: What companies do you admire for their overall leadership (i.e., CEO/President) and customer service? In 2011, you listed four companies: Southwest Airlines, Marriott, Whole Foods, and Amazon. In 2023, you again responded with Marriott. Now, in 2026, how do you answer this question?
ERIC JACOBSON: Thank you for reminding me of my historical picks. I keep Marriott, Whole Foods, and Amazon on my list. Plus, I’ll add REI Co-op, the specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. REI is the nation’s largest consumer co-op with a growing community of 25 million members who expect and love the best quality gear and outstanding customer service, and REI delivers on all fronts.
My gratitude to Eric for sharing his leadership insights to make us ALL better leaders! What will you do today to celebrate leadership? Chime in and share. And don't forget, my Olympics Leadership Series resumes tomorrow here on my Blog.
Image Credit: Udemy.
Connect with Eric at these links:
Blog: https://ericjacobsononmanagement.blogspot.com/
Twitter/X: https://x.com/EricJacobsonKC
Read Eric's post: Best New Leadership Book of 2025 (out of 48 reviewed!):
https://ericjacobsononmanagement.blogspot.com/2025/12/best-new-leadership-book-of-2025.html
Read previous #NationalLeadershipDays posts here on my blog:
Tips to Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay – Eric Stone (February 2025)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2025/02/tips-to-celebrate-nationalleadershipday.html
Inspiring Tips to Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay – Erika Andersen (February 2024)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2024/02/inspiring-tips-to-celebrate.html
Let's Celebrate #NationalLeadershipDay – Eric Jacobson (February 2023)
https://www.debbielaskeysblog.com/2023/02/lets-celebrate-nationalleadershipday.html
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