What Was Is Not What Is
It’s easy to become stuck in the past, mired in memories, yearning for what used to be. It’s easy to live in the past, wondering about the woulda-coulda-shoulda and revisiting that fork in the road...
View ArticleThe Need for Other-Orientation
In a society that celebrates individual achievement and signals that you “have to look out for #1,” it isn’t always easy to stay tuned in to the needs of others. In the workplace, high achievers often...
View ArticleNo More Excuses!
Maybe it’s because the political season has seemed so long and drawn out. Or maybe I’m just wearied by some recent examples in my personal life. I’m sure my general impatience contributes, too....
View ArticleThe Courage to Forgive
Holding a grudge is like taking poison and expecting someone else to get sick. Withholding forgiveness from people who have hurt you doesn’t harm them. It harms you. Why, then, is it so hard to forgive...
View ArticleForms of Forgiveness
In last weeks’ blog post, we talked about the courage it takes to forgive someone. This week, let’s build on that to talk about asking for forgiveness. This may seem to be a little bit old-fashioned,...
View ArticleHow You Act Using a URL Shouldn’t be Different from How You Act IRL
by guest blogger Renee Calvert The Internet is an amazing thing – even if, at times, it can drive me bananas. This vast cyber landscape offers so many things, from humorous videos of cats and people...
View ArticleCandidly Speaking
Have you been dodging an important conversation? The kind of conversation that may be uncomfortable, in a situation that you wish would just take care of itself? Are you dancing around a subject, being...
View ArticleTurning Your Back on the Crowd
Most people think that leaders are the people who are out in front, the most visible and the loudest. The most effective leaders I know, though, are the ones who are nearly invisible. They don’t have...
View ArticleBoost Your Personal Effectiveness – Part 1
I’m not talking in this post about intelligence, imagination, experience, past achievement, hard work, wealth, popularity or good luck. Those are all nice to have. But none of them – not even all of...
View ArticleBoost Your Personal Effectiveness – Part 2
In last week’s blog post, we started our discussion about 10 habits that can increase your personal effectiveness. We covered five of those habits in that post and will pick up where we left off here,...
View ArticleLet’s Be Fair
When you observe and evaluate others, you may not realize that you are negatively biased in your assessments. Likewise, when you consider your own actions and outcomes, you may not realize that you...
View ArticleWhy No One Seems to Be Fighting Fair
Conflict. The word alone stirs up negative feelings, apprehension and the involuntary donning of a self-protective shield. We forget that conflict can be healthy and productive. Complete agreement in...
View ArticleWhat Value Do You Place on Learning?
Tom Clancy said it best: “Life is about learning; when you stop learning, you die.” In a world of rapid change, you can probably see his point. If we stopped learning within the last few years, we...
View ArticleGenerating New Ideas
Last year, an article in The New Yorker Magazine claimed that brainstorming doesn’t really work. The article was written by Jonah Lehrer, author of “How We Decide.” It threw cold water on works that...
View ArticleThe Language of Leaders
Language is one of the most powerful tools that we humans use to distinguish ourselves one from another. When we choose words carefully, we are viewed as being in command, powerful, as we describe the...
View ArticleThe Language of Leaders, part 2
In last week’s post, part 1 of this 2-part series, we offered ten tips for being more persuasive without giving up your authenticity. In this post, as promised, you’ll find ten techniques for speaking...
View ArticleAre You Asking the Right Question?
Inaction and apathy stem from asking the wrong question. The wrong question is one we ask frequently even though we have reached a foregone conclusion even before we ask it. It is a self-limiting...
View ArticleThe Platinum Rule
You remember the Golden Rule – do unto others as you would have others do unto you. It says, in essence, that the way you want to be treated is the standard you should use in determining how you will...
View ArticleThere Are Two Ways to Light a Fire
In the workplace, managers look for people who are self-motivated. Senior-level managers look for supervisors who can motivate others. There is an expectation that motivation will be high and that the...
View ArticleWhat’s Your Problem?
You can’t craft good solutions until you completely and correctly pinpoint your problem. In our hurry-up world, we often make hasty decisions and move on without even realizing that the real problem...
View Article