Gentle leadership. It’s not an oxymoron. Nor is this a contradiction in terms: self leadership. So, today a simple musing after these two facts. 1. When you are stressed and stretched, it is nearly impossible to “lead with your best self.” 2. In this time of severe dislocation, fear, and challenge, everyone I know is … Continued
Last week, I wrote about how in-your-face Covid has been for all of us. Not equally, of course. Some of your families may be right now threatened by the disease itself. Yet it confronts us all. Last week, I invited you to hear Anne Zehren our Thursday resilience speaker. Anne has dealt for a decade … Continued
The exhausting challenge. The amazing opportunity. Resilience . . . Plus . . . At no time in my 60 years of life in America, has our collective life so totally invaded my, and our, private existence. The events, threats, and responses to Covid strike at our individual identity, our “who I am.” We are … Continued
I was old enough to experience the civil rights movement in the 60s and can’t help but wonder: What’s different? And: How important is the difference? One of the answers to the first question is that white people like me are increasingly willing to really listen to Black Voices, not interpreting everything, not telling Black movement … Continued
Wow, what a time we are in. Our upcoming Zoomcast series on Resilience could not come at a better moment. “I feel tired,” a friend said. And: “No offense, professor,” a student of African descent said to her 40 Zoom-mates and me in class on Monday, “but I really don’t want to be here. … Continued
[Tweet “The Ego is captive to urgency. The Spirit breathes in the calm.” – DGM] Covid has been offering us all a chance to live in sociology experiments. Our petrie dish is our house. It has become a WeWork space by day: A former governor runs a national podcast or makes donor calls from Jack’s … Continued
The pandemic is affecting people in vastly different ways. Most troubling and extreme are those who have died, been hospitalized, come down very sick, or even just been infected. Next come those whose work and income have been completely upended. And sadly, those already at the margins – by virtue of age, wellness, socio-economic status, … Continued
The pandemic wears on. People get more restless with the abiding uncertainty, wrankling repetition, and worry. True in homes. True in nursing homes. True in cities and colleges. True for countries and the world. Money and health? Is anything more foundational for our well-being, and more worrisome when it’s threatened? Although we don’t have physical … Continued
Today I begin a writing partnership with Greg McBeth. Greg’s an engineer, co-founder with his wife Falon, consultant to entrepreneurs, and great writer. He’s also a gambler. While I limit Read2Lead to a page’s length, Greg lets himself go into greater depth. We chose a topic, gave ourselves a little guidance, but then went off and … Continued
It’s a painful irony that we share both our deepest and ennobling love, yet also reserve our worst behavior for those who are closest to us. And “closest” these days takes on a new and literal meaning. When his 97 year-old father fell sick after exposure to Covid-19 and was left alone by his regular … Continued