In an interview with Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Navy Admiral James Stockdale reflected on his time in a Vietnam prisoner of war camp: “Who didn’t make it out?” “Oh, that’s easy,” [Stockdale] said. “The optimists… they were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go…
The emotional tailspin I hear leaders grappling with during this pandemic is rivaling the swings and sways of our stock market and news cycles. Fear and uncertainty looms. So much is unknown about when and how we’ll all be able to get safely back to work. Will your family survive? Will your team survive? Will your business survive? This kind of chaos and uncertainty has a way…
As a leadership coach I experience many entrepreneurs and executives who walk into this work with belief systems that support their successes, yet unintentionally fuel feelings of isolation, loneliness, and despair. Belief systems that take on the internal thunder of “No one cares like I do,” “If I rest I will slip,” “It’s all on my shoulders,” “Everyone is watching,” “I’m in this all alone…
Last week I introduced a leadership development practice to explore your personal drivers as a means of clarifying your values. The focus of the exercise was to pay attention to your daily choices, looking for patterns that emerge with regards to how you prioritize four domains of functioning (physical, intellectual, relational, and spiritual) within your life. Do you value affection and…
There are times when entrepreneurs whisper to me that they’re unsure if they want to be in the game anymore. They’ve lost their passion. Submerged under the struggles of balancing employee and client needs, achieving positive momentum feels like a deep-water slog. As the business grows, they find themselves grinding away at work that doesn’t light you up…
It was a cool spring here on the East Coast. Perfect biking weather. This month, for the first time in a long time, I tuned up my bike and got back out on the trail. And it felt great. After the first few miles to work out some aches and stiffness I slid into that coveted space of clarity and connection that brings me back to these long treks beside the river. Emerging from an…
