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Do you remember the first time you led a team that wasn’t? When I thought about it, the first memory that jumped into my head was when my team was at each other’s throats. It was completely unexpected. We had successfully met some major challenges and should have been riding high. Instead, there was discord…

Whenever I coach an executive, I receive feedback about him/her from a variety of folks across all levels of the organization through one-on-one interviews.  When done well, sharing the output from what I’ve learned in those conversations can be life-changing for my client. How so? Here’s my feedback on feedback. When conducting one-on-ones, there are…

“Tell me what you want…what you really, really want.” The words of that 90’s Spice Girls song, Wannbe, ring through my ears as I listen to people skirt around what they really wish to say. Come on, spit it out! Okay, it’s not always easy…I know—and am sensitive to this—because I have a history of…

These are challenging times which are stretching our abilities as communicators. Everything around us is in flux. There is a cacophony of messages from leaders, the media, neighbors, friends, family, and the ones we tell ourselves … and many seem to be in conflict. Indeed, poor communication abounds across the board. And, there are shining…

A dear friend of mine never ceases to amaze me. She’s a business leader who has solved every single problem that has ever been put in front of her, no matter the complexity. She jumps into the deep end of issues that predecessors didn’t dare to go – or even knew existed. She engages others…

When change is thrust upon us, not being the one to initiate it can make us feel helpless or even panic-stricken. When we take responsibility during a change, our relationship with it can shift for the better. What’s happening on our globe right now has jolted my memory right back to 1983 and the then-ensuing…

A few years ago, I went to a leadership retreat where everyone in the group did a trust fall. Have you ever done a trust fall? This is a time where you literally have to believe that someone truly has your back. It’s a leap of faith for yourself and for your team. In the…

Buzzwords can take on a life of their own. People throw them all over the place like they do with beads on Mardi Gras. And while workplace acronyms require a translator or a decoder ring, I’m talking about everyday words that are not workplace-specific. Words like vulnerability, transparency and trust are everywhere – in books,…

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…