Coach Insights
The Key to Controlling the Elephant
Do you remember the analogy of the rider and the elephant in the book Switch? Each of us has a rider—our rational, logical self—and each of us has an elephant—our emotional, reactionary self. When things are going just fine in our lives, our rider is usually in control; we make decisions based on healthy beliefs and…
Read MoreThe Station
How busy are you right now? According to the radio, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I’m not so sure that I agree. December, for me, is one to-do list after another, both personally and professionally. I can’t wait for the fresh start of the new year so I can leave this year…
Read MoreThe Twilight Zone
I’m not sure if you know this, but next to Christmas, Halloween is the most expensive holiday in the calendar year. The average American spends more on Halloween than on any other holiday, save Christmas. This is my Halloween blog. You are traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but…
Read MoreGrowth Over Time
Many of you have heard me say that concepts often work on me, whether I want them to or not. My ego would like to claim that I’m working on them, but I have to admit that I often feel like I have no choice—some concepts just seem to wrestle with me until I feel…
Read MoreThe Lenses We Wear
The first time I became painfully aware of the lenses through which I see the world was during an anti-racism training the organization I worked for at the time held for staff and other key leaders. I was twenty-seven years old. Most of my memories of the training have faded, but a very important one…
Read MoreMaking Decisions at the Wrong Time
Fellow Leaders, I’ve always loved the original version of Dr. Seuss’s How The Grinch Stole Christmas. For 53 years the Grinch had put up with packages, boxes, bows, trees, singing, jing-tinglers, and roast beast from all those happy Whos down in Whoville. After 53 years the Grinch had had enough. He stood there on Christmas…
Read MoreA Case for Using Your Vacation Time
In late 2009, I took a twelve-week maternity leave. I was quite sure that it would be a working leave. I was in the middle of so many projects, leading many of them, and I was the expert on our organization’s database. The organization I worked for at the time was small enough that we…
Read MoreLeadership Toolbox: Leaning into Healthy Conflict
Alternative Title: How a Lowly Brake Operator Changed Corporate Policy in One Conversation My father spent the last 10 years or so of his career working at a metal-press company in the Kalamazoo area. He was responsible for training new employees how to use the presses and working with them until they mastered the work.…
Read MoreFear of Failure – Part 2
In my last post I shared some of my learning over many years about my overly cautious attitude toward failure. In a nutshell, I was way too conservative over much of my life, which led to learning less and achieving less than I might have otherwise if I had been more willing to risk failure.…
Read MoreFear of Failure – Part 1
You’ve probably heard about people who work with people who are dying and, in turn, learn a lot about life by listening to regrets and words of wisdom. One of these people is Bronnie Ware—an end of life nurse who chose to write down what her patients shared. This eventually became a book: The Top…
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