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...
Turn the Other Cheek
Frankl's video last week got me thinking about the flip side of the coin. As Frankl pointed out, if we take man as he is we make him worse, (because people have too many influences and pressures upon them to always hit their target) but if we take him as he should be...
Why To Believe In Others
"When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves." -Viktor Frankl Watch this: 4 Minutes and 22 Seconds that will change your thinking of others. You see, we all too often look at people and see what we see, with all the limitations and...
The Obligation of Leadership
What is our obligation as leaders? Do we have one? Does our obligation change when our leadership is applied to ourselves, to others, or to the larger world? I don't think so. I think the obligation is the same regardless of the recipient. The obligation of leadership...
What Question Are You Avoiding?
At one of my recent Team Retreats, I asked the audience: What is the question you have most been avoiding? (team dynamics was the purpose of our day together). It proved a powerful catalyst for the day's work. What we find in most human interactions - personal,...
