ON MY MIND: Coming Back Together (Part 1)
Nearly everywhere I look I see communities, families, and friends mired in division, derision, and despair. Increasingly, we talk about those who are working toward different outcomes not as our opponents but as our enemies. And when it comes to enemies, we feel self-justified in doing whatever we must in order to win. We live […]
ON MY MIND: The Power of the Pause
When I was 16 years old a neighbor took me fly fishing. When we got to the river bank the first thing he explained was this: “These rocks are slippery. So, if you lose your balance and fall into the river, don’t fight it. There’s no use fighting with gravity or the river’s current. So, […]
ON MY MIND: Distributed Teams (Part 2) – What About Culture?
Even before so many of us started working from home, companies were already mastering the art of distributed teams. Distributed teams are made up of team members working from different locations. Most commonly, distributed team members work in different cities and countries around the world. Still, with the abrupt pivot to remote work, many leaders […]
ON MY MIND: Distributed Teams (Part 1) — Here to Stay
Until recently, remote jobs were a novelty in industries outside of technology. Most of my clients resisted the idea of hiring anyone who couldn’t show up each day at the office. Today, many of those same leaders are asking: “Why do we have these offices?” Before COVID-19 forced more companies to go fully remote, Twenty-six […]
IN MY EARBUDS: How I Built This
It’s easy to assume that people who start iconic companies succeed because they are smarter, luckier, and more capable than the rest of us. But when you listen to Guy Raz, host of the podcast “How I Built This”, interview the founders of companies like DoorDash, Lonely Planet, Burt’s Bees, and Lyft, you realize that […]
FROM MY TOOL BAG: Are You a Trustworthy Leader?
Leaders often ask me: How can we build trust on this team? I don’t think that’s the right question. Both inside and outside of work, trust is the basis of all relationships. And that trust has to be earned. So, I prefer to ask: How do we become more trustworthy team members? In reviewing the […]
ON MY MIND: Back to Meeting Basics with OARRs
I recently walked into a client’s conference room and smiled when I saw this sign on the wall: No Objectives? No Agenda? No Ground Rules? NO MEETING! Most would read this sign and think: “Duh. I already know that.” But, knowing is different than doing. And just doing is different than skillful and conscientious doing. […]
IN MY EARBUDS: HBR Women at Work
Voices in my head that are not my own: This is how I think of podcasts. These days, one of my favorite set of voices to listen to is HBR Women at Work hosted by Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Nicole Torres – three Harvard Business School powerhouses who think deeply about gender in the […]
ON MY MIND: Focus. I Mean Real Focus.
Yesterday, while soaring at 38,000 feet, I had an epiphany: I can write three blogs on a two-hour flight from Denver to Oakland with ease. But to write those same blogs seated at my desk in my office can take closer to six hours. Why? It didn’t take much analysis to understand why I am […]
ON MY MIND: Leading is Convening
“I-don’t-know.” These are three words that most leaders rarely, if ever, dare utter. Why does the admission of “not knowing” feel so uncomfortable? As a client once shared with me, “A failure to know the answer or offer the solution feels like a failure of my leadership. That’s my job!” I disagree. Always knowing the […]