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Taking Initiative
My previous blog posts on delegating effectively (links at the end of this post) were popular enough that they have evolved into a training offering. Today I offer another tip that can help both leaders looking to delegate more effectively and individual contributors looking to increase their level of autonomy and initiative in their role. Levels…
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Cut Me Some Slack
I’ve taught my Personal Productivity class a dozen times this year – it is my most popular training offering. The course’s primary focus is email management, which invariably leads to discussions about instant messaging platforms such as Slack. Today I’ll share some thoughts about how to use them effectively. I’ll refer to Slack for simplicity’s sake. However,…
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Onstage and Backstage
Building on the Go On Tour blog’s theme from two weeks ago, I’m exploring the difference between being “Onstage” and “Backstage.” Onstage in a Business Context Most of us can intuitively connect with the notion of Onstage. Maybe it conjures up memories of a childhood performance in a play, a talent show competition, or presenting at an…
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On the Path
One of the things I don’t think I do well is taking the time to celebrate my achievements. Over the weekend, I received some fantastic news, so I’m setting aside the blog I had planned and celebrating. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to join me, and I hope this inspires you to celebrate…
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Go on Tour
Throughout my leadership career, one of my staples was regularly connecting with the people I worked with, whether my boss, my direct reports, or my peers across the organization. Years later, I read Scott Eblin’s The Next Level, and he described this technique beautifully when he talked about going on a listening tour. Today we’ll talk…
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1:1 101
Some organizations do a fabulous job developing new managers and giving them the fundamentals they need to succeed. Many others do not. If there is no formal management training program, you may still get lucky if you’ve had the luxury of a good manager in the past (or present). Or you may be flying blind.…
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Decisions, Decisions
I have a new rule. If I have the same coaching conversation five times or more, it gets a blog post. Here’s a coaching question I encounter a lot. “How do I decide between staying in my current job or moving into a new one?” Coachees often grapple with this decision, whether fueled by the…
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Shifting Perspectives
Today’s blog post explains one of my favorite exercises dating back to my earliest days as a leader and mentor. I now know this exercise foreshadowed more profound techniques I would learn on my journey as an ontological coach. Ontology is the study of being. Ontological coaching examines our Way of Being – how we view the…
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Do As I Say, Not As I Do
How many hours do you typically work per week? 40? 50? 60? 80? Last week I talked to someone who had logged multiple 100-hour weeks at a client site (yes, that’s 14 hours a day for 7 days…). There is no right or wrong answer here. Everyone’s situation is different. The critical question is how…
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Overcoming Procrastination
Last week I shared one of my favorite techniques for overcoming overwhelm. If you tried the blank sheet of paper exercise, hopefully, you emerged with the realization that you have fewer truly critical tasks than you thought, and you have a short list of A priority tasks stack ranked in the order you should tackle them.…
