Have you noticed the darker the night, the brighter the stars? Their gentle twinkle, their pinpoints of light? Their magic upon which we wish as a child as the “starlight, starbright, first star I see tonight” comes gently, unrushed into view. Brightening as the day...

Sometimes life gets heavy. Deadlines pile up, to-do lists overflow, and it feels like you’re treading water. (This rings especially true around the holidays, doesn’t it?) When this happens, there’s a tendency to push through, suppress emotions, and plaster on a smile....

Have you ever felt like every productivity tool adds more to your plate rather than lightening the load? That was the exact frustration of a client I recently worked with. He had tried every time-management technique, yet none stuck. They all felt like extra tasks,...

Even the best intentions can fall short in leadership. In my last blog post, I shared a story about one of my recent clients, a business owner who deeply cared about his general manager (GM) to whom he was transferring leadership of the business. Their friendship...

Leadership is more than overseeing tasks and managing performance — it’s about supporting people. A recent conversation I had with a business owner highlighted this critical distinction. The owner had promoted a general manager (GM) to oversee the organization while...

In my last post, I talked about the power of setting ground rules as foundation for respect. Once we’ve set our ground rules, the next and perhaps most powerful step is designing a playbook for what we do when someone breaks them.  We often have policies like “no...

In any negotiation or team setting, establishing ground rules is common practice — and for good reason. When union and management sit down to bargain, for example, they start by agreeing on the basics: no cell phones, no foul language, no name-calling. This step is...

“Transparency” is a buzzword in today’s leadership vocabulary, and for good reason. People want to feel informed, involved, and respected in their organizations. But transparency is often more complex than it sounds.  One of the nonprofits I work with recently faced...

When an organization hits a major financial or operational challenge, there’s often a ripple effect that impacts everyone involved. Recently, I worked with a nonprofit that experienced just such a challenge — a startling budget deficit — leaving its leadership...

As human beings, we’re incredible designers. Heck, we designed our way to the moon. And when Apollo 13 failed, we designed a safe passage home. We design our homes, meticulously planning every detail before we begin a remodel. We wouldn’t just tear apart the kitchen...