A month ago I wrote a post entitled, “Have you ever seen a time like this?” and described the intense and pervasive inter-generational conflict I am seeing with all my clients, as well as at Berkeley and in my personal life. I shared data and offered some hypotheses. I held off on offering prescriptions but … Continued
I have never seen a time like this in 25 years of executive coaching and organizational development. I’m hungry to hear from you about any of these three points: (1) What I think I’m seeing; (2) A working hypothesis about it; and (3) A prescription or two. What I think I’m seeing. There is a … Continued
Fr. Tim Shannon, of blessed memory, had an amazing ability to inspire – and raise money – with stories. And he could tell the same story – with the exact same words – over and over. I must have heard him 50 times say, “I told Mike Gill, my admissions director, that I wanted more … Continued
How do you think about humility? And. . . false humility? Maybe you share my ambivalence. Consider when YOU last received public or strong private praise. How was it? What was conjured, and how can you BEST relate when you’re receiving praise? It’s not just about you but also about how you lead! Denial … Continued
Our research at LeadingX2 unequivocally tells us that Open Communication is the number one driver of the quality of paired relationships. Remoteness, thanks to Covid, amplifies a life lesson: STOP TEXTING AND EMAILING ABOUT HARD STUFF!!!!!! I scream this in all caps to evoke how one-way communication like this can feel. Doesn’t it grate on you? … Continued
Beings (human included) are highly sensitive to threats. Therefore, Danger seizes our attention. We can’t turn away: from the proverbial train wreck. The fire. The predatory leader. 911 – in both senses of those three numbers. We fundamentally fear for our safety – from nature and from others. We’re vulnerable to being triggered. Media literally … Continued
For 22 years, I have signed off Read 2 Lead with the line, “lead with your best self.” It implies the obvious: often we lead with something other than our best! This closer implies, quite intentionally, that in some sense we have multiple selves. My friend and coach Cathy Raines introduced me to Shirzad Chamine, … Continued
warning: this one’s passionate, fact-based, but a bit long 🙁 Everyday Leadership definitionally asserts: everyone can lead. In our representative democracy, this is a tautology: citizens not kings are leaders. One of the complaints I hear a lot is that elected leaders are more like elected . . . followers, “with their finger in the … Continued
[I am going to write about Martin Luther King, Jr. next week.] My friend Berke’ Brown shared some psychological research that stuck with me. It showed how having multiple identities strengthens a person’s psychological resilience. So, for example, if one identities as an athlete, a lesbian and a humanitarian; and also identifies as a Detroiter, … Continued
2020 Sucked! It brought a lot of suffering on a lot of levels and to too many people. And the suffering will continue, especially in the weeks upon us, post holiday travel. 2020 also awakened us. “Normal” wasn’t. And still isn’t. Truth is, it’s easier to change when things aren’t normal. Anyone who has been … Continued