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Helping governments and nonprofits to learn, connect, and move forward stronger together
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Toxic Leadership Taught Me Everything I Never Want to Be!
Lead better. Lead braver. Put people first.
Lessons in building open source community
Open source projects are fueled by passionate people creating lasting change
Opening up the selling process
What open organization principles can teach us about mentoring a new generation of sales talent
Getting Your Stakeholders' Buy-In Starts With Explaining the "Why"
Leading a team? Don't skip the why.
Lessons from Red Hat open leadership
Lean into these lessons on open leadership and open organizations.
How to avoid death by PowerPoint
Avoid common mistakes in your next presentation with this advice
You don’t need a title to lead on AI risk
Four things IT professionals can do right now, no matter where they sit in the org chart.
Editor’s picks
Share an article with us
Write an article to share your leadership story, your journey in leadership, or your leadership lessons
5 factors to successful digital transformation
The AI revolution hasn’t removed the need for strategic planning
Invest in professional development
By investing in your organization, you create stronger teams
AI is another data loss vector
A big risk of "shadow AI" is data exfiltration
Share an article with us
Write an article to share your leadership story, your journey in leadership, or your leadership lessons
5 factors to successful digital transformation
The AI revolution hasn’t removed the need for strategic planning
Age verification laws will damage open source
California's age verification law needs changes before it goes into effect in 2027.
No, AI doesn't stop long-term planning
By imagining the future and your place in it, you put yourself in the driver's seat
Invest in professional development
By investing in your organization, you create stronger teams
AI is another data loss vector
A big risk of "shadow AI" is data exfiltration
Pitching a new technology
Making the case for a big change needs to be pitched as the right decision for the organization
Coaching the accidental project manager
What happens when curiosity isn’t enough?
Japan’s quiet strength
Things Japan is doing that other countries could learn from
Lead, Manage, Do
Unpacking the deeper meaning and applying to your own or your team’s role is not always so simple.
How teams work together
Group dynamics can be challenging for new leaders. Use these tips to bridge the gap.
The value of fractional leadership
An outside voice can provide the perspective your team needs to get ahead.
Support our community with these print books
Our community shares their perspectives in three new print books, available now.
Open source licenses in the enterprise
Open source is everywhere, but not all licenses are the same.
Why local governments need an AI strategy and how open data paved the way
How one public official blends technology, service, and strategy to shape the future of his community.
Open Leaders Yearbook
Transform your leadership style with these leadership lessons
Your favorite leadership lessons from 2025
Expand your leadership skills with these 5 popular articles from this year.
Thankful for our community
Thank you to everyone who has shared their insights with us in 2025.
What's your community thinking pattern?
In the second part of this series, Ron explores community thinking patterns #4 and #5 and community influences.
Don't let go of long-term planning
With AI, all that's changed is a specific tool, not the long-term plan or the milestones.
Community thinking patterns and the role of the introducer-in-chief
An open leader introduces two people to each other, and then steps aside and lets those two work together.
Share your story
Everyone has a leadership story to tell, and we want to tell yours.
How innovative Open Organization charts work in practice
Unofficially, to get things done, horizontal communication has been going on for decades.
Open source community
Learn about supporting an open source community at this upcoming conference.
Leadership in Open Organizations
An international leader’s reflections on open organizations, open leadership, and entrepreneurial leadership.
Exploring innovative Open Organization charts
Small, empowered, trusted, goal-oriented teams working together will be successful.
Applying open organization principles to save factory energy
How one community turns to open organization principles to help factories save energy.
Using a coaching moment
Coaching moments can be valuable opportunities to help someone to grow.
Saving energy using open organization principles
More green power generation requires making changes to demand by looking at how to reduce energy use.
Find leadership inspiration at GOVIT
Get inspired by and learn from other IT leaders at this technology conference.
Leadership lessons from working in teams
Students learned these important lessons about working in teams.
