Posts Tagged ‘listening’
Listening in a Time of Crisis
In a crisis, there will be a chorus of voices urging leaders, “Don’t just stand there, do something!” But it takes a lot of discernment, and I think reflection on your values to know when, in fact, we need to “Don’t just do something. Stand there.”
Read MoreFrom ‘Great Man’ Leadership to Alignment
Imagine casting a vision for and leading a team who’s members change constantly due to injury or offseason moves. Imagine your job performance being evaluated and scrutinized not at a quarterly or annual review–but every week, by multiple coaches, profession pundits, and thousands of fans.
That’s the context for Rodger Price’s interview with veteran NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Read MoreLeaning Into Healthy Conflict: A Second Short Story
After writing back-to-back posts on what I believe is our most important topic for West Michigan leaders (Leaning Into Healthy Conflict), I shared a fictional story about the use of this conflict model last week . This week I’m going to share one more short story about conflict. This time it’s a real one, though…
Read MoreLeaning Into Healthy Conflict: A Short Story
I recently wrote two back-to-back posts on what I believe is our most important topic for West Michigan leaders: Leaning Into Healthy Conflict. That topic is still on my mind, so I’m writing another piece on it today. However, this one’s a little different. This one is a short story in a conversation format. I…
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 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 MoreLeadership Toolbox: Feedback and the 5-to-1 Ratio
In the last post in this series we explored how to apply the leadership tool of listening. This week, we’re focusing on feedback and the results you can get when you use this tool wisely. Once again, this post isn’t about HOW to give feedback (for that, go here and here). It’s about the results you…
Read MoreLeadership Toolbox: Listening
Listening—so simple to understand, so hard to do. I’m talking about real listening—listening to understand—not being silent until it’s your turn to talk. This post is not about HOW to listen. (For that, go here or here). Today we’re going to focus on what you can accomplish with the incredibly powerful tool of listening. Last week…
Read MoreThe Terrible Power of Anxiety
When my husband and I were engaged, we got into a car accident on the way home from seeing a movie. A blizzard had started up while we were at the theater. It was clear when we got there, an icy mess when we left. Josh lost control of his car on the ice-filmed road…
Read MoreHigh Impact Listening
Tucked between the content on Living Systems and Leaning Into Healthy Conflict on the day we visit the jail is a segment in LEAD 365 called High Impact Listening. It is sandwiched between those two topics for good reasons. Here’s one of those reasons: Great listening breaks the power of dysfunctional living systems by stopping…
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