Everyone seems to be talking about leadership these days. Given that our country is strikingly divided on what constitutes “good” leadership, it’s time to start talking about what we actually mean. How can we evaluate the quality of the leadership unless there’s a shared understanding of what leadership actually is?
How to Plan for an Uncertain Future
I have a confession to make. Last week, I lost patience with the stream of well-meaning and useful advice that appears digitally every single day. I was discouraged and dispirited. I really had no energy for another how-to.
The next day, feeling somewhat more grounded, I recognized the source of my discouragement: There’s no end in sight. Nothing to look forward to. It feels like we can’t influence or control anything. There’s an ongoing sense of uncertainty and a feeling of helplessness about how to influence our futures.
Leadership Potential: Do You Know It When You See It?
As a leader, you only have so much time to spend mentoring others. But it can be difficult to figure out who to invest in.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a reliable way to identify someone with leadership potential? Someone you can invest your time and expertise in with the confidence that he or she will thrive?
Well, obviously there are no guarantees. People’s lives have a way of playing out in their own way. But there are some ways to increase the odds of making a good investment.
4 Potent Strategies to Boost Teamwork
One of my clients said recently, “When I got promoted, I had no idea how much of my time would involve dealing with people. I just wanted to do the work!”
Does that sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Almost every leader I’ve worked with has had a similar revelation. In fact, another client had a great way of stating this: “I need to go from ‘I get it’ to ‘I get people’.”
Having the awareness is great but it doesn’t automatically translate into action. But I have good news. I’m about to share several of the most potent strategies I know to boost teamwork.
One Good Connection a Day
In this time of social distancing it’s not unusual to feel isolated and overcrowded at the same time. You might be working from home along with your partner and children, camped out in the bedroom, on a staircase landing, or in a closet. Your days are filled with back to back Zoom meetings, and your team abandoned the Zoom happy hours after the first two months because you’re desperate for some non-screen time.
But you still yearn for that sense of true connection.
This was the challenge faced by Jenna, one of my coaching clients. “I like my work and I’ve adjusting to working from home but there’s something missing,” she said. “My days are busier than ever before but I’d love to have more meaningful conversations with my co-workers.”
Can you relate to Jenna’s dilemma?
How to Have an Accountability Conversation Without Pain
This is Part Two of a piece on accountability conversations. If you haven’t read the original piece, you can find it here. You can also find a free PDF worksheet, 5 Reasons to Tackle That Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding here.
Quick recap: Many of us find oodles of ways to avoid having conversations focused on holding someone else accountable. And yet, there are so many situations that could use such a conversation:
Your co-worker always shows up eight minutes late for your weekly team calls. Meanwhile, the rest of you spend that time making idle chitchat.
Your neighbor’s dog barks all night long. Every night.
Your daughter leaves dishes in the sink, right after you’ve finshed the dishes.
Your direct report is a lovely person who just happens to have a chronic backlog of overdue assignments.
5 Reasons to Have That Accountability Conversation You’ve Been Dreading
Reclaiming Our Anchors in a Time of Great Uncertainty
Resilience has long been a topic of great interest to me. I’ve studied and taught principles and practices of cultivating resilience, and attempted to apply these in my own life. I’ve also had my share of personal challenges calling for resilience, including our house burning down just days after my 35th birthday. Resilience was not initially one of my signature strengths but life has an annoying way of providing opportunities to learn what’s needed until it sticks.
Amidst the unfolding impact of COVID-19 globally, I’ve had the privilege to coach quite a number of leaders all over North America. While the primary topic has been about leading virtual teams, our conversations have often begun by exploring how they as leaders are managing their own anxiety and uncertainty. It’s hard to be a leader to others without having a solid foundation oneself. Read more for some of the lessons and insights.
How "Microbreaks" Can Boost Productivity While You're Working from Home
We are living a “new normal”: at least 200 million people in 21 states, 47 countries and 14 cities (as of March 26, 2020) are being urged to stay home in response to COVID-19. When I first drafted this post in the fall of 2019, it was aimed at addressing challenges facing coaching clients who had recently transitioned to working from home.
The suggestions are still very relevant. But it doesn’t take account of other factors–emotional, economic, and practical–that are complicating our ability to stay productive during this time.
I hope it helps a little. See what you think.
Lose the Angst: Making Decisions with Ease
Does your current approach to decision-making cause stress and lead to procrastination, wasted time and energy? Have you tried various techniques but still haven’t got a great “formula” that works for you?
If so, you’re not alone. Some of my clients struggle with this, too, and I can totally relate. There are times when I can make life altering decisions without hesitating. Other times, I’m paralyzed with indecision for weeks about something that seems minor.
Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly what goes into making an effective decision and how to decide with ease?
Flow Into 2020 with Purpose
It’s a new decade. Time for a fresh start.
