When we’re trying to achieve a key objective, we may need to employ a behavioral routine. There’s a problem with routines. Sometimes these become boring. What’s the secret to sticking to a required routine? Make it spicy! Let’s look at two examples. First, imagine you’ve decided to include one health-focused drink daily as part of [...]
By the time October rolls around, a host of people recognize year-end is not so far away. The season of “what will I have accomplished?” can become a distraction. On November 1st, year-end occurs in only 61 days. Closing the year with a solid win is possible with focused effort. One antidote to fractured action [...]
Leaders often seek greater clarity of insight to support being more strategic and effective. I recently read authors Jim Haudan's and Rich Berens' book, What Are Your Blind Spots? Conquering the 5 Misconceptions that Hold Leaders Back, to be released October 5th this year. My review covers a “galley” copy of this book, prior to publication. What this [...]
This RWRQ update offers pivotal support for women. The theme involves how we present ourselves, how we authentically bring our highest contribution to the table, and how these might create differing perceptions for women versus men. Here are the questions: How do you overcome being shy? I know I’m an effective leader, but can be [...]
Do you have an abundance of email? How about multiple email accounts? Have you ever tried and failed to embrace "email zero?" Welcome to my world. AND it's not really as dismal as it sounds. Because I DO have a system. I have academic email, professional email, personal email, an email account unique to my [...]
Incremental change eases participants through transitions. BIG change—at the level complete upheaval—can feel like a sucker punch to the gut. How we respond to the demand of big change determines whether we just survive or thrive through the experience. Clients I work with are often facing or seeking change; there’s value and comfort in knowing [...]
Fulltime employees may spend a minimum of 2,000 hours in the workplace annually. Imagine the difference in impact and productivity between spending those hours being even moderately miserable versus joyfully inspired. According to author Kris Boesch, “When people feel good about coming to work it ripples into the community, into the homes and coffee shops [...]
It’s too late to turn back now. We’re different. That won’t work here. Recognize these? Statements like these represent what Jack Quarles calls “expensive sentences”—the title of his latest book. In Expensive Sentences: Debunking the Common Myths that Derail Decisions and Sabotage Success [affiliate], Quarles helps leaders recognize and address such faulty assumptions. Expensive sentences can [...]
Let’s talk great feedback. What exactly is “great” feedback? We know it when we hear it, right? Unfortunately, we don’t often get helpful, timely feedback—let alone great feedback. This post reviews potential issues that influence the value of feedback and opportunities for generating and leveraging great feedback. Most of us appreciate hearing when our contributions [...]
News media, particularly over the past decade, tends to suggest leadership failure as the norm. Reporting blunders, from foolish faux pas to serious ethical breaches, invites us to believe that great leadership is so rare as to be hardly attainable. When things go wrong, we see the painful outcomes in print, broadcast on television, and [...]
