Recovering Leader

Leadership and Letting Go of Control: Part 3 of 3

Click here to read Part 1 Click here to read Part 2 Key Themes Our own nature, and “wiring,” along with other people, events, and situations outside of our direct control, make up a kind of great tide that you can either swim with, or against, in order to make change. You are probably swimming against the tide when your... Read more →

Leadership and Letting Go of Control - Part 2 of 3

...continued from Part 1 Let’s say you are a procrastinator. Not just an occasional need to put something off for a while, but at a more fundamental level. Let’s say you are a perpetual procrastinator, and it’s getting in the way of taking your leadership to a higher level, or interfering with the results you hope to achieve. You’ve taken... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: Self-Interference

Leaders can fall into beliefs and behaviors that interfere with the results they hope to achieve. In fact, we all get in our own way at times, and tend to repeat our own distinctive patterns of self-interference. I ask my executive coaching clients: how do you get in your own way? Whether they have to think about it for a... Read more →

Leadership and Letting Go of Control - Part 1 of 3

Coaching: Actively catch yourself trying to force events, people, and situations, letting go of ego and self-will on overdrive. Control is unsustainable at best, and often an illusion that causes enormous strife for yourself and others. Who we are and how we behave are a combination or nature and nurture – it’s hardwiring and software, chemical and electric, cannot be... Read more →

Thriving in the Technical, Cultural and Political Systems

People are often promoted to positions of leadership based on technical merit rather than leadership skills. You did this well, now supervise others doing it. You supervise well, now manage other supervisors. You manage well, etc. As they bump up the merit/reward ladder, at some point they hit a ceiling, which really ought to have a sign on it that... Read more →

Leadership and President's Day

Our current president is living proof that most people end up in positions of leadership without having the skills to do it well. Since it's his day, I'm going to suggest we pardon his ignorance, just for today, and look at all the progress he's making learning to be a leader. For example, when he was going around saying, "I... Read more →

Monday’s LeaderTip: An Ego Game

When you compare yourself to others -- positively or negatively -- you are caught in an ego game. A successful CEO client once told me: "Some of my business school classmates are way beyond me," while strategizing intently about how to surpass them. The ego wants us to match our ‘insides’ to the ‘outsides’ of others, which is usually deceiving.... Read more →

Leadership Communication: Getting Positive with Problem People

The first 10 seconds of a conversation set the tone, for better or worse. I had an executive coaching client with a boss who can either be Mr. Nice Guy, or Doctor Pain-in-the-A**. When my client would see the number pop up on caller ID he literally didn't know who he would get. If he got Dr. Pain, he would,... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: A Daily Inventory

Daily self-reflection is key for leaders seeking continuous improvement. Carve out a quiet moment at the end of the day to ask yourself four questions: how do your actions line up with your principles / how effective are you / how do you feel in your heart / and, most importantly, what do you need to change tomorrow? Without such... Read more →

Coaching Your Boss

It’s easy to come to the conclusion that you are being underused, unfairly ignored by your boss, or that they don’t spend enough time with you. It’s harder – but extremely rewarding -- to look at it as an opportunity to help them be more successful. I was talking to an executive coaching client recently -- a member of the... Read more →

Excellent Essay by Gabriele Hilberg

In an excellent book entitled "Einstein's Business: Engaging the Soul, Imagination, and Excellence In the Workplace," I suggest you check out Gabriele Hilberg, PhD's piece called "Creative Solutions Under Pressure." Aside from providing news you can use to break through mental/emotional clogs, Ms. Hilberg's style and examples make it engaging reading. Of course there are many important contributions to this... Read more →

Monday's LeaderTip: "At-Stake" Analysis

At times, a leader will notice a recurring pattern of underwhelming results. That may mean there is some kind of below-the-surface attachment to the status quo. Asking "Why does this keep happening?" leads only to symptoms -- not root causes. Instead, try asking, "What's at stake if I keep things the way they are?" Take that answer, and ask again:... Read more →

Leadership and Measuring Up

Face it: we live in a society that provides no shortage of opportunities to idealize other people in comparison to self. Thinner, richer, younger, smarter, more beautiful, more successful, more happy, more spiritual, more community-minded, more confident ... better at recycling -- WHATEVER it may be. There's an apt saying in recovery circles: "never compare your insides to someone else's... Read more →