Leadership shows up in ordinary moments. The meeting where you say the thing nobody is saying. The conversation you have been putting off. The choice to step in when it would be easier to wait for someone else to.
These articles are about those moments: what they look like, what gets in the way, and what to do differently the next time one shows up.
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This morning I read a post by Jenny Flintoft in which she offers a great exercise for reflecting on what our heroes can teach us about our aspirations for ourselves. When doing Jenny’s exercise I immediately put Ada Mazza, my mother-in-law, on my list. Now I know a mother-in-law may seem like a rather unusual […]
A few weeks ago I was talking with a dentist about the challenges of running an office. It doesn’t seem to matter whether you work in a huge company or a small office, wherever there are people trying to work together there is inevitably an issue I will call “whose job is it?”. The even
Much has been written about flow and being in the present moment. I have read a ton of it, searching for keys to experiencing more flow in my life and work. I can work so hard at times that I exhaust myself in the process. There have also been too many times in my life
While on the way to catch my plane in San Francisco yesterday I realized I left my cell phone behind. After a moment (or two) of panic I realized this could actually be an interesting experiment. It was. Throughout the day I noticed I was more interested in and observant of all that was going
Recently I read a post by Heather Fenoughty, an internationally respected film, tv and theatre composer and sound designer. She suggests that if you have writers block when trying to compose that you find a four chord progression and play with it to make it your own. Since you can’t copyright just four chords you
No I am not talking about the theory that red cars get more tickets or have more accidents. Although that is a theory, there actually seems to be little evidence to support it. Besides, the question of whether they do or not is not as interesting to me as why they might. Perhaps it is
Here’s one interpretation of what a moment of courage feels like and the choice our courage provides. Of one thing I am certain: anyone reading this has already had moments like this. May you have many more in your lifetime. In fact, there’s probably a lot of people who are counting on it! A MOMENT
True courage is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to proceed in spite of it.–Unknown Leading can be simple. And it is not always easy. Sometimes just the thought of doing something as simple as raising your hand can make your heart race uncontrollably. It did for me back in school and at
When something goes wrong we were trained to ask the question “Who is responsible?”. As a kid we learned to either run and hide when we heard that phrase or respond quickly with “It wasn’t me, it was _____” to save ourselves from punishment. Our parents and teachers worked hard to help us learn to
It’s Them is the Costliest Conversation in Life and Business Read More »
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality” Warren Bennis Of the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of definitions this one resonates the most with me. You may like another definition better or may have even crafted your own. But the notion of leaders having a vision is pretty universal one. So if you are interested
It’s time to demystify leadership. Opportunities abound for leading in any given moment. Yet all too often we don’t even see the opportunities let alone take them. Perhaps we have set our sights on the grand gestures of leadership; those moments born of pure inspiration that are captured in our history books and continue to
