Fake it ’til you make it: the power of visualization

During my graduate program at Temple University, many fellow students became adjunct professors for the extra income. Temple offered a great onboarding and coaching program for the new teachers which we supplemented with the experience we had gained from our prior careers. Before the first winter break, my colleague shared that he “kept getting all …

The 3 things to do when you don’t know what to do

If you’re completely comfortable in your role as leader, this article is not for you. If, however, you’ve ever experienced the sudden realization that people are looking to you to decide something that you have little to no experience in, read on.  Very few people become a leader with deep expertise in all areas they …

Lake Hayes, New Zealand

Don’t be a leader. Develop Followership.

Google ‘Leadership’ and you get over 300 million returns. Countless words have been written about leadership – what it is, how to develop it and how to use it.  Leaders in our culture are often seen as singular figures possibly scaling a mountain, posing majestically in silhouette in individual triumph. In corporate culture, it’s arguably …

One Shocking Change You’re Not Prepared For When You Become a Manager

I’ve led dozens of seminars, courses and leadership meetings with new managers and unsurprisingly, there is a seam of anxiety that runs through these sessions that manifests itself in different behaviors: nervousness, faint hostility and even some shaky optimism. Often, the participants are mostly concerned about the compliance of management; i.e. how do I make …

The Power of Stillness

Do you meditate?  There are many forms and intentions of meditation – for some it is an end in itself, for others it is a path to higher enlightenment.  However, a common thread across all meditation practices is an exploration, a search for the “Great Observer”.  What is that and what does it have to …

Keeping Your Career Out of the Cold

Stressful situations often leads us to double down on the skills and behaviors we believe made us successful.  Ironically, this may be the very thing that causes us to fail. By having the courage to dig deep and change the qualities that make us feel safe, we can come out the other side stronger and more confident.

The One Question I Never Ask During Interviews

The first time I had the opportunity to interview someone to join my team, I did my research online to come up with the right questions and flow for the interview. I like to start with a phone screen, typically about 30 minutes long, which I find to be an efficient way to narrow down …

Lily Pads and the Science of Growth

With our environment swirling around us like a Category 10 hurricane, organizational cultures are hunkering down, placing more value in the grapevine than the leadership town halls. Many are going to come through just fine – the right alchemy of leadership, preparation and employee readiness is in place to not only weather the change but to embrace it as an elemental advantage. If everyone else is going to wait for a lull in the storm, we’re going to use change to secure our place at the top of the wave.

The Trait All Great Leaders Share

Photo by Kirit Vora We say that leaders have vision. They see possibilities in the everyday and in people. They have foresight. They have the ability envision the impossible and turn it into the inevitable. Leaders have insight. They make connections between the unconnectable by seeing their true nature underneath the surface. More than any …

The Power of Poetry for Professional Writing

poetry I hear a constant refrain: we need more business writing training!  The circumstances vary but the themes are the same – we need people who can articulate clearly and with impact.  There are many ways to surround this but the one I would like to suggest is that we teach poetry. Sound a bit …