ON MY MIND: The Myth of the Leader as “Talker-in-Chief”
Years of research show that top-down declarations and being “talked at” demotivates people, discourages the expression of diverse perspectives, and stalls organizational learning and change efforts. This leaves me puzzled when, at least a few times a week, I receive emails promoting professional leadership workshops on how to say things in ways that will sound […]
ON MY MIND: Three Ps of Team Excellence
Recently a client asked me, “what are the three things that matter most when it comes to creating a high-performance team?” Coming up with just three things was a formidable challenge. I can name ten. But three… After giving her question some thought, here’s what I shared: 1. Pride in Purpose A clear purpose inspires […]
ON MY MIND: Coming Back Together (Part 2)
After describing the dynamics of polarization in a previous blog, this second installment will highlight Parker Palmer’s essay entitled, “Five Habits to Heal the Heart of Democracy.” It contains important insights on how we come back together in our families, work places, communities and our country. I’m taking some liberties with these five habits to […]
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 […]
Six Shifts for High-Stakes Conversations, Shift 5: From Blame to Shared Contribution
In this series I’m sharing the Six Shifts leaders can make in order to be more effective in having a high-stakes conversation. Shift 5 involves less focus on looking for someone to blame, and more effort trying to understand what happened. Consultant Marylin Paul wrote in The Systems Thinker: “Blame provides an early and artificial […]
ON MY MIND: Six Shifts for High-Stakes Conversations, Shift 4 From Rigged Questions to Real Inquiry
In this series I’m sharing the Six Shifts leaders can make in order to be more effective in having a high-stakes conversation. Shift 4 involves moving from cross-examination and leading (or rigged) questions to questions based on a sincere desire to learn. When you feel strongly about an issue do you notice yourself over advocating […]
ON MY MIND: Six Shifts for High-Stakes Conversations Shift 3, From Intent-focused to Impact-focused
In this series I’m sharing the Six Shifts leaders can make in order to be more successful in having a high-stakes conversation. Shift 3 involves checking our assumptions about another person’s motives, character, and competence. Our human brains are wired for short-cuts. We see something and then quickly, and unconsciously, make up a story. That […]
ON MY MIND: Six Shifts for High Stakes Conversations, Shift 2, From Cryptic to Candid
In this series I’m exploring the Six Shifts in mindset and behavior that leaders can make in order to be more successful in having high-stakes conversations — conversations about topics that matter to you and that may elicit conflict or strong emotions in others. Shift 1 was about going into high-stakes conversations with a clear […]