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Platforms and Pitfalls
I’m not really much of a gamer; my history with Activision and Atari 2600 gaming systems will either date me or render me seriously retro-cool. One of my favorite video games of all time, however, was Pitfall. In Pitfall, the player was a jungle explorer-type of character attempting to navigate around, over and through various…
A Practice in Surrendering
Sometimes when I reflect upon my own thoughts and actions, I have to laugh a little – that laugh we use to mask critical judgment, the one that says somehow we knew better, somehow we’d been there before, yet here we are repeating the same folly. It seems that it would be infinitely easier to…
Strengthening Relationships
We put a tremendous amount of effort into developing relationships in our lives – whether with family, friends or key stakeholders in our organization. Developing consistent relationship-strengthening activities with people is also vitally important. We often tend to neglect nurturing the relationships that are closest to us, and therefore most critical for our collective success…
From Peer to Boss…Help!
Moving up in the organization is an exciting time. Promotions offer more responsibilities, interesting challenges, and often a higher salary. And if you’re on that track, it’s inevitable that your peers may one day be your direct reports … which can be awkward at best, and distractingly uncomfortable at worst. The stakes get even higher…
The Five F’s of Performance
As many of you know, I enjoy experimenting with fun and reliable ways to remember ideas that help me be a more effective leader, and to perform at higher levels as a coach, leader, spouse, father, and community leader. This led me to my latest experiment, the Five F’s of performance – Focus, Faith, Flow,…
What Are Success Systems and How do They Work?
This is going to sound like “coach blasphemy,” but I am going to pose the question anyway: how well do goals work? I’ve seen goal-setting work incredibly well for some people, but in all honesty, I’m not one of them. Do they work for you? If not, I may have an explanation … and an…
Mastering Development
Leadership, team, and organizational development efforts are often challenged by being disconnected from the strategy of the organization, too content-centered, and not adaptable to changing needs of a dynamic environment. Development occurs through many different yet integrated methods. While formal training is one aspect, it is only a piece of what people need to flourish…
Mindsets
Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister was a British middle-distance athlete and neurologist who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. He did so after being told it couldn’t be done. Who is your Roger Bannister, the person who makes the impossible seem possible to you? And how can you start becoming your own Roger, thinking bigger and embracing possibilities…
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…
Old Dogs
I got really irritated the other day because the new pair of pants I purchased – and had worn only once! – got ruined. My dog Halo, in all his joy to see me walk through the door, jumped up on me and his nails snagged the fabric. Honestly, I was really mad, but not…