Comparing solar power to traditional power generation the open way
Open leaders should consider the environment. Go green to make your organization stronger.
5 common leadership mistakes
Avoid these common mistakes to improve your leadership style and avoid burnout.
How open organizations can harness changing energy generation and distribution methods
Open leaders need to consider environmental impacts too. Here's how to make use of new energy generation methods to lead your organization.
Listening to feedback
Be intentional about seeking feedback.
Applying smart thinking to open organization principles
Shift your thinking habits with these tips on smart thinking.
We're in the AI hype cycle
AI may be headed for a trough of disillusionment, but plan for the slope of enlightenment.
Using habits to practice open organization principles
Here's how to lead change in your organization by shifting habits.
Your workplace jargon is killing morale
Using workplace jargon makes others less likely to communicate effectively.
An open conversation about open societies
Watch our interview with Johan Norberg, author of Open: The Story of Human Progress.
Providing pay transparency
Be transparent about what salary you will offer, and what benefits you provide.
The future is collaborative commons
Eventually, the collaborative commons sector is likely to define much of economic life in society.
Keep the human in the loop
AI is leading work, but keep the human in the loop
Near zero marginal cost societies
As the IoT becomes our working and living environment, energy costs will come closer to zero and community collaboration will be critical.
Share your story
We invite you to share an article about what leadership looks like to you.
How open organizations align with collaborative commons
In his book, Jeremy Rifkin explores the rise of collaborative commons in the global economy.
The path to an open world begins with inclusivity
Building open societies requires respect, understanding, and patience.
Looking for experience? Join our internship
This is an excellent opportunity for a university student who wants to gain experience.
Open exchange, open doors, open minds
Could open organization principles successfully apply to entire societies?
Make your own Big Block of Cheese Day
Find a way to build relationships and gain valuable feedback.
Know your organization's rule makers and rule breakers
Open leaders can achieve a great deal by sensing and responding to an organization's cultural norms.
5 ways to present online
Today's presentations are virtual. Make yours count.
Understanding your team's implicit values and needs
To enhance team dynamics, open leaders can study the implicit social norms that guide members' behaviors and decisions.
Make your next presentation one to remember
Use these 4 tips to make your next presentation a great one.
How open organization principles aided Japan's economic resurgence
Why have some organizations successfully weathered recent economic shifts in Japan while others haven't? Openness could be the key.
The rise of the AI interviewer
AI interviewers can be a red flag in the interview process.
Lessons in openness from Japan's "business reinvention"
This book explains how Japan's economic resurgence in recent decades coincided with greater transparency, collaboration, and inclusivity.
Clarify roles with a RACI matrix
Keep your project on the right path by ensuring everyone understands their role.
A more sustainable future should be a more open future
Applying open organization principles can help us build global governance and support to address climate and humanitarian development.
Leadership means leading by example
By sharing information with others, you also learn and grow yourself.
Building open organizations to make a better life more sustainable for everyone
By opening our approach to ensuring prosperity for all, we can advance more sustainable solutions.
How TRIUS Inc launched a spreadsheet company
As-Easy-As was a popular spreadsheet for DOS and Windows. Here's how it all started.
Sustainable economic development begins with open thinking
Greater transparency could help global development practices respect planetary boundaries.
More leadership lessons from Breaking Bad
You can find leadership lessons wherever you look. Here are more great lessons from a popular TV show.
Make the most of your next presentation
Learn from these great and not-so-great examples as lessons for how to give a successful presentation.
A guide to planning the next 50 years of your career
Over the next half-century, our work environments will change. How can you plan to change with them?
How to thrive in our changing work environments
In the future, we could be working in environments full of fragmented attention and extreme isolation. Are we prepared?
Be an authentic organization
Consider who and what you are as an organization, and what success means for you.
Leadership lessons from Breaking Bad
You can find leadership lessons wherever you look. Here are a few great lessons from a popular TV show.
