We are creatures of habit, yet we experience change in every facet of our lives. Some of these changes are good, some aren’t, but regardless of where the changes fall on the spectrum, they all require a mental shift. In her ground-breaking book Death and Dying, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross discusses the stages of grief. She identified five non-linear … Read more
A brief one today; a reflection on three quotes I heard in the Cy Wakeman interview for The Leader Campus. “Change is only hard for the unready.” “Stay in a state of preparedness.” “Stop saying ‘I know change is hard.’” I need to add these thoughts to my rumination on The Psychology of Change. Change … Read more
Two weeks ago, I wrote about Scott Raecker’s water obsession. I also said there were two big things he shared at 90 Ideas. Here’s the other, and it’s timely, because New Year’s resolutions are coming in just a few weeks… To make change stick, you need four ingredients. Clearly communicate the expectations of the change. … Read more
People who explore implications show patience in evaluating ideas to determine potential benefits and drawbacks. I stayed in a brand-new hotel recently, and noticed something odd; the bathroom door was spring loaded to swing shut. Furthermore, when I checked in, the bathroom light and fan were on and running. This meant that when I entered … Read more
People who seek counsel tend to consult with trusted advisors to help evaluate risks and possible outcomes. We’ll start with a real-life negative example: A new superintendent in a school district put forth a new program idea: SCUBA diving instruction. He had done it at his old school, to great success (according to him), so he … Read more
People who speak out tend to be willing to volunteer bold ideas, even if it will put their credibility on the line. If we hold back and play it safe to preserve our credibility, we can make mistakes. I was part of a hiring committee for a non-profit leadership position once. One of the finalists, … Read more
People who are adventurous enjoy the excitement of taking risks and are comfortable with the unknown. Caution is good at times, but not in a visioning phase. Can you name any worthwhile endeavor that didn’t involve some risk? A local community group once had the opportunity to shoot for the moon on raising money and awareness … Read more
People who prioritize the big picture tend to focus on the broad, overall view of an idea or project. The opposite of big picture thinking – obsessing about details – is critical when executing a project, but not when developing vision. I was working with a client on a long-term training plan to solve some problems … Read more
***This is the first post in a series based on the Work of Leaders process (details way below). Throughout the series, I’ll be providing real-world negative examples from a variety of settings. For positive examples, however, we’ll look at one specific case study: The Small Business Saturday initiative from American Express. Small Business Saturday has … Read more
Whether or not you took last week’s suggestion to evaluate your top three and bottom three from a list of possibilities, make sure you start the new year with some sort of review and goal-setting. If you’ve been at your work a long time, you might have a routine and feel like you don’t need … Read more