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Coaching
Even Leaders Have Off Days
To be clear, I’m not talking about a hard day, I’m talking about an off day. The kind of day when you feel guilty about feeling bad because nothing particularly bad has happened. It seemed that everything I did and everything I said was missing the mark. I wasn’t falling on my face, but I…
Wasted Energy
My wife and I refurbished a historical 1894 Victorian home 15 years ago. It was a dream home … although it was not when we bought it. In fact, it was barely livable. Our families were divided between “you are both so brave and cool for doing this” and “you are both nuts and are…
Ambiguity
The acronym VUCA has gained modern popularity, and there’s little mystery as to why: has there been a time in recent history when Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity were in such abundance? Considering that this acronym was coined as recently as 1987 – drawing on the leadership theories of Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus and…
The Four Agreements
Over the last few months, I have frequently recommended to my clients the book “The Four Agreements” by Don Miguel Ruiz. Published in 1992 it is a short book – only 138 pages – that shares some of the secrets and insights of ancient Toltec wisdom. The author advocates shedding of outmoded limiting beliefs that…
How to Get the Most from Coaching
Learning from those who came before us is one of the unique traits of human pedagogy. Over the years, as we’ve coached clients from all types of organizations and from all levels of leadership, we’ve noted some key attributes of clients who optimize their results. Let’s learn from their success by considering the following collection…
When Restorative Practices Need Restoring
Restorative practices are those habitual activities we intentionally engage in for the purpose of recharging our energy. Not unlike rechargeable batteries, our performance requires our bodies, minds, hearts and souls to have an opportunity to rest and recharge; otherwise our resilience will be weak and we’ll get “tapped out” sooner than we’d like. And not…
Mind Reader
Whenever our family watches a superhero movie, inevitably we ask each other, “What would you want your superpower to be?” My wife always chooses the classic ability to fly. My son invariably requests multiple powers so he doesn’t have to choose, while my answer has always been the ability to read the bad guy’s mind….
Inclusion
While my children were home for the holidays, we had a few opportunities to discuss some pretty substantive issues – potentially controversial issues about diversity, inclusion, capitalism, and politics. These are heavy and complex topics that are difficult to begin to understand, let alone get agreement on. One of the conversations my son Renny and…
The Four Bs to Success
This is the time of year, as I’m sure many of you can relate, when I do some decluttering: closets, drawers, files, clothes, shoes, you name it. I also target a special poly project folder that holds my key documents, including my weekly calendar, my values written out, declarations for the week, a couple of…