The “Work” of Work Life Balance
Achieving work-life balance is a goal that shows up often when I’m coaching clients in their mid-career years. There are many issues for many mid-level leaders that contribute to a normalized 12+ hour day – which is also often shown as a leader’s badge of honor, as well as a stepping-stone to senior leadership. If…
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Compartmentalize: A Tool of Leadership
Compartmentalize We often associate the word with negative meanings such as the emotionally distant manager that blocks feelings, ignores experiences, and focuses only on what they want. It may have sounded heartless to explore how becoming skillful in this could help my client succeed in a new, stretch assignment that had the scope and complexity…
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Work: More Happiness, Less Time
In the last few years, I’ve noticed a prevalent theme in the feedback shared about leaders I coach. They’re from various levels – senior executives, organizations, and industries. The striking consistency and frequency of the theme “s/he works too many hours – and others believe they must do the same” comes from peers, managers, and…
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Chemistry of Leadership
February in Texas shows signs that spring is in the air – red buds in deep pink buds bursting on branches and bright green grass pushing through brown winter grass. On top of this season are Valentine’s commercials showing clingy couples exchanging gifts and …my personal favorite are pastures blanketed soon in wild flowers dodging wobbly…
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The Importance of Attitude
Attitude Accelerates Performance We think of attitude as ‘contagious’ – whether positive or negative – we know it spreads. Lou Holtz, inspirational coach of six champion teams and an inductee to the USA College Football Hall of Fame has said: Attitude unleashes the energy needed to approach tasks, situations, and relationships and is especially important…
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The Heart of Leadership
Despite our self-centric tendencies, human beings are uniquely designed to thrive through shared effort and belonging. More importantly, humans need to belong and feel they matter – and it’s vital that leaders embody this in their daily behaviors so that it infuses a culture of high performance. Gallup documented these roots of our nature in…
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Emotional Intelligence – a Lens for Leadership
Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to understand your emotions and use this ability to manage your behaviors and relationships. Leaders with higher EQ are better equipped for making wise decisions under pressure and rapid change. EQ is a lens that great leaders use to strengthen awareness and influence others – for positive personal and…
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Gratitude Matters
Being Grateful is a Gift that Pays it Forward for you, and For Others The word Gratitude is derived from the Latin root word gratus – or that for which we feel thankful. It is distinct from a sense of satisfaction from personal accomplishment. To feel grateful acknowledges that something bigger than ourselves is involved when good comes our way. Things like love,…
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The Fear Factor – Make Friends
“I’m afraid.” I was intrigued. What fears surrounded her many strengths and possibilities? I’d heard these words voiced before by others with similarly stunning business performance and opportunities. Being afraid of our dreams is human. Our aspirations show up as the dream most desired and the dream most dreaded. The paradox can stem from a…
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Runaway Mind Train
Assumptions We all have them, and we tend to transfer those assumptions onto unfamiliar faces, unknown situations, and outcomes that we feel are uncontrollable. I totally get that. I catch myself doing this all the time. Today, for example. I awoke this morning planning to go in for my annual and routine blood tests. This…
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What Millennials Still Want to Learn
What do Millennials want to learn and what can you teach them? In the past, large amounts of resources were spent to make sure that the entire office was computer literate. But Millennials are the first generation to really grow up with the internet, so they are already e-fluent! So what do they want? Studies…
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Goal Setting: What’s Possible?
Goal Setting To achieve this possibility, how will I move towards it? What might be different when it happens? What is this worth to me/us? Who, or what comes with us, and what respectfully needs to be left behind? Who or what is needed? For us? For any new stakeholders? Assess if actions are moving…
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