Please be my guest for a free webinar on Wednesday, August 17. That’s when I  will be conducting a complimentary, online seminar that teaches leaders how to help new employees (or existing ones) ramp-up more quickly for new roles within their organization.

 On-Boarding: How to Shorten Ramp-up… Read full post »

Last summer, I posted about finally achieving a goal I had pursued for  seven– count ‘em – seven summers.  The very difficult and elusive (for me) deep water start on the slalom ski.  For anyone who has learned to water-ski on two skis, the norm is to get up on two… Read full post »

I recently spent seven days on a deserted island with just my husband.  No children, no family, no friends, no cellphones, no iPhone, no blackberry, no computers, no internet, no TV. No work projects that make us feel guilty that we said we would do but don’t.  This is the 6^th… Read full post »

Just had the most extraordinary pleasure of being a coach for a delightful experiment called a Collaboratorium for TED Fellows.  13 Fellows, all of whom applied to be chosen for the experience, spent an entire day with a team of coaches and business experts.  Each team had a facilitator and… Read full post »

I developed a very short – the requirement is four minutes – for a SupporTED* conference  (called, delightfully, a Collaboratorium) on the topic of presence specifically for presentations. 

1. Love:

 First rule of presence and showmanship:  Love what you are talking about and let your passio… Read full post »

There was an article in The New Yorker last December called The Truth Wears Off by Jonah Lehrer that rocked my world.  I am working on a Masters in The Neuroscience of Leadership so I know just enough about research and scientific method to be dangerous, but I was really enjoying… Read full post »

Have you seen Dan Pink’s new book Drive?  He questioned all of our assumptions about what motivates us.  He found that money is an excellent incentive for rote and mechanical tasks, but for work that requires creativity, insight, discretionary energy (solving problems in your car on th… Read full post »

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This summer I finally achieved a goal I have been pursuing for seven years. It has nothing to do with raising my children or my work (my two main priorities for the last 21+ years) and it wasn’t… Read full post »

Ongoing investigation prompted by CEO Query: “what should I not do?†causes re-organization of my bookshelf and out pops and an old favorite: Why CEO’s Fail by Dotlich and Cairo (Jossey-Bass, 2003) – great book.

The list is so intriguing, but also the notion that you can’t eliminate… Read full post »

A CEO of a company that manufactures and distributes all the little plastic parts that go inside all the electronics no one is buying right now says “I know what we’ve done before when business was down.  I have no idea what the right thing to do is now though.â€Â … Read full post »

Working with a new client, the planned 360° Feedback is delayed so we are having the conversation about what we can accomplish with coaching without the benefit of clear data to create a development plan.  We start with, “well, I’m not perfect but I can’t really think of anything I should… Read full post »

Have you ever noticed that things tend to go in trends?  Well yesterday I had 4 coaching calls, and every single client was inordinately frustrated with his or her boss.  All four of these folks had definitely tagged ‘managing up’ as a focus area for coaching, but things seemed to… Read full post »

I recently published this article in Talent Management Magazine. Enjoy!

As any executive coach will tell you, a good 15% of coaching time is spent on helping individuals manage the fallout from poor relationships with their managers. Most surprisingly, these situations occur with people who o… Read full post »

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What if you were a ship?

Here are some intriguing questions:

If you were a ship:

• Where would you be going?  (General direction)
• How accurate are all of the instruments for ascertaining location?  (How well tuned is your ability to/
… Read full post »

You know, sometimes people are just so amazing.  I recently started work with a new client whose reads like an exemplars manual for management and leadership excellence.  I combed through it looking for something that she could possibly work on.  There were a few communication details we… Read full post »

I was recently a part of a panel on Pay Me What I am Worth’s radio program. It was a great panel to be a part of, and the topic we covered is relevant to just about anyone, especially if you’re a changephobe!

Enjoy! Read full post »

For those of you following the Needs conversation here is what to do about it if you decided to do a better job getting them met.

1. Identify and articulate specific highly personal needs.    The easiest way is to do The Needs
… Read full post »

This is part two of a series on Needs.

Let’s face it.  Most of us didn’t have a lot of great role models of people who persistently and graciously got their personal needs met.  What we did have is models of people who got their needs met in ways… Read full post »

I was recently asked if we had a recommendation about a good article about Needs.  I really don’t know of one, though there are some good books.  Because Needs are a critical building block for a productive coaching experience, I thought it would be helpful to start a small series… Read full post »

I met Stan Slap ten years ago when his company and our company partnered on a big leadership development project.  He said things to the client that raised all kinds of eyebrows, he was truthful and hilarious.  I loved his material then, I love it now.  I have been waiting for… Read full post »

We know that you want to keep a good attitude, stay optimistic and positive.  That’s why you’re in denial about all the little stuff you are putting with – but if you knew how it was holding you back you’d be shocked.

You’d also be surprised to know how much energy… Read full post »

Do you have your list of tolerations yet?  Take 2 minutes – it literally takes that tiny amount of time, clock it.  OK.  This next step takes a little longer. Now go down the list and decide that you will

1. Do it (and put it on your calendar right
… Read full post »

I, along with my writing partner, Dr. Linda J. Miller, was recently published in choice Magazine, on the subject of coaching and consulting. Enjoy!

One of our mentors, Thomas Leonard, used to say, “All coaches are also consultants, but not all consultants are coaches.†Like many of his as… Read full post »

Those who complain that they do not have the power to achieve their aims are forgetting this simple rule: holding a certain position will give you power but it is temporary unless you also have personal power. Personal power is defined as the strength that comes of making and maintaining sincere… Read full post »