Please bring to mind one thing that’s been preoccupying you. For instance, I am beleaguered by thoughts about a syllabus I need to revise for Fall. It pops into my head, unbidden. It can tighten me up, or get me in its grip. I can plan to get to working on it, but then somehow not! … 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
Friends, Isn’t it superb that leadership is a life long process?!! And guess what’s likely the single most important passage in that process of leadership development? I’m 100% behind Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner when they write: “Only challenge produces the opportunity for greatness.” (See the full, marvelous quotation in the first footnote below.) But … Continued
Wait For It – Something real good is coming Friends, To lead in December is to lead in the season of contradictions. Here’s the real bad part. We average 3 hours sunlight per day, and our nights grow terribly long until the 20th. There is too much stuff to finish. And there are new family … Continued
Jack is 12. Kate is 20. They remain my best leadership lab: I study their behaviors, and study myself acting in response. I like family leadership, because it’s real, raw, unpretentious, yet the stakes are high. This week the two reminded me that it’s important to exercise my authority. I mean “exercise” both in the … Continued
I suspect I’m not alone in the cycle of self-doubt and self-recrimination. Indeed, I know I’m not alone. I see kids on varsity who think they don’t belong there; supervisors who are shadowed by self-doubt; and I’ve coached high-level executives who couldn’t shake the fear they didn’t belong.
Friends, A customer service note: I strongly encourage you to add me to your safe sender’s list. I talk to people almost daily who say, “how come I’m not getting RFL any more?” I can only guess they have fallen victim to aggressive spam filters. I’d love to keep sending you RFL and reading your … Continued