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 […]
The Importance of Creating Clarity
I’ve had two conversations recently that highlighted the importance, as a leader, of creating clarity for your organization. While one looked retrospectively over the course of 2022, the other focused prospectively on 2023, and both had implications for the employees of their respective organizations. In the first situation, the person I was speaking with described […]
You Inspired Me to Take My Dream Off Hold
Recently, I presented my first-ever hybrid workshop. I knew three things coming into this session. First, that the participants of this organization were “worn down.” They’d been through a tumultuous time. As a result, they’d “armored up” to protect themselves. So there wasn’t a high degree of trust or psychological safety. This meant that I […]
How Much Time Are You Spending in Your Zone of Genius?
In speaking with a client the other day, he expressed his frustration that he was stuck. That he didn’t have time to do the stuff he wanted to be doing — and, in some cases, the stuff that was important to the organization — because he was caught up in a never-ending cascade of ‘busy […]
Can You Be Successful AND Happy?
I am often asked the question, “can you be successful and happy?” and I can appreciate why this is such a difficult concept for individuals to grasp. Society has conditioned us to believe that happiness is the price we have to pay if we are to be successful. In fact, society has done a pretty good job […]
The Learning is as Important as the Landing
Recently, I sent out a newsletter with a survey link embedded in it. This was my first foray into creating a survey and, I must say, I was pretty proud of myself. And then, I got one, and then another, and another, message from a reader letting me know that the links did not allow […]
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 […]
Nothing to Show For It
I often talk to my clients about the fallacy of multitasking. This concept has become a badge of honor in the business world. We even see job postings stating that the candidate “must be able to multitask.” And yet, the research shows that multitasking actually reduces productivity and effectiveness while increasing stress. And yet, even with that knowledge, […]
I’ve Got This… Wait, No, I Don’t!
You know when you hear the same theme over and over again in a short period of time, it’s probably something worth blogging about. Let me give you three different vignettes into this issue: Vignette 1: I set out certain goals for my department at the beginning of the year and, while I haven’t been […]
Shot Out of a Cannon
As I looked at this week, I took a deep breath and felt myself physically brace for what lay ahead. Each day held between 5 and 7 hours of scheduled meetings. Fortunately, this is no longer what my typical work week looks like but, whoa, did this cause me to take a pause as I saw […]