What Does a Coach Do?
What does a coach do? And what does that have to do with Awesome Leader? When someone sends me an email and says, “I’m looking for an executive coach,” I do three things: Ask them to watch this 6-minute video about how I coach—and why, Send them a 4-page PDF that speaks to my coaching […]
The truth about your managers: the good, bad, and ugly
I want to share with you the truth about your managers. I’ll share the good, the bad, and the ugly truth. First, the good truth about your managers. Great managers aren’t born. It’s not something they “get” by accident–the ability to understand people and how to lead them. It’s not luck. They’re not born with […]
The basketball coach is once again the honest leader
Written the morning of May 25, 2022 (if you’ve forgotten, that’s the morning after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas) I could say I have “nothing to say” but that would be like doing nothing. Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, displays profound and necessary raw emotion in this 3-minute video. No matter what […]
Leadership (not political) problems, leadership lists, and Nena’s balloons
Hi leader, What a week and month so far, eh? It’s hard to stay focused on what I can influence or control when “What the $%X@&* is going on?!” is a common refrain with everyone I speak with. No good transition is coming to mind right now, and so, here are thoughts I hope move […]
What’s your (leadership) stoplight?
You Need to Know What’s Red, Yellow, and Green This is not about traffic lights. It’s about where you spend your time and place your energy. This is an exercise I ask all new executive coaching clients to complete: review your calendar and think about what’s red, yellow, or green. Red = you dread it; you don’t […]
A mystery blanket, the leadership shuffle, and ask me anything
Who Sent Me This Blanket? See that photo above? “Is that a dog’s head on a military-type uniform?” you ask? “What the heck?!” you exclaim. I know. It’s crazy. And, yes, it’s a blanket and with my dog’s face on it. Someone sent me that blanket. To my office address–with NO card. (The return address […]
Leadership and Covid are both contagious.
Catch the Good Leadership. Not the Bad. I’ll start this email by saying that it has nothing to do with masks and vaccines. Yet Covid and Leadership have some things in common, and the Omicron variant has made the connections stronger. Can you stick with me here? Again, this has nothing to do with masking up and […]
Luck, Leadership, & Asking Someone to Take A Photo
If you don’t ask, you may not know . . . or learn TL;DR: You make your luck. Learn more during a webinar with Christian Busch, Ph.D., author of The Serendipity Mindset. Today this photo popped up on my laptop as a “memory.” September 1, 2013. Dang. As a little kid, my son loved law enforcement officers. So […]
Learn to Create Luck: Join Me & Christian Busch, Ph.D., Author of The Serendipity Mindset, for a Webinar
TL;DR: You make your luck. Learn more during a webinar with Christian Busch, Ph.D., author of The Serendipity Mindset. Several years ago, I stopped describing “how I got to where I am” as something that happened due to luck. Because I don’t think luck is the “why.” I feel a bit nervous writing this. This would have been easier to […]
It’s not the sound of silence. It’s the meaning of silence.
What Does Your Face Say When You’re Silent? A client gave me this sign. We are both obsessed with words and how to use them. I spend all day talking. Or listening to someone else talk. I think about what to say back to an executive, guiding them in what they say or write. I make […]
