My friend and neighbor Todd has two twin boys, Emmett and Leo. The boys are three years old and describing them as a “bundle of energy” doesn’t do them justice. I ran into the three of them (of all places) in the locker room of our local YMCA.They had just finished a swimming class and … Read more
Anyone can steer the ship when the seas are calm. Publius Syrus, Roman Author, 1st Century BC How do you show up when things go wrong? Victor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote: Between stimulus and response is a space. In that space is your power to choose. In that choice … Read more
The first meeting was over the phone, two weeks ago. I was speaking to Bart, a Senior Marketing Manager at a Fortune 500 consumer products company. Bart was my principal point of contact. The purpose of our call was for Bart to prep me– provide relevant context and the desired outcomes for a leadership training … Read more
The professional basketball league (NBA) is about halfway through their 82 game regular season. The #1 ranked team in the Eastern Conference is the Cleveland Cavaliers. Last season’s Eastern Conference Champions, the Cavs currently have a record of 30 wins and 11 losses. On Friday, they fired their head coach, David Blatt. Yes, you read … Read more
Every leader (and organization) has its strengths. Where do the strengths serve well? Where do they incur costs? I led the following awareness-building exercise with a team of leaders at a manufacturing organization. You can try it with alone, or with your team. Leadership Quality Awareness Exercise Think back on all the leaders you’ve ever … Read more
Ken is a nice guy.Everyone says so. A senior VP of strategy at a major aerospace company, Ken prides himself on being pleasant and agreeable to work with. Ken works really hard to be nice. So what’s wrong? Being nice is killing Ken’s effectiveness and efficiency at work.It’s also impacting his team, his peers, … Read more
In your leadership, how do you seek influence? Through strength? Or warmth? Research continues to mount that leading with warmth is the more effective leadership strategy. Warmth builds trust. Trust allows people to let their guard down. They’re open to the new, rather than defending the old. Warmth promotes effective communication and connection. Warmth shows … Read more
I can’t do this. I don’t know what I’m doing. This is too hard. I’m not going to make it here. I’m going to be found out. Do you have a track record of achievement, yet still hear these kind of messages running in your head? If so, you may be dealing with impostor syndrome -a … Read more
Poor Molly Huddle. Heading towards the finish of the 10,000 meter finals at the World Championships in Beijing last month, Huddle thought she had the Bronze medal in the bag. This was turning out to be her best finish ever in an international race. Huddle led the entire field as the bell rang to signal the last of … Read more
Names matter. You need look no further than the controversy raging around yesterday’s decision by President Obama to change the name of Mount McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. Obama’s signed an order to rename it Denali, which the mountain has been called by the native peoples of Alaska who have lived in its shadow for generations. For … Read more
