The Influence of Experts

Hank is a talented practitioner and emerging leader who is expanding his professional practice into a business. The business is growing, but Hank is frustrated by the pace of growth and the obstacles that cross his path. As confident as his outward persona is, he experiences periods of self-doubt.

This isn’t at all unusual; in fact, many of my clients have had similar experiences. As Hank and I dug through what he perceives to be the obstacles to his success, I learned that he has been strongly influenced by some prominent business “gurus”.

Relax – Relate – Release

I once knew someone who worked at my local library branch who had a Zen-like response to annoying people. Janey had a mantra, which was, “Relax – relate – release.”

When she shared this with me, I was immediately drawn in and wanted to know more about this 3-step mantra. Had she gone through customer service training? Did she read about this in a book? Perhaps she had seen something on the internet?

From Doing to Leading

At one time or another, entrepreneurial leaders face the challenge of transitioning from “doing the doing” to leading their organizations. Over the years, many of my clients have passed through various stages of this transition, and frankly, it’s not an easy one.

The challenge comes because many entrepreneurial leaders think that no one can do it as well as they can. Their mindset is that it’s their business, they put in the hard work and sweat, and they know what’s best.

A 3-Part Mastery Formula

One of my clients shared a success formula that has worked for his team. It’s by no means a “be all, end all” recipe, but certainly one that can be adapted for your employees.

The elements of the formula are: technique, strength, and practice.

The Emotionally Intelligent Communicator

I attended a meeting of an organization whose board I serve on. I was in the back of the room, and seated behind me were two disgruntled people who were loudly dissing everything that was reported during the meeting.

During the Q&A portion of the meeting, these people went a few rounds with the moderator of the meeting, until one of them stood up and shrieked an acerbic comment. After this drama, she declared, “I’m a communications professional and I know I’m right.”

Asking for Help Can Be Good for Your Health

How would you rate yourself on asking for help?

I’m not talking about being a slacker and asking others to do your job. Instead, this is about chipping away at your “I can do it all” mentality and gaining benefits from someone who is willing or even eager to help you.

“Lone Ranger” Leaders

I’ve been working with a leadership team where three out of four people are aligned around organizational goals, while the fourth is singing to the tune of his own agenda.

Although this leader is valued in his role, if he doesn’t work to achieve alignment with his colleagues, over time it will infect the leadership team.

Your People Are Watching You

Sometimes you just don’t know when your leadership makes a difference for someone. I witnessed one of these situations with a young colleague, who was sharing a story about an interaction on her team.

When I asked her if she realized the impact of her specific action, it was clear she hadn’t thought about it. Although she was genuinely pleased, it almost seemed like the surprise effect of my pointing it out was more thrilling than what she had actually done.

Flexibility and Resiliency

How prepared are you for the unexpected. “Life happens” – and doesn’t it always seem to do so at the most inopportune times?

You can perfectly plan your schedule, and then life inserts itself, throws you off base, and leaves you bewildered about how this could have happened when you were so well organized.

The Big Blur

There are days when so much is going on that everything seems blurry. When this happens in the workplace, people can get distracted by the dangerous combination of chaos and minutia and miss important things. Lack of clarity can lead to one big blur.

When this happens to you, it’s important to regain focus and clarity as soon as possible.

Leadership is a Mindset

Tag: Self-Awareness