awareness of self

Tough Conversations

Leadership is about having honest conversations. The skill of being able to handle difficult conversations (conflict, differing opinions, accountability) is one of the most critical skills for a leader. Fierce Conversations and Crucial Conversations are great books, and here is another offering – a video by Ash Beckham. Talent management is about great conversations, this will help you have more of them.

read more

Lots of Reasons, No Excuses

Talent management is about great conversations. One aspect of a great conversation is Lots of Reasons, and no excuses. This is a leadership tool that will transform how you listen and how you lead. When you do it well, accountability and safety follows.

read more

Leadership – The biggest choice you will have to make

What is leadership? Not what others tell you, but what do you believe LEADERSHIP IS? What are you doing to get there? Talent management is about great conversations, and a key conversation is the one you have with yourself that is started by this question. I believe that one on ones are critical habits for leaders, and it is based on what I believe leadership is. I would love to hear your input on this.

read more

. . . and When We Want Feedback – Step 1

We cannot get better without feedback. It is a critical piece, and in my experience people are not effective at giving or getting it. If you believe that relationships are critical in leadership and building effective teams, then you know that great relationships start with honest conversations that lead to thoughtful actions, and ultimately higher performance. It is the core of talent management and leadership development.

read more

What Seth Said – and more . .

The one I go back to daily is Seth Godin. I like Seth because his voice is edgy and challenging, and he writes about things that are important. Here is a piece of his recent post called The feedback you’ve been waiting for . . . Getting feedback is the foundation for development, and yet it is hard to get and hard to give. Here are some tips for Leaders on how to build moments where it is easier to hear it.

read more

3 Questions to Transform Your One on One

Talent management is about having thoughtful conversations that lead to meaningful actions and ultimately higher performance. The one on one is a key conversation. Here are three questions to ask and some other questions that will help you make that time more thoughtful and meaningful.

read more
The “Am I crazy?” Talk

The “Am I crazy?” Talk

Talent management is about great conversations. One critical conversation is the one we have with ourselves when we are feeling overwhelmed and not living into the work or the priorities we have set for ourselves. That happens. Life happens. But staying in and leading from that space is not healthy. Here are 4 steps to take when you find yourself feeling like you are loosing it (I call it the Am I crazy? question). The ability to do this is a critical part of leadership development.

read more

Excuses or Reasons? Two practices to help you listen

How many times have you walked into a situation as a leader, parent, or friend and heard a mountain of excuses and nothing got fixed? We know the impact of an excuses, but how do we get to a different outcome? Talent management is about having great conversations, and having those conversations requires us to manage ourselves well and maybe make some changes on how we manage others. Here are two practices this week to focus on.

read more

#nicematters

Gratitude matters. #Nicematters. It is important to share with people a simple Thank You, and when we get those messages from others we need to store them in a #nicematters file. Here is a quick request for my friends, to help me celebrate the gifts of 11 high school seniors. I look forward to a great conversation today.

read more

Entrepreneurial Leadership – My presentation & Two things I learned

Leadership starts with self-awareness. Self-awareness is only possible if we do some inner work and engage in a community that helps us define and refine our talents and potential. That is talent management, for leaders. Here is a presentation I did around entrepreneurial leadership and two things I learned from the experience.

read more

A lens for your talent conversations: 30-30-40 Conversation™ Rule

Talent management is about great conversations. The lens I use to guide these conversations has come from years of watching people interact, being in some great conversations, and working with some friends on a product to help others have great conversations. Here is my 30-30-40 rule. Use it to refine your leadership, peer, and team conversations.

read more

Beware of MORE Leadership

Talent management is about great conversations. Ultimately, great conversations are laced with the right words, the right intent, and the right actions. MORE is a word that is part of startup, growth, and leadership conversations, but beware of it. Ultimately it causes motion, but erodes most of the other things that are part of great relationships. Here are 5 reasons why MORE is dangerous.

read more