This semester has been a hard one. Challenging client work. Digging the foundation for a book – and that idea-earth feels like hard clay for my mental shovel. Three classes – and one especially challenging. Sometimes the coach needs a coach, so I’ve been working with a guy named Mark, and we were discussing how hard … Continued
In Blink, Malcolm Gladwell mined mountains of psychological studies and produced boxcars of data to demonstrate the incredible speed with which the human mind makes judgments. And once we make judgments…boy, do they stick. Appearances that should be irrelevant — our race, gender, and age; our physical appeal; a nasal voice, or a New York assertiveness can … Continued
Last week I referenced the story of the “coin on the copier.” I referred to it as one of those stories about things you may say — especially when people look up to you — where the impact on others is more powerful than you’d ever think. The coin on the copier story was something … Continued
Last week I wrote about how my former TA, Hannah figured she was being listened to and appreciated, because, as she said, “I get invited to a lot of meetings.” That story prompted this response from a reader: “I remember very vividly one early morning when I was working in the Executive Office, and Governor … Continued
Yesterday, I went for a run with Hannah, a former student and TA of mine. She’s now doing amazing work at an excellent organization. She shared some reflections on how she felt the organization could improve. I shared with her that I thought her reflections made a lot of sense, told her how darned smart … Continued
Literally means literally. Okay? And Cliff had my back literally. Since he was 7 years old my son Jack has told me — not asked — that on his 16 birthday we would jump out of a plane together. My rather significant acrophobia told him in response: that would not be happening. He smiled, sure … Continued
In preparing to facilitate a session on vision with an amazing group of women leaders recently, I found the splendid one-minute clip below. Twenty years ago you couldn’t have found it, unless perhaps you scraped through recording archives of the Library of Congress. Today, we are blessed to be able to access such an historical … Continued
True story: Two people compete for an open supervisor position. A gets it and now supervises B. Supervisor A immediately makes worker B come in for multiple, successive Saturdays to train A on technical skills that the new boss is lacking. While at the Saturday trainings, A might say, “sorry I have to take this … Continued
It’s so easy to get discouraged when you want change, but it won’t come. You get numb. You get mad. You give up. You whine. You mobilize. You hit your head against a wall. You’re the messenger who gets shot. You get cynical. You feel guilty. You get sick and tired of being sick and … Continued
I invite my students to begin the semester by writing about what would make this their Best Class Ever. You could think, I suppose about what could make this your best summer ever (need that be impossible?). Perhaps best ever “family summer,” or best ever “work summer.” My class is, of course, on leadership, so no … Continued