Unlock potential with vision. It is often said that the most successful leaders are those who can inspire and motivate their teams to unlock their true potential. But how can one do this? The answer lies in the power of vision. Vision is the abilit…
Multi-award-winning leadership development podcast, Starfleet Leadership Academy, wins the Silver Listener's Choice Award in the Inaugural Signal Awards Jeff Akin and the rest of the team at Starfleet Leadership Academy have undoubtedly mastered th…
In the 68th episode of the Starfleet Leadership Academy, The Animated Series, The Infinite Vulcan, the concepts of diversity, inclusion, and trust are explored. The episode features a villainous doctor from the Eugenics Wars who is attempting to cre…
Do you ever struggle with motivation? How about your team? Have you found yourself making inspirational speeches at meetings or designing incentive programs to keep things moving along? Finding the energy to do what needs to be done can be a challen…
Star Trek The Next Generation Too Short a Season is a sad excuse for an episode with an even sadder life story to tell. The flimsy script revolves around Mark Jameson, an admiral at the end of his career who has been explicitly requested by Karnas f…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Jeff Akin’s Starfleet Leadership Academy Podcast Named Award of Excellence Winner in the 28th Annual Communicator Awards The Cutting-Edge Leadership Development Podcast Outlines Tangible Leadership Skill…
If you’ve read my Selfish vs. Selfless blog then you know all about the manipulation tactics Lorca used in the Discovery episode Lethe. If you haven’t, go read it now! Lorca is a great example of what NOT to do. But he proves you…
Have you ever felt manipulated at work? What about slipping into manipulation yourself? Why do we use this tactic in the first place? Most likely because we want something from another person and we either don’t have the skills to, or don&rsqu…
Problem-solving is a core skill in life and business. Notice I called it a skill. That means anyone can develop it! No one is born a great problem solver. You become a great problem solver by learning from others, making mistakes, and tryi…
We all make mistakes, and we are all responsible for those mistakes. At the same time, we all learn from our mistakes and reach success by doing things differently. The best thing would be to use this as motivation in our lives and not let …
Quick poll: who loves having difficult, but necessary, conversations? Anyone? No one? That’s what I thought. It’s not easy to stand up for yourself. It’s especially not easy to tell someone you report to that you …
Do you consider yourself a leader or a boss? This question doesn’t just apply to the workplace, it can also refer to your home and personal relationships. Do you lead people or just tell them what you want done without any con…
Have you ever gone camping? Not like tent and sleeping bag camping. More like dumped in the middle of the woods with nothing but the clothes on your back kind of camping. Probably not. But have you ever been in a work situation that felt a l…
Have you ever worked with leaders or bosses who feel some weird need to appear bulletproof? They know everything, with no hint of needing to learn. Their confidence seems unflappable and impervious to the challenges they encounter. This ki…
Some might call recent history the worst of times. It seems like, regardless of industry, everyone has taken a beating. Supply chains, shipping issues, employee retention, illness, or just team morale, the people we’re leading are deal…
In lean, waste is the enemy. Every bit of wasted time, effort, or resources pulls the company down and impedes its ability to achieve its goals. The eight wastes of lean are: Defects, Overproduction, Waiting, Non-Utilized Talent, Transportation, Inv…
**Trigger warning: suicide** Before we get started, I want to let you know that this episode and recap of Star Trek deals with suicide. If you have been impacted by suicide, please accept my thoughts and support. If you are considering suic…
In today’s world, it is more important than ever to have a balanced work-life. It’s not just the number of hours you spend at your job that matters, though. The way in which you live your life outside of work also plays a huge role in ho…
Technology is amazing and is a cornerstone of how Star Trek tells its stories. I love the episodes where they have to science their way through a complex problem, often reversing the polarity or using a graviton surge...you know, totally mad…
Failure. It’s a complicated topic. Depending on your family of origin, your personality, and your experience with leaders like teachers, coaches, and bosses, you probably have one of two feelings about failure - hate or love.…
Today we’re looking at The Next Generation episode, “It’s Elementary, My Dear Data.” This episode has the opportunity to challenge our thinking about two things: the way we treat neurodivergent people in the workplace…
Every year I write a Thanksgiving message to my teams. I want to share that message with all of you as well. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. I love it because it combines two of my favorite things: gratitude and foo…
Today I want to talk about one of the greatest ways to lead well. No, I’m not talking about increasing your self-discipline or making more goals or expanding your influence. I want to talk about multiplication. Multipli - wha…
As the premiere episode in the new series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Encounter at Farpoint introduces us to Captain Jean-Luc Picard and William Riker. Here is our first chance to consider what kind of leaders they are and what we can learn f…