Be Unreasonable
Have you ever been in a job interview, a meeting or the presentation of your career and felt nervous or uncomfortable - like every one's against you and you're guilty until proven innocent? It’s easy to assume our listeners are skeptical, or that they believe us...
When a Failure is a Success
A prospective client once told me she was so afraid of failing that she was unwilling to try something new. The example she gave was driving in strange city for fear of getting lost. She wouldn't do it. But when it came time for us to meet, it was in a city with which...
To Step or To Leap?
Aren't the contradictions of life and leadership a kick? On the one hand we're told that the journey of thousand miles begins with a single step. Even my last post focused on taking it one step at a time. But on the other hand, we're told not to be afraid of giant...
Learning From Martin Luther King
"You need not see the entire staircase in order to take the first step" - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This quote, I have to admit, is kind of upsetting to me. Not because it's untrue--Dr. King certainly knew what he was talking about. But it begs the question: Where...
Individuals Are Not Well-Rounded. Teams Are.
There is a human tendency to surround ourselves with people who are just like us. We like being friends with people who are similar to us. Even though we claim "opposites attract," those people generally aren't polar opposites--they're slightly different. So when...
Transitions: All Bets Are Off, All Rules Are Gone
Transitions are one of the hardest thing for us as humans. Like I mentioned in last week's post, transitions can destroy what we know. All of the rules that we've learned to live by, the things that allowed us to be successful, no longer apply. Think of the popular...
A Ted Talk with Brene Brown: Vulnerability
If you haven't heard of her yet...then where the heck have you been? 😉 Brene Brown is a professor from Texas whose research and writing on vulnerability and shame are truly profound. She's done a couple TED Talks but this one is my favorite--in fact, it's one of my...
Learning from The Dow's High
This Monday the DOW hit a new high point of 16,000. As I watched the DOW cross a new threshold, I couldn't help but be reminded of one of the greatest lessons on leadership the stock market can teach us. The lesson is that of the age-old stock market mantra which...
Reflective Leadership for Career Seekers
Last month I had a chance to speak with a fantastic group of career seekers at CRN: Career Resources Network where I posed a similar question to the idea I blogged about last week, only this time it went: How do prospective employers...
Reflection in Leadership
One of the challenges of leadership is recognizing, owning and accepting the fact that what you say and what people hear are often very different things. It can be hard to accept that it's not all about what you say--it's about what people hear. There's a great quote...
