Last week I suggested that the best way to renew a strained partnership is to work on yourself. I suggested I must lead with my best self to begin with the assumption that I have done something to contribute to stress or a breakdown. It takes my best, because the lawyer in me habitually turns all … Continued
Friends, Oh, did I screw up last week! I’ll tell you what I did, how I made it worse, and what I’m still learning about it. I turned in my grades for my awesome undergrad leadership students. A frustrated email quickly arrived from a student, saying there must have been a mistake. Then a second … Continued
Friends, Jack was really irritated when he asked me, “How many times are you going to tell me ‘it’s the 4th quarter?’” Answering a question with a question, I asked my 15-year old how many days were left until his finals were over. (We both knew it was 6. Such are the games of sarcasm … Continued
Friends, We got to Jack’s piano recital early last night. Scott was putting the programs on the chairs. Just an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet folded in half, with a frilly cut on the right side of the cover. Inside: Twenty three students were listed on the left with the title of their selection on the … Continued
Friends, I returned Sunday from the Oregon coast (which by the way struck me as though it was a marvelous cousin to the lands of the Lake Michigan dunes). I was on a retreat with 11 other men looking to renew “meaning in the middle of life.” Ann Ladd and Tim Barraud* who facilitated the … Continued
Friends, Sometimes I wonder: Have I gotten too soft, when so many of my Reading for Leading blogs are about relationship? But then I figure: how else can you lead or be led, except in relationship? And this past week offered three ripe examples, one from hoops, and two in the semester’s end. I was … Continued
Friends, What if you screwed up a lot? Made judgment calls that didn’t work. Relied confidently on past experience only to find out that there were different variables at play this time. What if your people messed up a lot, like missed their goal 70% of the time? So, consider this: last year only 23 … Continued
Friends, On Wednesday, I had one of the most fun times I have ever had presenting to a group. Nate Butki invited me to speak on a panel in L.A. at the Great Places to Work Conference. If you’re not familiar with them, they’re the brains (and the heart) behind Fortune magazine’s January issue which features … Continued
Dear Friends, There will be no “Reading for Leading” from me today. I encourage you, however, to hit the Comments button below should you wish to share any succinct thoughts you have that might help other readers to . . . Lead with your best self! Dan
Friends, Think about a time when change was foisted upon you. How did you feel, and how did you find yourself reacting to the one who brought the change? Got it in your head? I asked my students last week to share in one-on-one conversations their answers to those questions. Then I asked them — … Continued