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 $%[email protected]&* 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 […]
Stories About Leaders

It’s Story Time “We approach everything asking one question: given my agenda, will this help me, or will this hurt me? If the answer is neither, it’s white noise.” -Lisa Cron I’m reading a fabulous book called Story or Die by Lisa Cron. I’m learning a lot about using the power of story to influence decisions in my 1:1 and […]
Languishing & High Performers

Languishing is the Verb of the Month . . . And Your High Performers Know It Do You Feel This Way? Frustrated yet kinda focused. Working but not as productive as before. Not depressed yet not really happy. Lost in thought and really looking forward to another night on the couch with Netflix. I hear […]
Leadership Spring Cleaning: Start, Stop, Continue

You Have Ideas: Put Them Into Start, Stop Continue Start, Stop, Continue is one of my favorite brainstorming and organizing techniques. I use it often in executive coaching discussions, and over the past month, I’ve been using it to spring clean my mind and my business. Let me explain. I’m sure you’ve found yourself feeling […]