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The dead cat bounce

Silence often makes people uncomfortable. But remarkably, leaders can also use silence to generate breakthroughs in performance. Let me explore: I recently facilitated a two-day strategy retreat...

A secret source of influence

In a freak accident eight weeks ago, I was hit by a truck and pinned against a highway guardrail.  The impact broke my femur in half and fractured my knee.  Wheel chair bound for four weeks, I'm now...

The Ikea Effect

You buy a kitchen table from Ikea and haul it home. You spread the contents of the box on the floor. You glance at the instructions and start screwing pieces together. You stop reading the...

Fishing for a change?

As a facilitator of leadership training programs, I’m sobered by research that ranks the impact of training programs as pretty low on the developmental experience scale.  At the top of the list:...

Great leader, lousy teammate

I have a leadership-coaching client who engenders well-earned loyalty from his people. Equal part strategic and operational, tough and tender, he defines his role as building and leading highly...

Are you a coach or critic?

Many of my coaching clients are results-driven leaders who have the outward appearance of confidence and a long list of accomplishments.  So I'm often surprised by how much time I have to invest at...

In praise of silos

By now the benefits of collaborating across organizational departments are pretty obvious. Cross-functional teamwork is viewed as the elixir that enhances innovation, productivity and employee...

The myth of accountability

Chuck was agitated as I walked into his 24th floor office.  He skipped our traditional social chat. "I've had it with Cheryl," he said irritably. "Its time for me to hold her accountable. I swear, I...

Leverage strengths or accept them?

Leadership coaching clients are often advised to leverage their strengths. This is sometimes interpreted to mean ‘keep doing what you are doing, but do it more…’ Yet clients are also counseled that...

Its about time (for a change)

The conference room was a mess. Participants were starting to arrive and the tables were scattered haphazardly about the room. Our materials for the two-day session were still in boxes in the corner...

When self-deprecation is really self-deception

In my practice, I often coach “high potential” executives, so named because they’re part of a select pool of talent from which a company’s future leaders will be chosen. As is typical in these...

When is a merger like a marriage?

Linda, the CEO of a technology oriented firm, told me her company’s pending merger with a logistics company was a ‘match made in heaven.’ The two companies were complementary, not identical, so it...

Practicing what we teach: lessons of 2012

Fast Company recently featured CEOs from major corporations like 3M, Pepsico, Starbucks, and others sharing lessons from 2012 and describing how these lessons will apply in the coming year. While we...

Leadership lessons from a thunderous Yamaha

Too many leaders make fast (and wrong) decisions in the face of disagreement. They trust their own thinking, and then justify their decision based on what they interpret as positive results.  Yet...

Don't monkey around with organizational change

When I wasn’t quaking in my waterproof shoes walking across a swaying footbridge high above a lush rainforest in Costa Rica, I was listening intently as our guide described the complex eco-system of...

The hidden power of "I don't know"

Recently, some friends in Asheville, NC introduced me to the River Arts District where I discovered an unexpected nugget of wisdom. Here, amid a collection of art studios down by the French Broad...

Leader — Change Your Impact, Not Yourself

We cannot help be but who we are.  This hit home recently when I reviewed a 360-degree feedback report with the new president of a high tech company. Catherine’s vice-presidents viewed her as a...

Welcome to a new collaboration

In a recent leadership development workshop, our participants were contrasting how much time they spend these days collaborating across functions on complex issues vs. earlier in their careers.  As...