Listening
Knowing What to Stop – Part II
In a recent coaching conversation, my client was seeking ways to respond quickly and positively when he felt attacked, and his immediate reaction was to become defensive. When something triggers us, our first instinct is to react, which often leads to words or actions we later regret. The wisdom literature tells us that between stimulus…
Read MoreKnowing What to STOP
Marshall Goldsmith, in What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, writes of 20 things to stop doing. Goldsmith quotes Peter Drucker, who says, “We spend a lot of time teaching leaders what to do. We don’t spend enough time teaching leaders what to stop. Half the leaders I have met don’t need to learn what…
Read MoreDo You Look Like You Care?
As a dedicated leader, you know that looks matter. And, I’m not just talking about the way you dress at work – however, that does send a message about how you care. Instead, I’m talking about the look on your face and with your body as you interact with others. One of our RCG partners,…
Read MoreGive Advice = Change Today/Avoid Advice = Grow the Future
You remember last month one of the aspects that Karen Anderson lifted up in her article was about easy change and hard change. You were reminded of our Powerful Coaching seminar: technical change vs adaptive change. Adaptive change is the hard stuff; changing your mindset, your core principles and values. Dumping the habit of giving…
Read MoreThoughts for Uncertain Times
“In times of great change, the learners will inherit the Earth while those attached to old certainties will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Eric Hoffer What is this time of uncertainty teaching us? Coach leaders are present and future focused. We are learners and hold a growth…
Read MoreA December Wish List
Wish #1 – Committed Listening “December is a month of joy and happiness and to finish what you started.” What a year we have had, a year we shall never forget. A year that has enveloped us with uncertainty and a huge range of emotions. And here we are, since everything changed in March, we…
Read MoreLeadership in Uncertain Times Calls for Sharp Focus on Interpersonal Skills
If you were to take some time to list the attributes of the best leader you have ever experienced and then make a separate list of the attributes of the worst leader you have experienced, it is likely that interpersonal skills–or the lack of them—comprise a significant part of your list. Most likely, your list…
Read MoreCourageous Conversations
The things I have loved about Coaching are the powerful, never perfect, progressive communication skills. How to be a better listener. How to respond in a way so that the other person feels heard. How to be self-aware of my own feelings and emotions and manage them in conversations. One thing I know for sure,…
Read MoreSurvival Skill #1: Empathy, not Sympathy
“Empathy is not connecting to an experience.Empathy is connecting to the emotions that underpin an experience.” Brené Brown’s, Dare to Lead, speaks to a survival skill for pushing through this difficult time. The COVID-19 experience has opened up a range of emotions some of which we have never felt before. Brené says, “When the heart…
Read MoreClimbing High, Just Like Jack
This month, in the midst of a pandemic, my intent is to mix a little lightness with our current reality. “Jack and the Beanstalk” is an old, old story about how a young boy engages in actions with the desire to be of service to his mother and himself – both living in a current…
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