Coaching Advice

Co-opting the Power of the Toxic Boss

I just read a great article by Richard Boyatzis detailing the brain science behind “emotional contagion.” I find this particularly interesting in the context of corporate culture, having observed some pretty toxic bosses “infect” their staffs and encourage cultures where competition, backstabbing, emotional abuse and just plain incompetence were so rampant that you could feel the powerlessness and despair when you walked in the door.

The good news is that the ability to emotionally infect your staff and teams can be used for good by leaders who understand their responsibility to foster a positive environment and culture where others are in their power and able to perform at their best. To be a good leader, then, you need to…

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3 Leadership “Truths” Women Should Ignore

  Leadership advice runs rampant on the internet, which is fine because most of it comes from a place of wisdom and reflection. If you’re a woman aspiring to lead, however, there is one tiny problem with this spew of “how to” and “Top 10” lists. Since our dominant leadership culture is male,...

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Manage Your Time and Your Sanity

Time management isn’t just an issue for busy executives. When you’re in the volunteering stage of your work-life it is a much needed skill. Volunteers often over-extend themselves and also feel that they should be able to complete 99 tasks and projects at home just because they are not “working”...

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Executives: 10 Tips for Working With Them

By: Lea McLeod At some point in your career, it’s inevitable that you will discover the opportunity to work with executives. Whether it’s a joy or a trial is up to you. It could be an executive in your organization, the executive of a customer or maybe even a big donor in your non-profit. No...

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That’s Not Who I Am

Yesterday morning I had coffee with a fellow mindfulness teacher in the tiny town of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. As we swapped stories about how we were led to this work, she spoke of helping couples who had been through some sort of trauma – an affair, addiction, etc. – but were trying to repair...

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Let The Feedback In: Don’t Let Your Wallet Fly Off Your Car!

I was scared. I was tooling down the D.C. Beltway when another car pulled up right next to me, blaring its horn. The passengers were madly gesticulating to me, but I had no idea what they were saying. All I knew was that they looked angry. Menacing. I thought, “Are they trying to run me off the...

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Fatherhood, Manhood, and Having It All

The most under-discussed aspect of Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In is her recommendation to pay attention to your choice of partner when planning your career success. We don't talk about it much, but I agree with her that it's the dynamic between working women and their support network - especially...

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Be A Leader When You Grow Up

When women are spending time out of the workforce, much of their volunteer work—and home work—nurtures children. When I read Stacey Epstein’s Inc. magazine article, “Raise Your Daughters to be Leaders”, I was reminded that we can all play a role in nurturing future women leaders in our local and...

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How Being A Working Mother Made Me A Better Leader (Part I)

  My second son just graduated High School and heads off to VA Tech next Fall. He’s the last one out of the nest and it’s got me thinking about the first half of my parenting life – the half where they are children. I’m grateful for so many things about being a parent, not the least of which is...

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