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Keep your star employee from jumping ship
I know two people who are actively looking for a new job. They show up at work each day, slog through their daily tasks, and take solace in the fact that they will be out the door within a few months. They are both highly regarded in their respective organizations,...
Break through to success
“If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” ~Vincent Van Gogh Often it is the voices within us that stop us from trying and achieving what we really want. Somehow we've learned to censor our...
How (and why) to make the best of your obstacles
"You measure the size of the accomplishment by the obstacles you had to overcome to reach your goals." ~Booker T. Washington It would be nice if it were always easy to reach our goals. It would be great if nothing stood in our way, and if we accomplished what we set...
Is your star performer a bucket-kicker?
My mother-in-law had a saying about people who could be really great and then would do something that totally negated the good that they did. "He's like a cow that gives a good bucket of milk - and then kicks it over," she would say. I dubbed my mother-in-law's...
Shut up!
“Speak when you are angry, and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.” ~ Ambrose Bierce My passion and intensity is part of what defines me. It makes me me. And it makes me proud. Yet it sometimes gets in my way. Because some of my most passionate moments...
How to calm some of the “new-role, new-manager” fears
I was talking with a client the other day. She had just been promoted to be the team lead for her group, which she was thrilled about. She also had to deal with some challenging situations with a few of her new direct reports, which she was less than thrilled about....
Lifting up others is one sure way to rise
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.” ~Booker T. Washington We often work with clients who tell us that they’re not leaders. “I don’t have anyone reporting to me,” they say. “How can I be a leader if I have no followers?” they ask. Our first and...
Are you addicted to adrenaline?
A few weeks ago, on a day jam-packed with emails and to-dos and a full day of facilitation for a client, I received a desperate email from a dear friend and colleague in London. She was scheduled to work with a client in three-days time, and was denied a visa to...
Are you burning your life brightly?
"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations." ~George Bernard Shaw It is too easy to take our day - and life - for...
Someone on your team made a mistake. Now what?
Early in my career I was a company newsletter editor. I managed a small team of writers, oversaw design and layout, and worked with a printer to produce and distribute the weekly publication to over 150,000 employees. (This was back in the day when people actually got...
Passion is a leadership choice
“I would rather die of passion than of boredom.” ~Vincent van Gogh As many of you know, I received a cancer diagnosis last year. As I write this, I am still clean, and very needless to say, I am beyond thankful and appreciative of that. Hearing the words, “It may be...
How to handle in-fighting on your team
When I resigned my job as a general manager, the hardest part was leaving a great team of people who exceeded their goals and worked well together. But it was not always that way. When I took on the role, I quickly learned that the managers who reported to me were far...
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