It’s the beginning of a new year which means making resolutions for the new year. One of the most common challenges that my clients want to address is time management. So one of the articles I recommend most often is from the Harvard Business Review, How CEOs Manage Time. Even though the article was published…

In my last blog post, I wrote about how to improve your strategic thinking skills. While this is a necessary leadership capability, as a leader you will also engage others to determine the future direction of your department or organization. One of the biggest responsibilities you will have is to make sure that your team…

Strategic thinking is recognized as a critical leadership skill. The respected leadership consultancy Zenger Folkman found, “a key characteristic that is highly correlated with promotion is the ability to think strategically,” and “for senior leaders, the one competency that helped them stand out was Strategic Perspective.” And the results of a survey conducted by James…

I have developed and facilitate a class on strategic planning. One of the things we discuss is how organizational mission, vision, and core values are a foundation of strategic planning. As part of keeping my materials updated, I search for current examples of these from real companies. And I have found that it is difficult to find…

At the beginning of a new year, we often reflect on what we accomplished last year and what we want to accomplish this year. One of my achievements in 2022 was hiking to Angels Landing in Zion National Park. It is considered one of the most challenging hikes in the United States. The trail to…

In my last blog post, I wrote about how to enable personal change. This time, I want to tell you how to shift an interaction that is stymied and frustrating into something that is instead positive and productive.   A client came to our coaching meeting and explained that she was having a hard time getting one…

Leadership development is about behavior shifts. Even with the desire to adopt new behaviors, and with good intentions to change, we may instead engage in self-defeating actions. The person who says they want better work-life balance but finds that they cannot say “no.” The person who says that their own professional development is a top priority…

As we cross the threshold of two years into the pandemic, some of my clients, colleagues, and friends that work in an office but have been remote are back working in-person already.  Others have a return date in May or June.  Some do not yet know when their company buildings will re-open.  Regardless of how often they were…

I view the transition to a new year as a time for new possibilities.  Instead of asking you to embrace new initiatives, I invite you to bring a fresh perspective to your current way of thinking.  There is a term for this that comes from Zen Buddhism – “shoshin” or “beginner’s mind.” It means having an…

Time management is a focus area for many of my clients, and it seems even more relevant today.  Many of us, including myself, are spending a great deal of effort on navigating risk, staying safe, and making choices during the ongoing uncertainty of the pandemic.  This is mentally taxing, and I have had to deliberately focus so…

I work with many leaders who are strengthening their confidence. This can mean different things for different people, such as finding their voices, stepping into the authority of their roles, or stretching into other new behaviors.  What I have learned, from my own experience and from my work with my clients, is that confidence manifests itself…

Many of my clients have had the flexibility to allow their employees to work from home/remotely during the pandemic. With vaccines now available in the U.S., they are having conversations about what their offices look like post-pandemic, and how they transition back to in-person work. Here is a summary of the latest perspectives on the…

A new year is a natural time to reflect on what you are leaving behind and what you are moving toward.  January 2021 marks an even more powerful inflection point for all of us.  A year of abrupt change and uncertainty during Pandemic Life will be followed by the hope and promise of vaccines and…

One of the trainings I have developed and facilitate regularly is on resiliency. What used to be a topic of interest to some organizations now seems to have nearly universal relevancy. Isolation, risk, and uncertainty all contribute to our stress levels and the challenge of staying mentally focused and healthy during the pandemic. Here is…

June was a call for change.  Black Lives Matter demonstrations brought attention to systemic racism.  Pride Month and the U.S. Supreme Court put a spotlight on equal rights for the LGBTQ community.  How can the energy and sentiment of these events translate into tangible action? Among my leadership development colleagues, it means open discussions within…

Earlier in March, I had a different blog post written.  But since then, the world has rapidly shifted due to the coronavirus pandemic.  My clients have been asking me for guidance in adjusting to this new world order, marked by radical change and deep uncertainty.  The framework I have most appreciated is from RHR International and…

Today I had a close-up view of a glacier.  I’m still awestruck and amazed to see something that beautiful and thousands of years old, in the magnificent country of New Zealand.  Accordingly, this seemed like the perfect time to write about living your life with more passion and energy.  I realize that my experience today is not…

In my last blog post, I discussed the under-representation of women in leadership roles and the factors that contribute to this trend.  The following studies demonstrate what organizations lose when they lack gender diversity, in general as well as in leadership positions: A study at the MIT Sloan School of Management showed that teams with…

As an executive coach who is also a woman, I pay attention to the state of women in leadership positions.  As a trained scientist, I focus on what is demonstrated and what is known, not on opinions or supposition.  And it is through this lens that I approach understanding gender diversity. Women are under-represented in…

In my May blog post, I explained what executive coaching is.  But before people choose to participate in executive coaching, they often want to know what they would gain.  It’s a good question.  Coachees must spend additional time and energy on an effort that is not their “day job,” and they often already have jam-packed…

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