The Step-by-Step Process I Teach Clients Have you ever experienced a time when you suddenly realized… This isn’t the kind of leader I meant to be.This isn’t the impact I wanted to have.This isn’t the legacy I had in mind. Maybe you strayed far from your goal without even realizing it, like a sailboat drifting off course one degree at a time, until one day you woke up and found yourself hundreds of miles from […]
Mining for Core Values Read More »
Create a Legacy You’re Proud of Each individual leaves a legacy. But leaders have a unique opportunity. We have the chance to leave a deep impact on the tight-knit group that we may spend years leading. Regardless of whether it is intentional or not, you will leave a lasting impact on your team. And it’s up to you to decide the impact you want to make through your leadership role. That’s both incredibly exciting and
Your Leadership Impact Read More »
Which One is Holding You Back? What truly makes a good leader? When most people think about leadership, they picture the visible responsibilities: giving feedback, leading meetings, making decisions, managing conflict… But that’s just the outer game of leadership—the actions others can see. If you are trying to improve your leadership skills, it’s common to focus on these actions. You start to figure out what you need to do more of, or do less of,
Inner Game vs. Outer Game Read More »
The Top Five Excuses for Not Developing Talent Companies are in a crisis of their own making right now. At a recent produce industry event, I had a troubling conversation with a CEO. “All of our senior leaders are planning to retire in the next 3-5 years,” he told me. “But I’m worried about what will happen when they leave. We have some solid younger performers, but we haven’t done a great job of preparing
Companies are Failing Their Teams Read More »
Addressing the Leadership Skill Gap “When I first went from regular employee to manager, I knew exactly how to step into my new role and lead my team…” …said no leader ever!!! More often, it’s the opposite. You step into your role, then maybe you start to realize… “I didn’t get trained for this.” “I’m confident in my work but not in my team.” “I don’t want to let my team down, but I don’t
New Managers Aren’t Trained in Leadership Read More »
How To Motivate Without Micromanaging Many newer managers tend to swing wildly in one direction or another in terms of how much control they exert over their teams. Some go overboard on the “hands-off” approach. They’ve heard about or experienced the problems of micromanaging. What often happens is they show up as overly-trusting managers, not putting in the time to train team members or set appropriate guidelines for how the work should be done. While
Control Kills Motivation Read More »
The Hush Around Conflict Earlier this year, the hottest debate on LinkedIn was centered around something extremely trivial: the em dash. If you post on LinkedIn, you probably saw some of the heated comments between the “em dashes are indicators of AI” and “I used em dashes long before AI” crowds. We might dismiss this argument as silly internet drama, but I think there’s a much bigger lesson to learn here. Humans are brilliant, empathetic,
Is This Killing Team Creativity? Read More »
5 Tips to Salvage the Meeting With so much uncertainty in the world right now turning up the heat and pressure, employees are having a tough time. So if you’ve noticed your teammates being stressed or disengaged—now more than ever is a time for patience and understanding! As leaders, we face the same challenges that our teammates do. But we also have the responsibility to try to make connections and understand their struggles—and one of the
One-on-one Took a Negative Turn? Read More »
A Networking Plan That Works You’re at an event. You see an industry leader that you really want to connect with. You have a few seconds to catch their attention. What do you do??? Last week I shared my 3-step planning framework for a successful networking event. (If you missed it, click here to catch up) My previous email addressed how to start your outreach before you get to an event. But what happens when
More Conversations, More Connections You probably have at least one business event on your calendar right now. Have you thought about… ➡️ Who you want to meet? ➡️ How you will reach out to them? ➡️ What you will say when you see them? If you don’t have answers to these questions, you need to start thinking about them now! Late winter/early spring is always the time of year when I revisit my networking skills
Get My 3-step Networking Framework for Events Read More »
Not Just Authority “Why won’t they just do their jobs?” I think we’ve all had a frustrated moment like this at some point! When my client Rob* asked me this question, he was reaching the end of his patience. Rob was a highly analytical, black-and-white thinker. When given a job, he simply did it, earning him recognition as a high-performer. So when he transitioned into a leadership position, he couldn’t understand why his team didn’t
Learning to Lead Through Connection… Read More »
Connecting Purpose to the Personal Sometimes teams go through periods of exhaustion. They’re just showing up, checking off boxes, and going home. As a leader, there are few things more disheartening. I’ve had several people tell me, “No one seems to care as much as I do!” Some days it feels as if you’re trying to carry your whole team forward by yourself. But what if you’re missing a crucial element? It’s not that your
Why Doesn’t Your Team Care? Read More »
I have a simple question for you: “Who else on your team can take on the project you’re consumed by right now?” Stop and think about it for a moment. Do you have an answer? A while back, when I asked my client Grace* this question, she looked at me like I’d sprouted an extra head! That’s when she realized how stuck she was. Grace had been asked to work on a strategic plan that
The Real Reason You’re Too Busy Read More »
In leadership roles, we’re used to starting Q1 with the heat turned up. Always busy, always behind, and always battling a long to-do list 😬 When under pressure, we naturally feel the need to work harder and faster. Especially as leaders with a whole team counting on us! But if that’s your mindset, you’re in danger of falling into the same trap I did: ➡️ You’re productive but you’re not actually making progress. ➡️ You’re
The #1 Gamechanger for Growing as a Leader Read More »
The transition from individual contributor to manager is often the toughest in a person’s career path. Newer managers find themselves needing a whole new set of skills that may be unrelated to the work they excelled at in their previous roles. At the same time, they may lack the confidence to ask for help or admit that they are struggling. Based on what I’ve learned from my clients and from my own leadership journey, I
Five Ways to Help Newer Managers Thrive Read More »
The end of one year and the start of the next is always a great opportunity to pause and notice where we’ve been and where we’re going. As we head into 2020, we have the chance to usher in a new year and a new decade. 2020 represents symmetry and balance. It holds layers of meaning if we let it. No matter the condition of your actual eyesight, don’t pass up this opportunity to have
Do you dread networking? Do you look for any excuse to delay going to the big reception and then clump together with people you already know when you get there? You are not alone, but you can rise above your fear and dread. The truth is that your success at an industry event hinges on your ability to talk with people, learn about them and make an impression so they will remember you. I’ve created
Networking Skills Video Series Read More »
The brilliant Simon Sinek implores us to “Start With Why”. It’s a question that’s intended to drill right to the heart of our purpose. When used effectively, “why” helps us create a vision that’s infused with energy and supported by passion. Unfortunately, that’s not how most people use “why”. “Why did you do it that way?” could simply be a bid for understanding. But with just the slightest change in tone, emphasis or even body
The Impact of Asking “Why” Questions Read More »
I reconnected with a friend this morning. My first question was, “How do you like your new job?” Without missing a beat, she replied, “I love my job – I have the best boss I’ve had in 20 years!” She went on to speak about the work, the company, her co-workers, and then came back around to speak more about this fabulous boss. Once again, I’m reminded of what a difference it makes when you
A Great Job Starts With A Great Boss Read More »
There seems to be lots of confusion about the differences between training, mentoring and coaching. I see leaders claiming that they are “coaching” their team when they are training or mentoring. Using a coach approach can make a huge difference in a team’s engagement and results, so it’s important to recognize when you are actually coaching. I’ve come up with three simple phrases to help you identify which mode you are in at any time.
What’s the Difference Between Training, Mentoring and Coaching? Read More »