In the current landscape of leadership, there is a pervasive myth that effective recognition requires high-voltage energy. We look at pop-culture archetypes like Ted Lasso, managers who lead with infectious, vocal enthusiasm, and assume that is the gold standard. I recently worked with an IT Manager at a non-profit who fell into this trap. He
Category Archives: blog post
15
May
May
My client, a construction manager, was working on three buildings simultaneously. He was juggling three different architects and three separate contractor teams. If that wasn’t enough, he and his wife were renovating a rowhouse in anticipation of their first child. He said he wanted to talk about time management and prioritization. Soon, he opened up
12
Mar
Mar
I sat across from my colleague Brenda with a growing sense of discomfort. I had accepted an assignment from the boss, but I heard from my colleague an undercurrent of doubt—or so it seemed. It was so subtle that I couldn’t quite tell what was going on. Did Brenda not believe I could do it?
13
Feb
Feb
Listen as a podcast When something goes wrong, it’s easy to look for someone to blame. Accountability doesn’t always have to be reactive (see here for my thoughts on proactively managing accountability). But simply pointing fingers doesn’t solve the problem. The FORD Method helps us dig deeper to find out why things went wrong, and
05
Feb
Feb
Are you facing unexpected changes and uncertainty? It can affect all aspects of your life, triggering fear and making it difficult for you to make good decisions. In this article I will explore the impact of ambiguity on our lives and provide practical tips for managing it in a healthy and effective way. 2020 gave
04
Feb
Feb
Good managers have regular 1:1 meetings with their team members, but it isn’t always easy to crack the code on how to do these meetings well. They have to be more than just a checkbox on your weekly to-do list, and they can be your ticket to building stronger relationships and understanding your team. Remember
22
Jan
Jan
When Quinn (not her real name) and I started our coaching call, she was feeling distressed, telling me “I’ve just had this huge insight that my job isn’t going to stick around as long as I’m depending on it, and I’m terrified!” She said she had been reading the signs, seeing the writing on the
18
Jan
Jan
When you aren’t getting what you need, create it. When clients tell me they don’t get enough feedback, their concerns tend to fall into two camps. Either the feedback they receive is… I so appreciate anyone who wants better feedback. If this is the case you find yourself in, you can definitely take steps to
15
Jan
Jan
There’s an saying in leadership circles: “The role of a leader is to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted.” A lot of us find ourselves laughing and nodding our heads sagely when we hear this. But isn’t it kind of crazy? What kind of sadist afflicts the comfortable? We do know it means that
