LEADERSHIP BLOG
We assume because it’s feedback that it’s right. Wait! Stop right there. Just because it’s feedback doesn’t make it good feedback. Feedback is simply information. Good feedback is information that is reliable, relevant and actionable.
Studies show that feedback is...
Confidence can come and go. One day you have it and the next it waffles. Even the most successful leaders have moments where confidence drops out. All the past successes are forgotten as we stand there facing the next challenge. Why don’t our past experiences help us maintain confidence in...
Sometimes we get caught up in “shoulds” and the most dangerous ones are the “shoulds” that tell us who we should be. They go to the core of who we are and suggest that we should be something different or more than what we are. The steady hum of these thoughts can become a...
We are busy and sometimes we forget to slow down so we can be intentional about the conversations that matter. When we do have a moment to prepare for that meeting or that interaction we are about to have, we will often focus on the “how to” … how to set the agenda, how to ask...
I was listening to my colleague’s story. She had just finished a tough round of cancer treatment and didn’t have the support at home that she needed. She had gone on a trip to clear her mind, but it didn’t go as planned. She felt disappointed and alone. Now she was planning...
When I have a task in front of me that’s not my sweet spot or it’s going to be hard, I avoid it. Not with procrastination but with being busy. In college, my house was never cleaner than the week that I had to write that final paper. The entire afternoon was set aside for a project...
In global companies, leveraging influence with a virtual team is not a new way to lead. For those of us that live and lead almost exclusively in a local world, however, our efforts to build relationships and influence others have been in person. What a challenge this last year has been learning...
We think of encouragement as a “nice to have” thing to lift us up on the bad days and supercharge our good days. What if it is not a “nice to have” but a truly necessary thing that we need? What if we are challenged in scripture to give encouragement daily?
“But...
In recent blogs, we have talked about why practicing empathy in the moment is important and what empathy is not. So, how does developing your empathy add value to how you lead?
Imagine a situation where your team member is not measuring up. They missed a deadline. They blew up at a co-worker or...
Empathy is a powerful emotion that can generate deeper understanding, and it is also an essential skill in every single leadership conversation. The productive dialogue that flows from an empathetic viewpoint offers alternative perspectives, increases productivity and generates buy-in...
Mothers and daughters often don’t see eye to eye. Last week, I had one of those not so fun mother-daughter interactions with my nine year old. She was getting emotional and so was I. However, her emotions were falling out all over the place and mine were tightly held inside.
I...
When faced with the unexpected, whether it’s good, bad or neutral, we inevitably experience some upheaval in order to accommodate what we didn’t expect. What if I told you that by investing 12 minutes you could significantly reduce the confusion and chaos of the unexpected?
We...