The Lessons of Being Laid Off
The first time I was laid off was 2001. You read that right. I’ve been laid off twice in my career. And, with some distance, I’ve come to appreciate how both of those instances have made me a better human being and a better coach. But, let me not get ahead of myself. In the […]
The Power of One More Hour
I’ve yet to meet someone who says, “I have oodles of discretionary time.” Rather, most of the professionals I work with struggle to get everything on their overflowing “to-do list” done. When we do the work to identify what success means for them, they are sometimes confronted with the reality that there is dissonance between […]
5 Questions to Bring Clarity to Your Vision
“I want to get promoted.” Sound familiar? So many of the folks I speak with see this as the road to success. And, it may well be. But it’s worth questioning where that road leads to. That’s where having a vision comes in handy. Sometimes, though, the question, “What’s your vision for your life?” can […]
The Importance of Trust and Honesty in the Coaching Relationship
One of the things that will make or break a coaching relationship is the level of trust and honesty between the coach and the client. This is not only the degree to which you are able to be candid with your coach but also the degree to which your coach can be honest with you. […]
Understanding What Triggers You
A few weeks ago, I got completely hijacked by my fundamental needs. I thought it might be helpful for you to see just how easily it can happen, and how important it is to recognize that this is what is happening. In recognizing it, you are able to determine what you need to do to […]
Preparing for Coaching
At the beginning of a coaching engagement, it is important for your coach to learn several things about you in order to be of the best service to you. The first would be why you sought out coaching to begin with. In other words, what is the goal you are trying to achieve? As important, […]
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 […]