Shouldn’t every college graduate take a course in managing and coaching people? I know my wife and I with our fancy-shmancy bachelors AND graduate degrees never received formal training. Instead, we learned like so many people, on the job. Most of that was by osmosis from mostly average experiences. No slight is intended, as few … Continued
Last week I was teaching the principles and practice of “coaching” at an “executive boot camp” and these women and men were good. I asked for volunteers to give me feedback and the two who took turns were s-m-o-o-o-t-h. They complimented me first and made me comfortable before delivering the coaching that I requested. One … Continued
I got a call a while back from a founding CEO of a growing company. He asked if I would coach him. I liked him from the beginning. He said, “I’ve been an individual performer. But I need to learn to be a leader.” My best coaching clients have been the ones who EAGERLY want … Continued
There’s an absolutely deadly, yet little-known combo that can destroy the prospect of creativity and initiative, on the part of so-called followers. Here’s the math that I shared about — and with – my students, as I began a class on risk-taking on Monday: 50 students x 12 years of pre-college schooling x 180 days … Continued
Thank you to the 231 of you who weighed in on my survey on complaining last week! I am afraid I botched the design a little,* but the core data remains fascinating: People who responded guesstimated that they complain between 14 and 18 times a day. My inquiry was fueled by two essential leadership truths … Continued
The practitioners of “emotionally intelligent leadership” agree that self-awareness is a cornerstone skill to develop. I offer today’s experimental Reading for Leading with the intent of helping you raise your self awareness. I have a question, then a challenge. I’m hoping that tomorrow (when I send you a link), at least 500 people will weigh-in … Continued
As long-time readers know (and by the way, today marks the beginning of year 14 of RFL), from time-to-time readers get enthused and write back to me with better ideas than I have shared in the first place. Today I feature feedback from a friend, Bill Richards, who works, okay, he’s a judge, in the … Continued
I loved this 45-second clip of Daniel Goleman telling a classic story about Larry David, the producer of “Seinfeld,” who plays himself on the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” I thought Goleman’s telling was worth sharing in audio format: On one level, this is classic Larry David, the crazy, Woody-Allen-like neurotic. And on another … Continued
Last week I wrote about how a “field” of energy can envelope a culture. Here are the survey results — both troubling and s-o-o-o intriguing, as people selected three statements that “most accurately describe the environment, the “field of energy” in their office (or whatever milieu is central to their life: team, campus, family)”: Click here … Continued
My reading of Daniel Goleman’s fascinating book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence has coincided this week with a powerful experience of “a field” of energy in a group. Goleman writes persuasively about how important it is to be able to change our focus, and to focus upon things that our conscious minds have never known they … Continued