It can be extremely difficult to express your personal values at work, especially when confronted with questions of right vs. wrong. Issues become thornier when you’re facing a choice between degrees of right vs. right. Most of us want to bring our whole selves to work: our skills, ambitions and … [Read more...] about How to Voice Your Values
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The Crucibles of Leadership
Difficult and, in some cases, career- or life-threatening events are called leadership crucibles. They are trials and tests — points of deep self-reflection that force you to question who you are and what really matters. Characterized by a confluence of threatening intellectual, social, economic … [Read more...] about The Crucibles of Leadership
The Past as Prologue: How Experience Shapes You
Life is full of daily lessons. We interpret experiences; tag them as good, bad or neutral; file them into memory (or not); and create stories about ourselves. If you want self-awareness, take a look at how experience has shaped your stories. “Many leaders point to their childhoods as the source of … [Read more...] about The Past as Prologue: How Experience Shapes You
Conversational IQ: 5 Conversational Blind Spots
Is there such a thing as conversational intelligence? It could be that some leaders are naturally more adept at the art of conversation. It’s certainly true that we all could improve our ability to engage and influence others through conversations. “Human beings are the most highly social species … [Read more...] about Conversational IQ: 5 Conversational Blind Spots
Put Happiness into Action
Is it possible to take specific action steps to become happier? Do we find ourselves pouring effort into improving our circumstances, only to find that we’re not that much happier after all? The King of Bhutan, the last Buddhist kingdom in the Himalayas, has decided that the best way to foster … [Read more...] about Put Happiness into Action
Overcoming Leadership Blind Spots
There’s no escaping it: Everyone has blind spots. No matter how hard we try to be self-aware, everyone—including the best leader—has unproductive behaviors that are invisible to us but glaring to everyone else. Our behavioral blind spots create unintended consequences: They distort judgment, … [Read more...] about Overcoming Leadership Blind Spots
The Science of Happiness:
5 Ways to Improve
Are the happiest people blessed with luck that bestows a better life and fewer worries? Or, should we attribute their emotional fulfillment to character strengths and mind power?
Happiness research, a field known as “positive psychology,” is chockfull of relevant findings. Some of the latest … [Read more...] about The Science of Happiness:
5 Ways to Improve
The Innovator’s Paradox
When’s the best time to implement change? Before you need to do so. In a world of accelerating product and technology developments, the way you handle your job today is far different from when you first started out. Business in the 21st century is continuously reinvented and innovated. If you … [Read more...] about The Innovator’s Paradox
Leading through Inquiry: Do Ask, Don’t Tell
How can leaders and managers bring out the best in their people? With today’s interdependent work teams it’s not enough to give instructions about how to do jobs. More is required for leaders who wish to engage collaborative partnerships for high performance. “Carpenters have hammers, dentists have … [Read more...] about Leading through Inquiry: Do Ask, Don’t Tell
Are You Over-Led and Under-Managed?
“It has become popular to talk about us being over-managed and under-led. I believe we are now over-led and under-managed.” ~ Henry Mintzberg, Simply Managing: What Managers Do—and Can Do Better (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013) Much has been written about the difference between leaders and … [Read more...] about Are You Over-Led and Under-Managed?