The ‘To-Do’ list on Monday often starts with what was left on Friday. Then the messages start coming in from the people that depend on us for things — boss, peers, customers, kids, spouse, aging parents, our team, and friends. Then we respond like we have on every other Monday — we get to work. Here is a solution that will cost you an hour and give you a return many times your investment.
executive coaching
2 Quotes All Leaders Should Have On Their Desk
Leaders need to have guides in place to help them return to their path. Quotes can do that, and here are two that are guides for me.
Easy Way, Hard Way
As a parent of infant children, bath time taught me a few leadership lessons. My method of framing the choice of ‘Easy Way’ or ‘Hard Way’ has found its way into my coaching practice and in my own roles as leader, father, and friend. Here are some tips on facing these challenging intersections as a leader and individual.
Not enough…money? Time? How to move to enough.
Not enough money. Not enough time. Not enough resources. Not enough budget. Do you live in the state of any of these? A wealth manager taught me something today that translates through a lot of situations leaders run into personally and with the teams they lead. Explore it and learn a couple of key questions that can help move past ‘not enough’ to ‘enough’.
Leadership Wisdom 101: Seeing the bigger picture in leading (Part 1 of 3)
We lead in all aspects of our life, and where we get into trouble is when we stop doing it. We also make things harder for ourselves when wisdom and skills gained to help us be successful in one of our leadership roles does not get applied in other areas. Hint – being an effective active listener as a manager can also help you as a mother, father, friend, or neighbor. Here is part 1 of a 3-part series on doing this effectively.
What will people remember about your leadership?
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” (Maya Angelou) What does this mean for leaders?
Stress – is it bad?
Stress can kill you, or it can make you healthier. Did you know it is your choice which one happens? Here is a TED talk that gives a great perspective based on research. People-centered leaders and EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) leaders need to read this.
Key Leadership Skill: Sharpening the Saw or Clarity Breaks – 2 Tips to help you get started
I don’t have enough time! This is not new for leaders. Some evidence of this can be found in Stephen Covey’s classic book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’. Published in 1989, he pushed for people to set aside time to ‘sharpen the saw’. In EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), we call them clarity breaks. Here are two tips I have found helpful in my own personal journey of making this a habit.
My Top 5 Leadership TED Talks
Learning + Doing = Growth. TED Talks have become an amazing resource for learning and the good ones not only challenge, but inspire us to do something. Here are my five favorite TED Talks that I share with leaders every chance I get.
Leaders – Are you avoiding the hard stuff?
My data shows that 100% of the time leaders skip this assignment. What is the assignment? Sit down with one of your people and use the Team Member Fact Sheet to share some information about each other. People-Centered Leaders know the importance of knowing their team members, and don’t let the barriers get in the way of doing it.
They’ll Love Your Questions – by my friend/mentor Mary Jo Asmus
A key leadership skill is asking questions to help people effectively solve the problems they face. Good things happen when leaders ask questions, listen, and support effectively. Learn a proven process for coaching people through problem solving from Mary Jo Asmus, a professionally certified coach and award winning blogger. These are powerful questions that people-centered leaders should have in their toolbox.
Facilitating Commitment: 5 Words to Listen for and 2 Powerful Questions to Use
I define facilitating as helping a team have a productive conversation. A big part of that is listening for language being used. Here are 5 words and two powerful follow-up questions to strengthen commitments.