How open principles are impacting and will continue to impact the future of work
How do we prepare for a future when the nature of work is continually changing dramatically?
Openness is the key to innovation
History demonstrates the kinds of open organizational structures that foster innovation.
Balancing the urgent and the important
Consider how to respond to different requests by organizing them in a matrix.
Making the case
Lessons in writing a strategy document to make your best case.
Open environments are where innovative ideas thrive
Understanding innovation's true nature could help us build environments that are more conducive to innovation.
When the best ideas win, do we recognize everyone who shaped them?
Rethink how we participate in meritocracies by taking a closer look at the nature of innovation.
Choose your coaching moment carefully
You don't always need to recognize excellent performance when you see it. Choose your moment to keep them "in the zone."
Be an inspiring coach
Coaching is about helping to provide direction, not answers.
What would a global open organization look like?
Solving global problems will require global collaboration. Working openly is the best way forward.
Open organizations through the ages
On a global timeline, extensive collaboration is still a relatively new phenomenon. That could explain why we're still getting the hang of it.
Leadership lessons on building relationships
Successful leaders know who they can turn to for trusted conversations, and who they can ask for favors.
Simplify, Standardize, and Automate
Focus on what IT does best, and strive to do those things in the most efficient way possible.
Globalization: A history of openness
The history of our interconnected world is also a history of our willingness to open up.
Nine Lies About Work
An examination of common work misconceptions and how open organizations are often ahead of the curve.
Why executives use PowerPoint
Sometimes, a PowerPoint deck is the right tool to deliver your message.
Speaking well
Use these tips to give a great presentation on a moment's notice.
How to assess your organization's technological maturity
Implementing new communications technologies can make your organization more open. Use this worksheet to determine your organization's technological maturity.
A model for understanding your organization's approach to new technologies
Adopting new communication technologies can make your organization more open.
How to share an update
Sharing a few details can make a huge impact.
Climate challenges call for open solutions
We can meet global energy and climate change challenges with an open mindset.
Leadership Challenges In The New Normal
It's time to reevaluate your budget priorities.
Embracing open leadership
Learn more about open organizations and open leadership.
Avoiding burnout: 4 considerations for a more energetic organization
Being open requires a certain kind of energy. If you don't take time to replenish that energy, your organization will suffer.
Why your workplace arguments aren't as effective as you'd like
Open organizations rely on open conversations. These common barriers to productive argument often get in the way.
Top 5 threats for IT leaders
How to navigate several common threats facing today's IT leaders.
Don't forget to learn
Using AI as a tool to do a thing still relies on knowing how to do the thing yourself.
Turning destructive arguments into productive dialog
In open organizations full of frank and honest conversation, disagreements are inevitable. Make them productive.
What is adaptive leadership?
When organizational challenges don't have clear and immediate solutions, open leaders need to think differently about their roles.
2 warnings about AI in coding
Consider these risks when using AI for software development.
What is Operational Excellence?
Operational Excellence means providing reliable products at competitive prices, delivered with minimal difficulty.
Your organization in 1 sentence
Your organization's purpose drives it. But can people explain what you do and why you do it in a single sentence?
6 personality traits in your organization
What motivates the people in your community to contribute, and who could potentially have a destructive impact?
Why I love giving back
I enjoy supporting the next generation of leaders through coaching and mentoring.
Raise your visibility by sharing an article
Do you want to raise your visibility in the leadership community? Write an article!
Selflessness in open leaders
Balancing community interests and goals with personal ones is always challenging. How are people in your organization practicing honesty and humility?
4 steps to build team trust
Author and former FBI agent Robin Dreeke explains how leaders can cultivate trust effectively.
Deliver your message in less time
A better way to give a presentation in less time is to omit content.
Effective communication
Avoid communication "burnout" by recognizing these common mis-steps.
Leadership lessons from an FBI agent
This book can help you build the trustful relationships on which your open organization depends.
Why Disaster Recovery planning isn't optional
Reduce your risk portfolio by implementing a Disaster Recovery plan.
