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I recently had a chance to talk with my friend Chris Hutchinson, who authored the book Ripple : A Field Manual for Leadership That Works.
It reminded me of how much I rely on the side-effects of actions I take in any group of people. Often I’ll be interacting with just one person, but my impact will extend to those they work with, and those THEY touch. And so on and so on.
I suppose it’s inherent in the kind of leadership coaching that I do. I almost never meet or even see my clients’ co-workers or family. Yet those people are affected by the changes my client is is making.
Read the rest of this entry »When I do something, paid or volunteer, I want to do it well.
And when I do that, people become dependent on me. Especially if I’m playing a unique role.
I become a single point of failure for the organization. Which means that if something happens to me, things will fall apart. So it can be a trap.
Read the rest of this entry »I was talking with a friend the other day who mentioned her deep concern about what the future looks like.
For whatever reason, humans are wired to pay extra attention when someone communicates worry. No doubt it’s similar to animals communicating danger to others in their group.
I was noticing the effect her concerns had on my own mental state. I empathized with her worries. I sympathized with the impact it was having on her. But then I internalized it and started being worried myself.
Read the rest of this entry »When you have a relationship with someone, you tend to cut them some slack.
After all, you know that your kids, siblings, friends, and longtime colleagues have other things going on in their life which means they’ll make mistakes at times. Or come across as brittle when they’re under stress.
We’re only human. So why don’t we do that for people we don’t know so well?
Read the rest of this entry »Work sure feels like a burden many times.
But you have a lot more control over this than you might think. You see, the pressure you’re feeling comes not from the many demands on your time, but on how you respond to those demands.
I’ve learned this lesson when I suddenly had a big life disruption and hand to “check out” from my work tasks. And you know what? The world didn’t fall apart.
Read the rest of this entry »A crucial part of management is solid planning.
But of course, reality rarely goes according to plan. Customer needs shift, people get sick, technical challenges arise, machines break, weather changes, … and on and on.
So the challenge becomes how you adapt to this ever-changing path.
Read the rest of this entry »If you have a boss, then you might think that it’s best to manage the same way that they do. Consistency is good, right?
The problem is that you may not be comfortable – or most effective – adopting another person’s style. In the same way as how you developed into different directions than your siblings did, you’ll start adopting your own unique voice.
That’s a great thing, but not a carte blanche.
Read the rest of this entry »This is a great time to celebrate springtime in the northern hemisphere.
And it makes me realize that I tend to accumulate stress over time. Lots of actions to take, decisions to make … so maybe it’s time to take a fresh look.
That’s what weekends and holidays are for, right?
Read the rest of this entry »There’s an attraction to making things complicated.
I get that. It makes you feel smart and capable. You can feel pride in being the best.
But it surprises me how often it helps to go the other direction – make things as simple as they can be. This is especially true in leadership.
Read the rest of this entry »My mother had a running joke with me: “You’re going to ask if I rebooted, right?”
That’s what happens when you’re tech support for the family, I suppose.
But the concept of “rebooting” is very useful in other situations, especially when you feel like things have gotten too chaotic and unpredictable. Which is happening a lot in business these days.
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The Values-Based Business 