by admin | Feb 14, 2017 | Blog (All Categories), Collaborating, Conflict, creative leadership, creativity, Emotional Intelligence, Executive Teams, Influencing, Latest Updates, Leadership Teams, Organizational Change
I can’t blame you if you greet this post with skepticism. Leadership and poetry seems like an oxymoron, like rain and San Diego. I’m even a little surprised you are still reading. But here are lessons from two senior executives who recently used poetry to align their...
by admin | Jan 10, 2017 | Emotional Intelligence, Leadership self development, Organizational Change, Self-Awareness
Take this thought experiment: Would you prefer a hamburger that is 90% fat-free or one that has 10% fat? Would you support a project with a 1 in 5 chance of succeeding, or a project with an 80% chance of failing? Despite both options being equivalent, I would avoid...
by admin | Dec 13, 2016 | Emotional Intelligence, Executive Coaching, Latest Updates, Leadership self development, Self-Awareness, strategic thinking
Most of the coaching requests that I receive revolve around emotional intelligence: clients are described as lacking self-awareness, or are unable to control their impulses, or don’t empathize with others. But what if this diagnosis is only half correct: What if many...
by admin | Sep 20, 2016 | Emotional Intelligence, Influencing, Latest Updates, Leadership self development, Leadership Skills, Self-Awareness
I hate to say it, but several people I work with have annoying habits. Some interrupt too much, some don’t say what’s really on their minds, some are so detail-oriented they make my teeth ache. But I too inflict an annoying habit on others: I often indirectly ask for...
by admin | Aug 10, 2016 | Collaborating, Conflict, Emotional Intelligence, Influencing, Latest Updates, Leadership self development, Self-Awareness
Ann was upset with her boss. During a leadership program I was conducting she complained that he scheduled team meetings every Friday at 5pm. Oh, I said, 5pm on a Friday does sound like an unproductive time to meet. When I asked what her boss said when she confronted...
by admin | Jul 13, 2016 | Collaborating, Conflict, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Skills, Self-Awareness
Two founding partners of a technology startup asked me to resolve some of their conflicts. Hal initially convinced me that Dave was an antagonistic bully. Dave then convinced me that Hal was a scheming weasel. Yet when I met them individually, they both seemed quite...