Yes and
Practicing "Yes and" can be a very powerful team building exercise.
The role of governance
Your governance model depends on what role IT plays in your organization.
Five levels of performance
Where does your organization fit on this performance model?
Leadership lessons from 'John Wick'
If you look for leadership lessons, you will find them. Here are 5 leadership lessons from 'John Wick.'
5 rules to a 30 minute meeting
The art of a good meeting is keeping everything on topic, with a productive discussion.
Community management as a service
The role of community manager can vary widely depending on the individual, the organization, and the desired outcomes.
Understanding risk
Understanding risk is an important part of driving change.
Advice for new managers
Good advice for anyone starting out as a new manager.
Leading in local government
Part of working in government is bringing people together, getting people from different viewpoints to agree.
Recognizing our leadership community
Thank you to everyone who has shared their insights with us. We look forward to more in 2025!
Can we automate open behaviors?
Apps can help us build open organizations. We just need to move from principles to actions.
Designing a system that helps the best ideas win
A willingness to expose and address our weaknesses must be a 360-degree attitude.
Skills IT leaders need to have
Effective IT leaders need to cultivate these skills to lead and adapt their organizations.
Top 5 articles about open leadership
Transitioning from a traditional organizational structure to an open organization means changing your leadership perspectives.
Preparing your organization for a future built on blockchain
Organizations should seriously examine their maturity level to prepare for the future of blockchain.
5 ways blockchain can accelerate open organizations
Some of the ways blockchain technology will impact organizations, helping to make them more open.
5 top articles to elevate your leaders
It’s more than leading today. Inspirational leadership also looks to future leaders.
Thankful for our community
As we look to the Thanksgiving holiday, we are thankful for our community at Coaching Buttons.
3 lessons in effective open partnership
Applying open organization principles to your work can help you discover hidden marketable assets.
Tips for finding partners open enough to work with you
An overview of bringing open organizations principles into strategic business alliance projects.
My coaching journey from Zero to Linux Hero
Coaching helps elevate others to new levels. Consider coaching someone near you.
Conference recommendation for public sector IT
My personal experience with an engaging IT leadership conference.
Leading startups in developing countries
How entrepreneurs can launch new startup ideas in developing countries.
My leadership journey
As you move up a new level of leadership in your organization, your focus needs to change.
Supporting startups in developing countries
How organizational leaders can foster new startup projects in developing countries.
Building startups in developing countries
With the advances in information technology, startups are becoming more viable in local and worldwide markets.
Applying an Open Decision Framework
Use an Open Decision Framework to help your organization make collaborative decisions.
Leadership inspires learning and growth
Effective leaders continue to learn and practice the art of leadership.
How collaborative will you be?
Factors that contribute to someone's attitude toward either cooperation or competition.
Openness is a continuum: when to compete or collaborate
Enabling collaboration and cooperation requires effort and hard work.
Why it's hard to say no
Saying Yes to too many projects can drain your energy. It's okay to say No.
My journey from higher ed to government
Colleagues have asked me how local government differed from education. Here are a few notes from when I moved from higher ed to government.
Developing a world-class professional contact network
Your network can be your greatest source of information and guidance.
Career and leadership building similar to startup development
We must continually reassess our aspirations, tap into resources within our networks, and creatively generate novel new opportunities.
Join the leadership community
We are thankful to have an engaged community of leaders, sharing their leadership experience.
Above the line and below the line
The "Above/Below The Line" model helps both sides understand the roles involved after IT consolidation.
4 factors in open decision-making
A closer look at how open organizations can engage team members in making decisions.
5 steps to drive projects in your organization
How leaders can lead through change despite team members who'd rather stall it.
When you transition into a leadership role
These 5 steps will help you with a planful transition.
Generative AI is following the hype cycle
As an industry, we are finding where expectation meets reality with generative AI.
