Why Do I Need a Coach?
When folks find out that I am a leadership coach, I’m typically met with the question, “why would I need a coach?” The two primary reasons I see for engaging a coach are to become better at the position you are already in or to prepare you for new/different/bigger things. Let’s explore each of these […]
Leveraging Difference
I was honored recently when a friend sent me the pre-release of the inaugural episode of her new podcast, “Level Up.” The premise of the podcast is to explore how music can influence you – your outlook, your attitude, your productivity. She does this by interviewing musicians – both to understand the music that has […]
Looking For a Sign
As a leader, it is important to be transparent and explicit in communication. Remote work has exacerbated the need for clarity in communication. Employees are trying to interpret the messages they are getting from their leaders. Here are two examples to illustrate this point: If a leader sends an email at 3 am, what is […]
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
While there has been quite a bit written about the Great Resignation and the inability to hire, I’ve seen less attention paid to the issues surrounding onboarding new hires. And yet, many of the conversations I’ve had lately have pointed to just how poorly organizations are doing integrating new hires — and how this has […]
Asking for Help is a Sign of Strength
When we decide to “go it alone,” we miss an opportunity to build community and to build trust with others. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that you’ve got to run around all day long asking for help on every little thing you are doing. What I am saying is that, far too often, […]
Stop Trying To Do Too Much
I believe that we have misinterpreted the word, “productivity.” We strive to see how many “things” we can check off of our “to-do” list each day. And there is this sense of deep pride when we talk about all we have to get done and just how busy we are. My question, though, is when […]
Tony is Wonderful!
“Tony is wonderful!” This is a standing joke between my husband and me. Whenever he sees me writing in my journal, he proclaims loudly, “Tony is wonderful,” inviting me to memorialize this in my journal. While this is just a cute exchange between the two of us, it got me thinking about motivation. As organizations […]
We Lead in Relationship to Others
A friend of mine recently sent me an article by Jesse Sostrin called Who You Are Is How You Lead. Jesse suggests that “[Leadership] is the simple act of being who you are in the company of others.” I think in our search for authenticity, we focus on the first half of this statement…let me figure […]
Always On
As a leader, how are you engaging your employees in the discussions about how your organization will exist coming out of this pandemic? Over the course of the last 18 months, employees have navigated a myriad of challenges to creatively find ways to perform their jobs. One of the behaviors that has been exacerbated by […]
The Power of Your Influence
I have been reflecting on this quote from Betty Williams, Nobel laureate, “One is a large number. If you can help one individual, one child, you will help ten. Because in the circle of that one person, there will be ten others that one will educate.” I speak of this as the ripple effect. Our […]