The Thoughtful Leaders Blog

Where are the hidden leaders in your organization?

Posted by Robyn McLeod on May 17, 2012

As a firm believer in the presence of leadership at all levels in an organization, I particularly enjoyed a recent Harvard Business Review post, Find the Reverse Leaders in your Midst, by Scott Edinger. Edinger describes it as reverse leadership – “when someone not in a formal leadership role demonstrates great leadership ability.”
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5 Thoughtful Leadership tips to stopping overwhelm

Posted by Lisa Kohn on May 10, 2012

I am feeling it – that feeling of just too much. Too much to do. Too many deadlines. Too many balls in there air. And while I coach clients and offer keynote sessions on managing overwhelm, I’m feeling too caught in my own stuff to know what I know…so here’s a refresher for me (and perhaps for you). And yes, I did pick up The Power of Thoughtful Leadership to help me remember:

Let the little things slide – Right now, at my house, the bed is unmade, the laundry is unfolded, and there are dishes in the sink. Right now, in my office, there’s a pile of magazines that need to be looked through, a pile of papers that need to be filed, and a pile of expenses that need to be entered. Right now, on my to-do list, are many documents to be edited and a full email inbox to go through…and none of that really matters. These are the little things that I normally do to keep my life calmer and more clutter-free, but there simply isn’t time right now and I have to let them slide. And forgive myself for not keeping up with my own standards.
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4 Responses to “5 Thoughtful Leadership tips to stopping overwhelm”

  1. tim tymchyshyn says:

    by delegating and building the team,

    hey if they don’t want to play, I will find someone else interested in doing a good job

  2. Melisa says:

    Well, we all have been overwhelmed with the task we need to do. But I focus on small things that can be solve easily and keep that momentum. You will never notice that you already finish your without even bothering to check on it.

    • Lisa Kohn says:

      Thanks Melisa. I also find it helpful to make myself notice the things I do accomplish, as that helps me feel less in overwhelm and I’m likely not to notice them if I don’t actively try to.

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I could be wrong

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on April 30, 2012


“Of course that’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.” Dennis Miller

I am convinced that there would be less conflict in life – even in the world – if more of us were willing and able to admit that we might be wrong. Whenever I get most stuck with colleagues, clients, or family members, it is invariably because both parties (noticeably myself included) are convinced that they are right. That their opinion is “Truth,” and that this Truth is the only real and valid truth.
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Don’t respond to email when you’re in a bar drinking

Posted by Lisa Kohn on March 15, 2012

This seems to be very blatant, obvious advice, yet I think it’s advice we can all heed – both in it’s specifics and in it’s overall concept: to make sure we’re fully focused when we communicate with others, put things in writing, and send them out through cyberspace.

When you’re out drinking, when your filters may be a bit less engaged, it is NOT the time to answer emails, or IMs, or even phone calls, of a work-related nature. You may feel charged to get one last thing done, or inspired with a pithy response or brilliant idea, but it is easy to say or type the wrong thing, dash off a nasty-gram, or use inappropriate humor when we are not really focused on our best communication.
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2 Responses to “Don’t respond to email when you’re in a bar drinking”

  1. great thoughts, if we think of all the recent firings and abuses because of communication mishaps, this is sound advise. Didn’t know what to expect when I saw the title.

    • Lisa Kohn says:

      Thanks for your thoughts Dwight. It is too easy to communicate these days without thinking carefully through what we’re saying and what the ramifications, intended or not, may be.

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Mastering our fear

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on February 20, 2012


“Courage faces fear, and thereby masters it.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

One of the greatest gifts that comes from being a coach is the opportunity to stand by my clients as they walk through some of their greatest fears. I’ve been witness to fears that are rational, irrational, historical, hysterical, physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual, to name a few, and I’ve been blessed to witness my clients as they move through their fears to the other side.
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Tell other people what you want them to think about you

Posted by Lisa Kohn on February 2, 2012

I wish I could say that I thought of this leadership approach myself, but I can’t. One of my clients a few years back shared this with me, and I’ve been passing it on ever since.

It is an adage to live and lead by. So often what we tell others about ourselves is exactly what we wouldn’t want others to think. “I don’t know how I’ll get this done,” we offer. “I’m swamped and don’t know what to tackle next,” we share.
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Lighten up and laugh

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on December 12, 2011


“Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.” Vaclav Havel

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For better vision, look within

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on December 5, 2011
“Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.” Carl Jung

One of the true gifts of my profession is witnessing clients have an “aha” moment. You see the realization hit them as they recognize a self-defeating pattern they’ve repeated over and over…and then devise a plan to break the pattern, or grasp the negative self-talk that they’ve engaged in for years…and begin to question that self-talk and believe a different truth, or acknowledge the rightness of many of their gut instincts…and begin to trust themselves and their leadership more than they ever have before. There often is a pause in our conversation, a moment when they reflect, a silence as they internalize, and then they emerge from their contemplation with a newfound strength that is palpable. And engaging.
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Hit the pause button

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on November 28, 2011
“Half an hour’s meditation is essential except when you are very busy. Then a full hour is needed.” Francis de Sales

Recently I took a month off from work. I shut off my computer, cleaned up my office, forwarded my phone, let clients know I’d be away for a month, and stopped. My intention was to simply become more of a “human being” rather than a “human doing,” as well as to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom with my son’s last summer before kindergarten.
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4 Responses to “Hit the pause button”

  1. Great point, sometimes we are blocking the forest staring at one tree.

  2. Thanks Lisa, need to remember the important things in life always find a way to get done.

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Say what you mean, but don’t say it mean

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on November 21, 2011
“Be truthful, gentle, and fearless.” Gandhi

When I saw this quote on a card in a store, it resonated with me. It encapsulates how I try to live my life, or at least how I hope I try to live my life. It echoes the truth I have seen in the lives of my clients.
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