Steven's Own Words

Following Up On The “And”

Following Up On The “And”

Last week, I shared a post about how important it is to 'reconcile the and.' The times in life, in our society, where a wonderful thing and a terrible thing are both true...those times require emotional work to reconcile. I received more feedback than normal about...

Reconciling the “And”

Reconciling the “And”

More and more, it seems like we as a culture, a country, a people...leaders...are having difficulty with the word 'and.' The founding fathers built a country that is truly remarkable…and many were slaveowners. They wrote a brilliant constitution...and that...

What’s In A Name?

What’s In A Name?

  If you were asked how important your name is, what would you say? I mean, besides, “Huh? What the heck do you mean?” I mean: how important is your name? How important is it others get it right, pronounce it correctly? It’s more than a sound. More than a way to...

Who Are You Influencing Today?

Who Are You Influencing Today?

Who are you influencing today? No one? I assure you that is most definitely not the case. Whether you are aware of it or not, whether you like it or not, everyone has influence. You are always exerting it, and it can be dangerous to pretend it's not there. Not...

Perspective Changes Everything

Perspective Changes Everything

Once I was working with a team, and the situation they kept facing was that one team member felt like they were being picked on. Now, according to most everyone else on the team, they weren’t being picked on at all. Rather, they actually had some performance issues,...

Why Conversational Framework Matters

Why Conversational Framework Matters

When it comes to conflict, sometimes it isn't the subject of the conversation that causes the rift: it's the framework in which we discuss it. It's the assumptions we make when we dive in. In my experience, the CVI can be a great way to understand this on a deeper...

What Makes a “Great” Supervisor?

What Makes a “Great” Supervisor?

I had a client recently who was getting caught up in the idea of being a ‘great’ supervisor. She really wanted to be the best she could be — a very worthwhile endeavor! The tricky part comes, however, in how we measure ‘greatness.’ “So,” I asked her, “have you ever...

How To Confront Your Boss

How To Confront Your Boss

Let me lay out a scenario that is, I'm willing to bet, all too familiar to anyone reading this. Your boss tells you to do something, but you don't think it's the right call. You know that your time would be better spent elsewhere, and yet if you say that, you know...

You Can’t Stop Dynamite

You Can’t Stop Dynamite

You can’t stop dynamite from exploding once it’s ignited. At least, it's incredibly foolish and dangerous to try. It's much more effective and safe to try and mitigate the explosion instead.  If we call in the bomb squad, to oversimplify their dangerous work, they...

Living In The Past

Living In The Past

It's true that there is a lot to learn from the past, but all too often we get stuck there and it can cause great leaders to stumble. Say their team has a critique of them, or a past decision turns out to be a mistake, or that past decision is still cause division...

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