Building Blocks & Primary Colors Aren’t The Goal
Photo by Denise Johnson on Unsplash We are called as leaders, as people, as the species at the top of the food chain, to ask bigger questions. We're called to move beyond the basic instinct of survival and self-preservation into something larger than ourselves. We're...
Creating an Atmosphere for Positive Criticism
Photo by Mimi Thian on Unsplash “I am the first to admit when I’m wrong,” a company owner boldly and proudly exclaimed, “I am even eager to admit when I am wrong.” I laughed spontaneously, before I had a chance to control it, and then quickly apologized. “Yeah, but,...
Delicious Meals And Superior Problem Solving
Photo by Tucker Good on UnsplashThe issue with solving big problems, say market share or racism, is we tend to think we need to solve them with one big fix. We often discount ideas when they aren’t the entire solution — more of an “all or nothing” approach. But...
Everything You Want is on the Other Side of Fear
Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash The Core Values Index teaches us that we drop into our negative conflict strategies out of fear. A lot of what we do, or more accurately don’t do, is rooted in fear. It is seemingly always the obstacle we have to overcome. I can hear...
Brand Allegiance? Seriously? That’s What This is About?
Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash As every condemnation of the events of the past couple weeks comes across my screen, I feel more and more sad. More angry. More confused. More scared. Not scared like Black people are scared, of course, because I’m white and have...
Getting To Know Your Team One-On-One
Photo by Smartworks Coworking on Unsplash Guess what I’ve discovered? I have frequently misquoted Nelson Mandela as famously speaking this beautiful truth: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own...
Stretching your leadership muscles without angering management
Photo by Roland Samuel on Unsplash Even bosses we usually like can sometimes experience jealousy — or worse — and push back against anyone they think is overstepping their role or usurping their authority. What do you do in that situation? How can you work around a...
You are Enough
Photo by bruce mars on Unsplash In trying times and ordinary times alike, it’s all too easy to go to extremes and miss what is right in front of our eyes. Face it: it’s easy to see the big stuff. The win, the loss, Recession, COVID-19, the big sale, a bad grade on a...
Managing peers can be stressful. Remember the “F” Word.
Photo by Jehyun Sung on Unsplash Here’s a scenario: You are in a group of peers, no one is the defined leader, and someone needs to take charge. You’d like to step forward, but you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. How can you show yourself as a leader? How can you...
Delegation is Like Magic
Photo by Almos Bechtold on Unsplash MAGIC! That’s how you get someone to do something you don’t want to do yourself. Not the abracadabra kalamazam stuff, but the art of magic stuff. Think about it. What makes magic work? Distraction, right? The magician gets...
