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Am I on the right track? What are they doing?  It’s natural we compare ourselves to others. We do this for a variety of reasons: sometimes out of curiosity, perhaps for validation, or maybe to find similarities. When done in excess, comparisons don’t serve. Why? Because one mark of a brilliant leader is having the…

How do you create a sustainable movement? You stay the course, come “hell or high water.” The ending of my first draft of this blog had me flashback to the most memorable man I have known, his impact and the song list he created for his final days. I’ve thrown out the first draft because…

Simon Sinek wrote in The Infinite Game: “The rise of great societies, advancements in science and medicine and the exploration of space all happened because large groups of people, united in common cause, chose to collaborate with no clear end in sight.” This got me thinking about the importance and variety of communities in our…

You may have personally experienced this: Your team leader shares a vision and you are secretly uncomfortable with it or have different ideas. Yet despite your internal gut churning, you say nothing. And, your colleague says nothing. And, when no one speaks up, the silence is mistaken for alignment. Keeping your mouth shut might seem easier…

While reflecting back over my career, I realized that many of my most creative solutions were born out of chaos – when what had worked before no longer worked for the issue at hand. United around a common goal to find solutions, we brought together diverse teams to attack the issue from different angles. Do…

Over my corporate career, I inherited many different teams and had to get up to speed on whatever function I was then leading. My go-to way of creating strong team connection was to trust each person from the start. Trust? Another blog about trust? (See Jen’s great blog on trust and appreciation.) Well, it is…

I’ve never been “hip”. I’ve tried to be cool, but the truth is I was a bit of a “square” growing up…more conscientious than easy-going, always fretting about something versus letting it be. Sometimes, I can be so serious that I miss hidden meanings in sarcasm, a tactic employed frequently by my husband. As an…

Lessons often come to me when I’m playing, and that’s how this one came to me. Last week I found myself in my first virtual reality game. I was standing on the edge of a cliff, intent on rescuing my robot, when I realized that I was standing on the edge of a cliff. My…

Oh, the pressure! What inspirational words should I share as we launch into the new year and reflect on the old? What different approach can I offer to come up with “the list” … and stick to it? What’s important to consider when coming up with resolutions? How do you balance your choices in business…

Rest assured, this won’t be a lesson in values-based leadership…I like to leave preaching to my Dad (an ordained Lutheran Minister). The fact is, however, values play a role in the many types of leadership that have been touted by experts. This is not a new concept. It flows hand-in-hand with one of the of…