How to avoid being a bad role model
“How do you manage your packed schedule?” asked a magazine writer. “The truth is I multi-task, and I don’t require much sleep,” the beverage industry leader responded. Leaders who brag that they multi-task, get little sleep, and practice other bad habits, such as...
How to be compassionate to team members’ brains
Hyper-charged workplaces are the antithesis of a brain-friendly environment for introverts and, frankly, any humans. Rather than try to cope, which sub-optimizes your performance, be compassionate to everyone's brain and make changes. My Forbes article, How to be...
How to help #OKBoomers be empathetic and show respect
#OKBoomer as a recent trending topic grabbed my attention on two levels. If you’re not paying attention to this burn, you should. It’s relevant to society today, including the workplace. From my perspective, the phrase “OK Boomer” made me, a native Oklahoman, first...
How to decide if business books are good for you
What’s your point of view on business books? Several individuals I’ve been talking recently have volunteered that they don’t like to read business books. Yes, I like reading business books provided I admire the author, the topic sounds interesting, or someone I...
How you can thrive from collaboration, not competition, at the top
Are your senior leaders a team of rivals or collaborators? If your top leaders have ditched internal competition for collaboration, you and your colleagues are better positioned to replace your sharp elbows with sharp thinking. Plus you can thrive in other ways too,...
Why and how to guide your direct reports to success
Let’s talk about direct reports. If you're a people manager, how often do you speak with your direct reports about their career plans? Unless you’re actively coaching your staff members, I bet you a nickel that you reserve time once a year during performance reviews...
Want to improve your executive presence? Avoid “me and _______”
Can this sentence structure be preserved? “My co-workers and I are …..” More and more, even in business settings, I hear college-educated knowledge workers flipping this sentence structure to say “Me and my co-workers…. Me and Jen…Me and Jason…Me and my team… ad...
Coaching your team shouldn’t be hard work
"If you feel like you're working too hard when you're coaching individuals, you're working too hard." That was the best advice I learned from my NeuroLeadership coaching program years ago, which I still regularly use and suggest to others. When you're helping others...
Want to increase your empathy? Go Platinum, not Gold
Three-and-a-half year old @MarceltheTherapyDog has heard me describe the Platinum Rule numerous times to many of my coachees. As background, the Platinum Rule is all about treating others the way they want to be treated. By contrast the more established Golden Rule,...
