I have been signing-off Reading for Leading for 15 years with the line “lead with your best self.” What do I mean by that? And, more importantly, what do you take from it? Here is perhaps the acid test of leading with your best self. A story. I moved back to Detroit when I was … Continued
Thanks for the amazing range of comments to last week’s RFL about how you find your sweet spot (I used random.org to choose three book winners from the 76 submissions). Today I am lending RFL to Dr. Christine Carter for her thoughts: I’ve loved reading how people find their groove, or their sweet spot! I … Continued
Last week I wrote about one of the key lessons I am learning from The Sweet Spot by Dr. Christine Carter. You’ll recall that the point of her book — subtitled How to Find Your Groove at Work and Home — is to help her readers to understand current brain research in order to work … Continued
Last week, I suggested that you take YOUR route to annual goal-setting. Maybe your verb is to “hope,” or “intend” or a “commit” to those goals. Robert Fritz, whose work I greatly admire,* balked at my offering of verbs. He argued that I missed the most important verb, to CHOOSE your goals. And he offered … Continued
I have arrogantly written my first law of leadership. In honor of ancient languages like Hebrew and Arabic, my law reads “backwards.” Because to do something backwards requires intention and focus. Thus, Mulhern’s First Law of Leadership: tfeL oTthgiR morF knihT syawlA or, for ease: Always Think From Right to Left. Our animal instinct is … Continued
On this my 56th year end, I commit to: 1. Going to a coffee shop with just me and my notebook computer for at least 60 minutes. 2. Writing a stream of conscious list of thank you’s. I’m pretty sure my list will get to 100 at least, partly because I’ve been so blessed and … Continued
You can make the same shift as 99 students of whom I am greatly proud. They inspire me to make the same choice that I commend to you today. They chose to improve, rather than to prove. I’ve had a 100 undergrads this semester. I required that they take the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (360), … Continued
Leaders always lead in context. But context we forget. So, here are 5 simple reminders as our context is shorter days, dropping temperatures, and some mounting pressures. Finish strong by clarifying realistic yet stretch goals. Re-read that sentence and say out loud the most important word to you. To me, it’s clarifying. Clarity is the … Continued
As I thought about Reading for Leading this week, I asked someone, “Is there anything else to say about Ferguson?” They said, “No!” We’re weary, aren’t we? Weary of the ripping story we’ve had with us since the ’60s, since, well since the Civil War, well since Thomas Jefferson. It’s the great American wound, the … Continued
Last week, I noted that any leadership problem that’s worth its salt will have emotion bursting through it. Whether that problem’s a “rebellious teenager,” the Israelis and Palestinians, employee layoffs, or controversial strategy. I asked your thoughts about what a leader should do with emotion, and there were some great comments from Cathy Raines, Mick McKellar, Norma … Continued