What’s the real issue?
Find the ‘thing under the thing’ before your next hard conversation Your boss gives you feedback you feel is unwarranted. Turns out he wanted more communication. Here’s how to turn around a misunderstanding by naming what’s really at the core of the conflict. In Leadership Core, I’m tackling everyday leadership challenges with HIIT‑style intervals: short, […]
Taking the Sting out of Feedback
Giving feedback isn’t scary because of the words. It’s scary because we’re afraid of damaging a relationship. Here’s the 5‑step script I use with the leaders I coach to take the sting out of tough feedback. Save this for your next difficult 1:1. In Leadership Core, I’m tackling everyday leadership challenges with HIIT‑style intervals: short, […]
Listen for the Whole Story
Story: It’s not about you every time Are you listening to hear what someone has to share, or using every chance to play a kind of charades with your team? I’m thinking of the “sounds like” move: a team member shares something that sounds like work you’ve done, are doing, or want to do, and […]
Start Meetings with a Question
In Leadership Core, I’m tackling everyday leadership challenges with HIIT‑style intervals: short, focused practices you can run between meetings to strengthen how you lead. Story: Invite people into the conversation You head into a meeting totally prepared. You’ve got updates to share and next steps that will really streamline the work your team has been […]
Coming Back
Story: Breakthrough. For the past four months I’ve been quieter than I planned. A ruptured Achilles and weeks of PT forced me to slow down and pay more attention than ever to my physical core. With direction from a strong physical therapist and exercises that carried me between sessions, I’ve learned some valuable insights about growth, […]
Feeling annoyed? You’re not alone
The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #98 I don’t have to venture far to find someone who’s annoyed or who’s annoying me. The amazing irrigation guy who saved our yard from a damaging leak but forgot to reset the controls. The waitress who delivered a wrong order then dropped the food as she rushed to take it […]
Leadership mistakes can be costly
The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #90 I’m a firm believer that mistakes have a lot to teach us, having made more than my share. For the past few decades, I’ve learned an enormous amount from my missteps, and from the errors of those around me. While I’ve embraced some of the ‘fail fast’ mentality – a […]
A rare alignment
The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #83 December 25th, 2024 marked the 5th time since 1900 that the first night of Hanukkah and Christmas fell on the same day. To celebrate this rare alignment of the lunar and solar calendars, I offer two poems of hope and light wherever you are today. Subscribe now A Hanukkah Prayer […]
When life looks bleak
The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #68 Was it the super moon? The start of a new fiscal year? School beginning? A contentious political climate? It seems like a lot of us are on edge in so many spheres of life and work. On these days when you may be trying to broker a deal, be the […]
Reflections on a move
The Coach’s Corner Newsletter #59 This is the week my husband and I are uprooting and moving to a new home, in a new state, hundreds of miles away from the roots we’ve nurtured for more than a decade. When you make a significant change in life – such as moving – the anticipation, preparation, […]