A few years ago, I shared a vivid phrase to describe being passive-aggressive: “Violently polite.” I think it holds up, but I had forgotten about it. I’m glad for the chance to revisit this. In the years since then, I’ve been more likely to focus on “toxic positivity,” which is NOT the same thing. Toxic … Read more
A few years ago, I wrote in Healthy Conflict Leads to Commitment that great teams can expect commitment when trust is solid and conflict is productive. Today, I want to emphasize that commitment has two other important components: clarity and buy-in. I think at the time I wrote the original post, I was looking harder … Read more
In a post I wrote called “Leaders Make Sure Results Match the Mission,” I shared Gino Wickman’s approach, presented clearly in the book Traction, called the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS). I noted that measuring results against the mission is important to do on a regular basis. I’m not an official EOS implementer — those are … Read more
A few years ago, I wrote that great teams embrace healthy conflict. Does it hold up? Yes, the “healthy conflict” approach holds up. Teams still suffer from lack of productive conflict and healthy debate. There’s a lot of “sparing feelings,” and this extends into remote relationships, too; maybe even more so. The daily casual interactions … Read more
Seven years ago I wrote about what to do when you hit “send” on an email while in an agitated or emotional state, and then immediately regret it: How to Dial Back the Hasty Email Does this still happen? Unfortunately, yes. Does the advice hold up? Not quite, although I’d still handle the example situation … Read more
Seven years ago, I wrote about “the two kinds of naysayers” in a post titled: Leaders Know the Two Kinds of Naysayers. I wrote this because I was seeing a lot of leaders miss out on two things: 1) their power to make a difference, and 2) their responsibility to be a steward of their … Read more
You may have heard me talk in the past — or recently — about The Four Levels of Maturity model. I’ve been talking about it for a long time, because it holds up! In a nutshell: Level 4 is the generous level where problem solving takes place and self-awareness is the highest. Level 3, which … Read more
This week, I want to touch on a big role of leaders, which is the importance of getting to know their people. When I was getting my Master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, one of the required classes was Career Counseling. I had worked at Group Dynamic for three years when I took this … Read more
While it may be cliché to write a blog post about gratitude the week of Thanksgiving, it’s also a good reminder as we move into the holiday season. For many, November and December bring additional stress, frustration, and hardship. The last two years have been difficult. It’s human to dwell on our struggles. In fact, … Read more
Recently a friend and colleague said, “I’ve finally gotten to the point in my life where I don’t give my time away to just anyone for just anything.” The person who said that is not a greedy person; he is generous, especially with his circle of family and friends. Recently, he returned to the work … Read more