Putting personalities to work
Learn your personality type to make peer-to-peer discussions and decision-making more productive.
Building trust within teams and organizations
Open organizations depend on trust. These factors can influence it.
5 trends that changed how we think
Consider these technologies and how they have changed IT organizations. What will the next innovation bring?
From innovation to enterprise
Local services are fine when there’s a unique need, but consider these markers to know when to transition to enterprise offerings.
Let go of the CEO ego
Open your decision-making process and give decision making power and trust to your teams.
Leaders establishing a startup on a tight budget
With little money, how can leaders introduce a startup?
Set a vision for the future
Consider what your IT landscape will look like in five or ten years from now.
Planning for the future
IT leaders need to develop their own strategic plans to support the organization’s strategic plan.
4 approaches to communication technology
Organizations that don't improve their communication environment may lose their competitive advantage.
Promoting local startups
How can an organizational leader develop, promote, establish, and build a team for community startups?
Leadership does not happen in a vacuum
Thanks to Simón for sharing this excellent perspective on leadership within and across organizations.
Open source in the enterprise
Organizations can deploy open source in a variety of ways.
Empowering employee decision-making
Open leaders should stay involved in decision-making, not avoid it.
Startup innovation leadership
How local leaders can build a support network and accelerate any startup project.
Celebrating your coaching buttons
We welcome anyone to share their story about how they lead.
The benefits of fractional leadership
Bring in engaged experts to help you get something going while looking for your forever person.
Startup innovation leadership and changing supply chains
Startups will increase in the future and leaders should see these as great opportunities.
How does an organization leader get a project started where no organization exists?
With compatible values, all partners can better help each other.
What the pandemic taught us about virtualizing our organization
Lessons learned in moving to a virtual organization structure in the face of the pandemic.
Preparing for your next interview
Good interviewers look for a “story” behind your answer. Use this method to tell your story.
4 reasons Zoom ‘digital twins’ are a bad idea
Why IT leaders should not encourage using AI to replace decision-makers in meetings.
Why tech leaders need to mentor and coach others
Part of giving thanks to the people who supported you in your technology career is giving back to those who are just starting theirs.
Writing a cover letter to get noticed
Your cover letter gets their attention. Hook their interest so they notice you.
Preparing for a job search
There’s more to a resume than a list of jobs. Let your achievements stand out.
Defensive scheduling
Sometimes, you need to stop the distractions and schedule time for yourself.
Saying and accepting thanks
A simple “Thank you” can be a powerful way to show your appreciation.
Next generation leaders expect to work openly
Leverage the principles of open organizations to get buy-in from your teams, and drive digital transformations more effectively.
How to nurture open leaders by letting go
Work together with established managers and emerging leaders to build open organizations. That requires respect, curiosity, and trust from all sides.
Open organizations where leaders can emerge
To foster engaged and innovative organizations, you need to set the right conditions for open leaders to thrive.
To be an open leader, listen to your heart
Purely rational decisions and snap judgements won't cultivate trust or empower others. Look to create open environments instead.
Elevate open leaders by getting out of the way
Your open organization leaders know the most effective path forward, but are you giving them the space to get there?
The corporation board of stakeholders
Companies with stakeholder boards maximize positive society impact over maximum company profits.
Share your leadership lessons
We want to celebrate everyone who contributes to Coaching Buttons and makes this a vibrant community of writers and leaders.
A movie to scale corporate social responsibility
If you can envision it, you can make it happen. This "movie concept" shows how organizations can be socially responsible.
The value of corporate global responsibility
How employees in multinational corporations can develop a sense of purpose and mission while leading their organization toward greater global social responsibility.
Becoming a more socially responsible organization
How corporations can adjust their mindset toward attacking poverty, pollution, cybercrime and other worldwide issues and do it profitably.
Leadership lessons from open source software
As chief information officer, I leveraged many of the lessons I learned from my experience in open source software.
Resource planning with work plans
Resource planning helps everyone stay on target. You can build a resource plan for your team using a spreadsheet.
