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The most successful leaders arent necessarily the loudest, the most visionary, or the ones with all the answers. Instead, they know what drives their actions and what triggers their reactions. They understand themselves and can read what others need with precision. Furthermore, they dont treat each person the same way. Instead, they tailor their approach to meet the needs of each individual or situation. These leaders go beyond possessing highly developed emotional intelligence. They become their best selves and help others do the same. Their skill is based on harnessing personality to promote personal and organizational success. But before we explore the power of personality intelligence, lets introduce the four styles every leader needs to understand. The Styles We will use birds as a simple way to help explain, remember, and apply the four styles. Eagles are confident, direct, and results-focused. Parrots are social, optimistic, and energizing. Doves are supportive, empathetic, and harmonious. Owls are logical, questioning, and precise. We all possess a mix of styles, but one or two typically stand out. Once you recognize these styles, you’ll start noticing them everywhere, from emails and meetings to how you lead with others. What Is Personality Intelligence? Think of personality intelligence (PIQ) as the development of self-awareness. Its not just knowing yourself. Its understanding how your natural style appears, interacts with others, and contributes to your success. Unlike emotional intelligence, which focuses on reading and managing emotions, personality intelligence shows how people with your style think, decide, communicate, and act. Your style forms a pattern of behavior, and that pattern affects the quality of your relationships and the results you achieve. Four Stages of Personality Intelligence Effective leaders progress through various stages on their journey to excellence. Understanding where you are today guides you in choosing what to focus on next. Level 1: The Unevolved StateThis is the starting point. At this stage, people react on autopilot, driven by their default style rather than the needs of the moment. Eagles charge ahead, but may bulldoze others in the name of efficiency. Parrots chase every new idea and can easily get off track. Doves seek harmony, but their desire to avoid conflict can prevent them from having difficult and crucial conversations. Owls focus on quality, but may get stuck in analysis paralysis and miss the moment to act. In this level, the style is in control, but its working against them, not for them. Level 2: The Typical StateThis is where most people live. At this stage in a leaders development, they understand their style and concentrate on their strengths. They are no longer on full autopilot, but pressure can still trip them up. At their best, eagles lead confidently. Parrots energize the team. Doves are nurturing, and Owls are meticulous. However, under stress, they revert to the Unevolved State of Level 1 where their strengths work against them. Level 3: The Master StateAt this stage, leaders master their style. They do so by balancing their strengths with traits opposite of their natural tendencies. Eagles temper confidence with humility. Parrots couple optimism with discernment. Doves pair kindness with candor. Owls blend logic with a dash of spontaneity. In the Master State, a leaders style becomes their professional superpower. They bring their best to every encounter and make the people around them better. Level 4: The Chameleon StateFew reach this level, but when they do, it becomes a game changer. At this stage, leaders dont just master their own style; they master all of them. When they need to rally the team, they energize their inner parrot. The eagle takes over when facing a tight deadline. The owl tunes in when tasks require precision. And when the moment calls for empathy, the dove is ready. And when they adapt, they do so with authenticity that fits the moment or the individual. This is the art of leading with personality intelligence. Why This Matters Now In todays world of hybrid workplaces, a multi-generational workforce, and rapidly changing technology, personality intelligence is more essential than ever. When leaders have highly developed personality intelligence, they can effectively lead anyone in any environment. If you want to retain your people, you need to know how to lead all of them, not just those who are similar to you. Leaders with strong personality intelligence dont just create an environment where they will succeed; they create one where everyone can thrive. They foster a fast-paced, goal-oriented space for eagles, an engaging and exciting culture for parrots, a supportive and helpful environment for doves, and a process-driven, quality-focused world for owls. Weve all heard it: People dont quit their company; they quit their boss. Lets flip that and say, people stay because of their boss. If youve ever reported to a self-aware leader who respects the style of their direct reports, Id bet you would have followed that leader anywhere. Thats the power of personality intelligence in action. Five Ways to Boost Your Personality Intelligence Heres your starting point for leveling up your leadership. 1. Own your styleDont just take a personality test and move on. Learn how your style influences your success, how you interact with others, and how you handle stress. Ask your team how they experience you when you’re at your bestand when you’re not. 2. Get fluent in all four stylesTrain yourself to recognize the styles in action. Does someone need time to reflect before making a decision? Youre likely dealing with an owl. Do they prioritize harmony within the team? You probably have a dove. Are they quick, confident, and competitive? Thats the eagle. Do they use stories, an excessive amount of exclamation points, and anecdotes in every staff meeting? Youre working with a parrot. 3. Practice conscious adaptationStyle-flexing isnt about being inauthentic. Its about choosing to speak someones language and meet them where they are. If youre an eagle presenting to owls, bring data. If you’re a parrot leading doves, slow down and check in. The more you adapt, the stronger the connection. 4. Build style-diverse teamsGreat teams aret made of clones of the leader. They are well-rounded, and their diverse styles create a balanced team. 5. Model personality intelligenceDiscuss the styles openly. Share what youre working on. When leaders demonstrate their personality intelligence, others follow. It creates a tone of trust, respect, and growth. The Bottom Line Personality intelligence gives leaders the edge they didnt realize they were missing. It boosts self-awareness and provides the tools to bring out the best in everyone they lead. It shifts communication from reactive to intentional, turns conflict into collaboration, and creates an environment where anyone, regardless of their style, can thrive. In a world where people are the true competitive advantage, personality intelligence is essential for leaders.
