Category: Leadership
-
The Fire Paradox – reinstating fire in its role!
I was watching the frightening news reports on California’s many wildfires last night when I heard the most amazing statement, “We are looking at The Fire Paradox as a tool for reducing wildfires.” The Fire Paradox? I had to know more about such an intriguing term, especially as I’ve been spending time considering and coaching…
-
Who am I to be doing this?
I’m doing business development coaching with an entrepreneur who has created an amazing foundation for her new and evolving business. Well, she calls it new and evolving. What she is missing is that this business is simply the leveling up of all her experience, study, practice, and skills. The culmination, if you will, of all…
-
I’m tempted to indulge in willful blindness
Willful blindness is a term that originates from legislation passed in the 19th century and is based on the concept of personal responsibility, and more specifically “if you could have known, and should have known, something that instead you strove not to see.” Author Margaret Heffernan reminds us in her book by the same name—Willful…
-
Are you living your values?
Yesterday I was giving a talk on Leadership Authenticity at the CA Society of CPA’s. I shared about how important it is not only knowing your core values, but also modeling them so coworkers and employees know exactly what you value and expect. One woman raised her hand and asked me if our core values can…
-
What if I get too proud?
Warning! Pride goeth before the fall! This sentiment, from the biblical book of Proverbs, ran through my mind for years. My Mother truly believed and lived by these words. One of her primary jobs was to make sure I didn’t get too big for my britches and risk a fall. As a result, compliments were…
-
I had to fire 3 people today.
I had to fire a few people today. It wasn’t pretty. I had to literally escort them out the door and demand that they never return. I will miss them but their banishment was for the good of the whole. The reasons for the immediate terminations were quite clear: They didn’t show up consistently but…
-
The Label Maker – a dangerous tool!
An amazing phenomenon happens to a lot of kids early in life. It isn’t often talked about or noticed, but it exists and many of us take part in it. The phenomenon is label making – the act of learning, accepting and receiving labels. These labels apply to our potential, our behavior, our physical appearance,…
-
BRACE YOURSELF! Or not.
What do you think of when you hear those words? What happens in your body? If you are like me, you feel tension. Maybe your heart races a little. Or there is tightness in your chest, stomach, or spine. Are your eyes hard or soft? Perhaps you are glaring, instead of gazing gently. What about…
-
Who is to Blame?
This is the story circulating on Facebook about the gorilla who was shot when a 4-year old boy entered the cage at the zoo and was dragged around frantically in what appears to be at least six inches of water. Panicked onlookers observed from about 15 feet above.And now my FB feed and the news…
-
Are you at risk of being replaced?
We hear a lot of noise about how human workers are at risk of being replaced by automation and technology. And while there is some truth to this, research is also showing that the jobs with the highest incidence of replacement by automation or technology are also the ones that require the least social skills…