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Four must-do steps to end meeting madness
Meetings are often cited as one of the biggest workplace frustrations. There are too many of them, they are often poorly managed, and little productivity comes from them. Yet, we know that meetings can be very effective for opening dialogue, strengthening...
Just be you
"The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are." ~Joseph Campbell One of the key tenets of Thoughtful Leadership is to be authentic. Too often someone tells us about the "right" way we should be, or the "best" way to show up in a situation. Too often we learn that...
There just isn’t enough time, now what?
“I really need to focus on time management,” says one client. “I don’t have enough time,” says another. “I meant to spend time reading and reflecting. I put it in my calendar, but…” says a third. “Can we talk about my time management?” asks a fourth. Recently it seems...
The upside of falling down
“Fall down seven times, get up eight times.” ~Japanese Proverb I now enjoy skiing. I used to hate it. I hated it because I fell. And I hated that I fell. I once made my ski instructor fall getting off the lift. He told me he hadn't fallen off a lift in over ten years....
Fighting perfectionism
One of my "if I could turn back the clock" regrets is not keeping up my Spanish. There was a time when I was quite fluent and could converse with native speakers, but after many years of not using my language skills, I am now very, very rusty. I learned just how rusty...
Thoughtful leadership starts with understanding
"Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less." ~Marie Curie A client called me the other day, to check in between coaching sessions. "I don't know what to do," she said, "and it's keeping...
Misunderstandings happen to everyone
It amazes me how difficult it is to communicate clearly. I teach classes on communication, and I always stress being clear - absolutely clear - when you're speaking and writing. I focus on how easy it is for people to misunderstand you, how even with your best...
Be present to today
“It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters in the end.” ~Ursula LeGuin One of my former colleagues is extremely focused on getting his next promotion. Every time we speak, that is the main topic of conversation. On its face,...
Five key reasons you must learn to trust yourself
I've noticed a crisis recently, a crisis of trust. I've noticed how seldom and little many of us trust ourselves. I've noticed it with many of my clients. They have an inkling, a sense of a choice that is best for them or their team, but instead of trusting themselves...
To plan or not to plan, that is the question
"Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans." ~John Lennon Whenever we facilitate a leadership team planning meeting, we offer a quote: "Vision without action is a daydream. Action without vision is a nightmare." We believe - we know - that it is...
Are your words and actions out of whack?
"I tell my team all the time how great they are," one leader recently told me. Yet, I knew from conversations with her team members that they felt their leader did not see them as competent and did not trust them with high-level work. While she said how great they...
Lowering expectations for higher success
“Expect nothing. Live frugally on surprise.” ~Alice Walker Years ago I read an article. They asked couples who were married for longer periods of time to share their secrets for success. "Lowered expectations" was the most common response. I can't say I always like...
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