“Finish stronger than you start,” was a common parental refrain in my household growing up. I didn’t appreciate it then, and I’m sure my parents didn’t appreciate my eye-rolling either. Now, however, I see how it reinforced the values of accountability, persistence, and tenacity. If you find yourself more of a “starter,” and your energy and enthusiasm wane as the newness of a project … [Read more...]
Strategic/ "Greater Good" Mentality
Is Lack of Reflection Holding You Back?
Of all the leadership skills my clients choose to work on, the most under-valued is reflection. It’s not that anyone is incapable of reflection, it’s more about prioritizing it and carving out time to make it happen. Let’s face it, it feels so much more productive to, well, produce something. You crank out emails, respond to Slack messages, send texts, interview people, conduct staff meetings, … [Read more...]
The Possible Dream … Work-Life Balance
An article from Entrepreneur highlights some interesting research noting that 66 percent of full-time employees strongly believe they don’t have work-life balance. In our “always on” world this is probably no surprise. Nonetheless, that does not mean a healthy work-life balance isn’t achievable for you and your team. Afterall, as a leader, your team looks to you to set the pace and to model … [Read more...]
What Are You Tolerating?
This is the “finger in the rib” question. If you put your index finger on your rib and apply light pressure, most people feel irritated, but still are able to carry on. Over time, you may even start accepting the annoyance as “normal” and a part of what you signed up for when you took this position. Our self-talk includes phrases like, “well, nothing’s perfect,” or “I have bigger battles to … [Read more...]
Brand YOU
What is meant by your leadership brand and why it’s important? For starters, your leadership brand is how you convey value. It’s the distinct set of talents and personality traits for which you are known. Your leadership brand is reinforced by how you “show-up” and behave on a daily basis. If I were to ask you to select key words to describe the leadership brand of Elon Musk, for instance, you’d … [Read more...]
Put Your Superpowers to Work
Quick! Answer the following questions: Spreadsheet or doc person? Big picture or detail driven? Phone, email, text or Slack communicator? People or data preference? Siri or Google search? White board thinker or mull privately? Generally, we have an affinity for how we think, communicate and make decisions. Tapping into the skills that come naturally to you is vital to capitalizing on your … [Read more...]
The “What” and the “How”
I’m intrigued by the concept of leverage…the notion of getting more with less energy. Archimedes understood the power of leverage when he said, “Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the earth.” In today’s pile-it-on world, doing more with less is the order of the day, and nary a client isn’t struggling with how to keep the lever in balance. Early in your career, you are usually … [Read more...]
Roving Aimlessly?
Whether you set goals at the start of the New Year, the start of the school year, or on your birthday, the reality is distractions can be hard to ignore and even the best-made plans may feel at risk. A few months after setting goals you may give in to the fear that this time it won’t, in fact, be different. You respond by continuing to run full speed ahead - toward what, you’re not sure. … [Read more...]
JELL-O Mold or JELL-O Mess
Even if you buy the need for strategy, it’s hugely time-consuming and taxing to get your team or organization on the same page. In short, it’s something that most people avoid. It’s much simpler to just get ‘er done….regardless if what you’re doing gets you closer to your goals. We’re busy, people! Yet, when we dodge the time and energy needed to flesh out sound strategies for how to … [Read more...]
How do you spend your most important asset?
24 hours a day, 168 hours a week, or 8,736 hours a year. That’s what we get. It’s the one resource we all have in common. The difference, of course, is how we each choose to spend this incredible gift of time. Off the top, most of us spend somewhere around 56 hours of each week sleeping. That leaves 112 waking hours a week. Then, if you take the “normal” workweek of … [Read more...]