Some People Wouldn’t Even Open It. Seriously.
Imagine for moment that within your hands you hold the most beautifully wrapped gift you’ve ever seen. It’s about the size of a large iPad box. The paper so beautiful, it’s almost a crime to tear it; the ribbon so elegantly tied it looks more like art then gift...
Sailing The America’s Cup
There are boats -- little, tiny dinghies -- that can be easily managed by one person. You don’t need, and often don’t have room for, more than one, or maybe two, people. But those ships can’t travel very far in the open sea. They can’t maintain much speed. They have...
My Goal Is For Your Team To Stop Working Together.
Imagine walking into your team meeting and written on the board is the day’s objective: By the end of the day, we will no longer be working together. How would you feel entering into that meeting? Excited Nervous Confused Angry Curious Cautious... I’ve gotten all...
Is Your Team THIS Courageous?
In a recent workshop a team took a courageous step. They looked at each other and owned a common, though seldom named, reality. They like each other, that much was true. They enjoy their jobs and the company. But, when it comes down to a core truth -- they don’t...
Leadership is Thankless
Leadership is about doing what is right, not what is easy, and it can quickly become a thankless job. Especially if people don’t agree with what we have to do in our role as leader. We may, in fact, harm someone by the choices we make. In fact, anything you do might...
Accountability Is HARD.
It’s a funny thing about being human: Looking backward is easy. Doing the same thing over and over is easy. Of course it is -- you know exactly what you’re doing. You’ve figured out the rules, and you can coast without much stress. You can even live in the past, if...
Face Your Fears
So often we are held back more by our fear than pushed forward by our possibility or potential. We are bombarded with mantras and cliches for addressing this fear: “Feel the fear and do it anyway” “Just do it” “Get over it” “Push Through.” There’s a lot of basic,...
Holding a Courageous Space
In leadership, especially in the industry of mentoring, coaching, counseling, or other support professions, many of us use the expression that we “hold a safe space” for people. But that’s not really the truth, is it? We don’t hold safe spaces. We can’t guarantee...
Which Way Will You Face?
Is it too direct or macabre to suggest that in a very real way, we die every night? Perhaps a more accurate phrasing might be the day dies -- but that doesn’t fully capture the beauty of the moment, does it? Because with that day goes a part of us that will...
A Beautiful Response
One of my favorite things about writing this blog is the responses I receive from you all via email. A few weeks ago, I shared a post with you called "The Flexible Oak," and an old friend responded with something remarkable: this beautiful poem by Lao Tzu. ...