Enough of trying to keep our heads above water by working longer hours or multi-tasking. Forget sacrificing things that we define as “unessential” (like hanging out with friends, or spending time in nature). These tactics work okay in the short run.
But they’re unsustainable over the long haul.
How to Bring a Sparkle to Your Day
Do you drag yourself out of bed every morning, stumbling through your morning routine?
Personal confession: That’s how I’ve been feeling more often than I would like. So I went on a search for some simple practices to start my day off right.
My goal is to start off my day with positivity and enthusiasm, handling the challenges that come my way with grace and ease.
Is that something you want, too?
Déjà vu All Over Again
Do you ever get stuck in a vicious cycle that’s not producing the results you want? I’ve been there, more often than I’d like to admit. I can be having a civil conversation with a colleague. Suddenly, we’re at odds. How did that happen…again? And how can I prevent it from happening next time?
I don’t think I’m particularly unusual. Many of us are stuck in cycles that feel like“déjà vu all over again,” as Yogi Berra put it.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
Amping Up Your Inner Champion
Am I the Only One Who’s Had This Experience?
Do you second guess yourself when you’re faced with a new challenge?
Have lots of ideas but hold back and then criticize yourself for your ideas and for the fact that you held back?
Is your inner critic ever-present no matter how politely you ask him to mind his own business?
If you answered a resounding “yes” to any of these questions, you’re in good company. Read more to find out what to do about it.
Add That Special Sauce to Your Team Culture
Ben, Keisha, and Dana are mid-level leaders in a large nonprofit that conducts environmental research. They have comparable positions in the company so they sometimes meet to touch base and compare notes. Today, they’re meeting two days after a day-long team building retreat the senior leadership has organized to strengthen team alignment. This is the second such retreat so far this year. They are having an honest conversation about the impact of the retreat.
Read more for their perspective and for additional suggestions about positively influencing team culture.
How Top Leaders Grapple with Thorny Dilemmas
Would you rather breathe in? Or breathe out? Quick, pick one! Okay, now you’re stuck with that decision…
Kind of ridiculous, right? Obviously, you need to breathe in and breathe out to stay alive. And yet we often confront thorny dilemmas as if we must choose one way forward.
As a seasoned leader, you’re lucky to get the problems other people haven't solved. Many of these have no clear cut, “one size fits all” solution. They tend to be multi-faceted and messy.
Making headway on these kinds of problems calls for another way of thinking. You might call it “both/and thinking.” It’s also been called “Polarity Thinking.”
Read more to find out how Polarity Thinking helps top leaders grapple with thorny dilemmas.
Communicate Clearly for Reliable Results
The other day, one of my coaching clients shared something thought provoking. Here’s what she said:
“My team complains that they don’t always know what’s expected of them. They don’t say it flat out, but I get the sense that I’m not always clear in my communication. Sure, we have detailed job descriptions and an official org chart. But expectations are communicated day-to-day in response to changing circumstances. That’s where I need to get stronger.
How can I get better at communicating my expectations to the team?”
Great question. Is that something you wonder about, too?
How to Jump-start Stalled Goals
Can You Relate to This?
In the last days of 2017, did you set a goal for yourself?
Maybe it was big, like a juicy promotion. Maybe it was a proposal for an exciting new service that you intended to pitch to your boss last February.
Whatever it is, it was super important when you set the goal. Yet here it is, the end of 2018 and you haven’t gotten traction. Every time you’ve thought about tackling it, you found other things to distract you from working on it.
Does that sound familiar? Or is it just me?
Simple Practices That Work Wonders to Improve Teamwork
What keeps you up at night?
If you have teammates, it's most likely one of them. Maybe it’s more than one person. You lie awake thinking about Jennie. How did you avoid addressing her tardiness yet again? And what are you going to say when you do? Why does Warren regular undermine you at staff meetings? And what can you do about it?
Many of my coaching conversations are about working in teams. But it doesn't have to be that difficult. Sure, you've got to address serious team issues head-on. But fostering a positive team culture can help reduce negative team interactions in the first place.
3 (Almost) Magical Tricks to Zap Stress, Solve Conflicts, and Ease Through Life
Remember this scary experience from childhood?
You hear a sound. It’s not loud but it’s unfamiliar. Your heart starts to beat faster. You think you should go investigate but you’re scared. What if it’s something really bad?
As grown-ups, we experience the magic trick, too.
Perhaps you get yourself worked up about a conversation with a colleague that you fear will turn into a conflict. You even put off having the conversation to avoid the conflict. Then you think, “How ridiculous, just do it!” And all at once the tension is gone, the conversation goes smoothly and you even have a laugh together.
How does that happen?
Suddenly, the sound is gone, and the air feels familiar again. You feel calm and safe.
It’s like a magician appeared and waved a wand. “How did that happen?” you may wonder. The magician eyes you slyly and says, “Sleight of hand, my dear. Anyone can do it. Do you want me to teach you?”