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Find focus and fatigue-proof your routine with these six standout productivity books of 2025. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] 99% Perspiration: A New Working History of the American Way of Life By Adam Chandler An enlightening and entertaining interrogation of the myth of American self-reliance and the idea of hard work as destiny. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Adam Chandler, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] The Ambition Trap: How to Stop Chasing and Start Living By Amina AlTai Drawing on her work with Fortune 500 leaders, Olympic gold medalists, start-up founders, and former girlbosses, AlTai guides you through the process of reconciling your ambition, starting with healing the core wounds and insecurities currently driving you. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amina AlTai, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] The Brain at Rest: How the Art and Science of Doing Nothing Can Improve Your Life By Joseph Jebelli The definitive, science-backed guide to achieving contentment, creativity, and success by letting your brain decompress. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Joseph Jebelli, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] Sleep Groove: Why Your Bodys Clock Is So Messed Up and What to Do About It By Olivia Walch This myth-busting guide to sleep is the perfect introduction to how circadian science can demystify your nights and help reset your days. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Olivia Walch, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the Planet, and Your Sanity By Ashlee Piper From an award-winning sustainability expert, a witty, no-nonsense guide to regaining control over your time, consumerist impulses, and financial and mental wellness. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ashlee Piper, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. [Photo: Next Big Idea Club] Sound Affects: How Sound Shapes Our Lives, Our Wellbeing, and Our Planet By Julian Treasure A lively, engaging narrative that takes readers on an epic journey spanning disciplines, continents, and centuries that spotlights sounds incredible impact on our bodies, feelings, thinking, and behavior. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Julian Treasure, in the Next Big Idea App or view on Amazon. This article originally appeared in Next Big Idea Club magazine and is reprinted with permission.
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E-Commerce
AI is transforming work, but its not just the tools that matter. Its how teams use them, and who they become in the process, that sets them apart. While many organizations scramble to integrate AI into every corner of the business, the best teams are asking better questions. Theyre not just moving faster; theyre working with greater intention. They protect whats human: trust, creativity, and long-term thinking. And they reshape how they collaborate, communicate, and grow, turning disruption into a durable advantage. For Eric, the SVP of product at a global advertising technology company, the mission was clear: lead AI integration across all business units. But not everyone was on board. Peer teams were skeptical, overloaded, and unsure whether AI would help or hinder their work. Instead of forcing adoption, Eric built a cross-functional AI Champions Circle. Their goal wasnt to become experts overnight. It was to explore, experiment, and learn together. They surfaced use cases, skill gaps, and unexpected opportunities to showcase the companys strengths. One early win, a prototype that automated client reporting, showed how AI could streamline customer delivery, create more space for higher-value work, and give skeptics a reason to lean in. We didnt need people to become prompt engineers, Eric said. We needed them to think more boldly and trust each other enough to try. Through our work advising dozens of companies facing similar dynamics, Kathryn, as an executive coach and keynote speaker, and Jenny, as an executive advisor and Learning & Development expert, we have seen a clear pattern: high-performing teams in this new era follow three simple but powerful habits. 1. Build Skills That AI Cant Replace AI can assist and accelerate work, but it cant replace sound judgment, real curiosity, or ethical discernment. These are distinctly human strengths, and according to a 2025 report by the World Economic Forum, they rank among the top emerging skills for the future of work. What separates high-performing teams is their ability to use AI as a starting point, not a crutch. They ask sharper questions. They challenge assumptions. They make connections across functions and domains. These are not just soft skills; theyre power skills that generate meaningful insight and influence. After launching the AI champions circle, Eric noticed something unexpected. The group wasnt just surfacing use cases; instead, it was improving how the company framed problems. The questions got better, he told us. It wasnt just, What can this tool do? It became, What are we trying to solve, and how could this help? Eric began encouraging teams across the business to build that same muscle. They shifted from asking what AI could do to asking where their thinking mattered most. Team members started exploring: Where does this work require human judgment? Where are we relying too heavily on automation? What are the tradeoffs we need to weigh? That shift gave people permission to think more critically, not just execute faster. The result wasnt just their output. It was their judgment. Teams grew more confident in evaluating options, analyzing risks, and owning what only they could uniquely contribute. 