Lessons in starting a small business
Sharing my experience in successfully launching a small business.
Disaster recovery and business continuity
IT manages disaster recovery, but business owners own the business continuity.
Moving to a community servant model and Open Organization approach
Using an Open Organization process, companies can become more responsible and adapt to change more quickly.
Globalization and industrial revolutions
A brief history of globalization and how multinational corporations have to play a more sustainable, ecological and humanitarian role in the future.
Plan your work with a Gantt Chart
Gantt charts help project managers to plan projects and coordinate team member activities.
Advancing leadership at the Government IT Symposium
Hallmentum was honored to work with our peers and colleagues at the Government IT Symposium.
Reduce noise to make better decisions
Use this process to reduce the noise that creates radically different judgments in group collaboration.
Fighting life's distractions
In today's noisy environment, a leader has to at least reduce counterproductive "noise" and biases to achieve the desired goals.
Welcome to the community
If you forged a path and led the way, you are a leader. And we want to share your story.
Planning for disaster recovery
What does your disaster recovery plan look like? Take this opportunity to review processes and procedures in your own organization.
Future-me needs help
Use this method to get some distance from the day-to-day issues and improve your work/life balance.
Present and future needs with SWOT
Leverage SWOT in a new way to identify present and future needs.
Using the double diamond
Sometimes you need a process to break out of the everyday and find solutions. Use this approach to identify new ideas and expand on them.
Communicating across cultures
Today's leaders need an international lens, and an ability to communicate effectively across cultures and languages.
The future of entertainment
Technology isn't just for digital transformation. We often see technology leveraged in entertainment.
The changing role of the IT leader
Today’s IT leader plays a much different role than the IT leader of several years ago.
Create a dual-mode organization to explore options
Instead of trying to anticipate the future, IT leaders should instead build a flexible framework to prepare for it.
Join us at GOVIT Symposium
Strengthen your teams, learn from and be inspired by others, and explore new opportunities to collaborate with your peers.
Forming, storming, norming, and performing
When bringing people together in a new team, most groups go through these four stages.
How to lead an affinity exercise
Leadership often involves working with large groups. Use these lessons to identify the top priorities from a large gathering.
The future of the sharing business model
The sharing economy is here to stay. IT leaders developing the next generation platforms should consider sharing economy ideas as part of their model.
Real world examples of a sharing economy
From Airbnb to rideshare companies, the sharing economy model is here to stay.
Open organizations and the sharing economy
Open organization principles such as collaboration and community also support an emerging business model based on connections.
Leading with innovation
Leaders bring innovation and strategic thinking to an organization. Explore how one CEO approaches leadership.
Celebrating leadership with a new community
Follow our new website, Coaching Buttons, for an open community about leadership.
A reflection on legacy
When legacy systems are stable and keep running, is legacy really a bad thing?
It's easier to interpolate than extrapolate
Try this method to envision the future and fine tune your strategic plan to get there.
The next iteration from open data is open source
Through open data, governments became more transparent to citizens. With open source, you can take government transparency to the next level.
Leading change in a galaxy far, far away
Leadership lessons are all around us, if we can look at things through a new lens. What lessons can you find in Star Wars?
Leading through change
The role of an IT leader often requires leading through change. Use these lessons to navigate change more effectively.
The importance of work-life balance
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Use these tips to develop a healthier work-life balance.
The four qualities of IT leaders
Everyone in an organization needs to find balance between Technical, Interpersonal, Strategic, Financial. IT leaders need to choose their focus.
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Share your story
Coaching Buttons is an open community dedicated to advancing leadership. We believe that everyone can lead within and across organizations, regardless of their job title.
What’s your focus
Effective leaders know how to balance their time. Recognize how you divide your week or day so you can focus your leadership energy.
What are "coaching buttons"?
We aim to share articles that help everyone on their leadership journey. Join us and let's lead together.