Coaching News
Bad News Bearers
…do we kill the messenger? We’ve all heard – and probably used – the idiom no news is good news, meaning that if we haven’t been told something bad has happened, then nothing bad has happened… and that’s good news. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never worked in an...
You Don’t Have to be a Jerk; Really, You Don’t
-- Grace and accountability can coexist Lots of you have asked why I say “Grace and accountability can coexist” so frequently, particularly since (a) I tend to be exceedingly direct in my approach, (b) I have a blog named “The Brazen Leader,” and (c) I coach and...
Don’t Be a Leadership Dummy
--stop making this so hard I wanted to call this Leadership for Dummies, but that title was already taken. Looking through some of the other leadership improvement offerings, it boggles the mind how we’ve managed to take a subject whose basics haven’t changed in a few...
Faker! – Leadership & The Imposter Syndrome
You still wrestling with the memory of that bully giving you a wedgie on the crowded playground at recess in the 4th grade*? I’m probably not your guy. I’m not a psychologist, I didn’t play one on TV, and I didn’t sleep at a Holiday Inn Express last night. And though...
Would It Kill You to Stop Doing That?
-- It’s faster to just stop doing stupid shit The title above is from a book of the same name by Henry Alford, who tries to showcase the purpose and principles of this modern guide to manners — and what's happened to them in our crazy-fast, interconnected culture. A...
Accepted Doesn’t Mean Acceptable
… even if we’ve always done it that way We Texans were a little bit whiney last month during SNOWVID-21, but most of us are better now that we’re back to the old normal of the global pandemic. There are still some recovery efforts and healing going on that are...
When Crisis Turns to Chaos
-- it separates leaders from managers This is definitely not one of those academic treatises about the difference between leadership and management. I outright despise those. Nor is it a “thought piece” similar to those written in the last year about leading and...
That’s a Honkin’ Big Tail!
-- Be careful how you swing it… A couple of years or so ago, I wrote an article about what you lose when you ascend into senior leadership (especially CXO-level). You may gain a lot – dinero, status, authority, new biz cards, etc. – but you also lose a few things....
Client Covidians, circa 2020
As the consultant, I’m supposed to offer advice, coaching and counsel to my clients. They pay me to bring a concentrated expertise and specific judgment that likely don’t exist in their organization. But there goes another year-end, and I have to say I learned a ton...
Nothing Helps a Bad Mood
--like spreading it around 2020 is over. Ding dong, the witch is dead. Don’t you wish we could flip a switch on the anxieties we felt last year as easily as we turn the page on the calendar? As I looked forward at 2021, I looked back over the last five years in our...
Simplicity: Thy Name is Decision Making
-- Keep it simple, stupid. Okay, okay. I'm not calling anyone stupid, per se. I just want us all to remember that usually the simplest course is the best course to take. Certainly it is usually the quickest and most efficient, and it prevents slow-downs in...
On Your Marks, Go!… Get Set
-- 2021 is off and running Kinda like Kevin Berchelmann described a business decision-making style in June’s At C-Level as “Ready, Fire, Aim!,” “On your marks, go, get set… ” is a planning style often used when preparing for the new year just after the nick of time....
Perfectionism Revisited
… stop being a do-it-all About 4 ½ years ago, I wrote a piece for At C-Level about being a Recovering Perfectionist. I thought I knew everything there was from personal experience about helping others over their perfectionist addiction. It’s simple, right?...