2. Focus on Outcomes, Not Optics When AI speeds up how teams generate content, analyze data, or respond to requests, its easy to confuse motion with impact. Leaders may see faster email replies, more polished updates, or nonstop activity on project trackers, but that doesnt mean the team is aligned or productive. High-performing teams focus less on the illusion of productivity and more on strategic clarity, a key element of organizational health. According to McKinsey’s Organizational Health Index, companies that consistently communicate direction and hold teams accountable outperform their peers. Googles team effectiveness research reinforces this: structure and clarity is a key condition for team success. One leader we worked with, Cheryl, the head of customer experience at a fast-growing SaaS company, noticed her team was delivering with greater speed but less depth. They were generating AI-powered customer sentiment reports, support email templates, and team dashboards, but rarely stepping back to assess if those outputs were actually solving the right problems. Everything looked efficient on paper, she told us, but we werent moving the needle on what mattered. To refocus, Cheryl launched a lightweight Slack ritual called Output vs. Outcome Fridays. Every Friday morning, team members posted one thing they worked on, and a sentence about how (or whether) it advanced a core goal. It gave the team a way to pause and reconnect their effort with their purpose. Over time, this mitigated performative work and reinvested that time into customer-centric improvements. Pro tip: Start the feedback cycle. Now that your team has a rhythm for internal reflection, add an external feedback loop by connecting with your customer whether thats an external client or an internal partner like sales, finance, or HR. Have each team member identify one stakeholder to engage in real-time input. Start with a quick 2-3 question check-in, and add quarterly conversations to deepen the learning. This helps tie your outcomes to the experience of the people you serve and ensures your efforts create meaningful impact. 3. Leave Room for Strategic Play AI can tempt teams to over-optimize for efficiency, often at the expense of creativity, judgment, and long-term thinking. But without space to think and try, teams become reactive, not strategic. Weve seen the most effective teams treat curiosity like a business advantage. They embed space to explore like dedicated days of the week to experiment with new tech, or sprint retrospectives where team members share quick experiments and insights. They carve out time to try new tools, test ideas in low-stakes ways, and share what theyre learning. That kind of structured experimentation isnt a distraction; its a discipline. And it often surfaces key insights long before any formal pilot begins. McKinseys research shows that cultures rooted in learning and innovation are more adaptive and resilient, especially during periods of disruption and uncertainty. Cheryl applied the same thinking to how her team explored AI. She introduced a recurring segment to her teams sprint retrospectives called AI Experiments. Each week, a different team member shared one thing they tested: a new prompt, a time-saving tool, or even a failed experiment. The goal wasnt to be right; it was to get curious. This created a low-stakes, high-learning environment. People started volunteering ideas, sharing small wins, and building on each others discoveries. The team didnt just become more efficient. They became more creative, collaborative, and resourceful, increasing their collective confidence. Pro tip: Create a shared AI experiments tracker. Start a lightweight hub (like with Notion, Google Docs, or a dedicated Slack channel) where team members can log quick notes on what theyre testing. Keep it simple and informal, no slides, no pressure. Suggested fields: Tool or prompt used What worked What didnt What wed try next The goal is to normalize small bets, shared learning in real time, and build momentum across the team. The Real AI Advantage is Human AI is only as powerful as the people who use it with intention. The most effective teams arent winning because they have mastered the latest tools: they stand out because they have adopted the right habits, redefining how they think, decide, and learn together. They prioritize judgment over automation, experimentation over perfection, and shared purpose over performative productivity. What gives teams a lasting edge isnt access to better technology. Its the courage to slow down, ask better questions, and lead with what only humans can bring: discernment, trust, and adaptability. In the age of AI, your competitive advantage isnt artificial. Its deeply human.
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E-Commerce
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