Many business leaders are good at contracting and negotiating. Negotiating is how we close customers, manage vendors and hire/release employees; it’s how we establish and maintain our relationships with third parties; it’s how we conduct business. But as a species, business leaders could be a lot...
Most of us have a clear image of a leader. Strong. Smart. Confident. “In Charge of insert-something-important-usually-having-to-do-with-power-or-money-here”. I don’t buy that image of leader. To me, a leader is ANYONE who takes a stand and influences other people to cause the world to be better....
Meg* and I were lunch-brainstorming how to help one of her direct reports who is struggling to “fit” into her recent Director-level promotion. Meg noted that this woman – we’ll call her Kathy* – found it hard to see the forest for the trees. Meg thought Kathy had tons of potential but was...
Buddhists and psychologists alike tell us that non-attachment to outcomes is the key to success. There is tremendous value in thinking this way - and it's a key component of my executive coaching work on speaking truth and building your internal power. Non-attachment from the culture around you is...
Old boss - mentoring and advancement opportunities. New boss - frustration, competition, neglect, stupidity and powerlessness. What's your strategy for getting ahead now? In the last week, I've talked to three people in situation "new boss" - at all levels including a CXO (no, my friends,...
If we’ve read one “fail fast” article lately, we’ve read a million. Failure is an option! You can’t succeed until you fail! The Lean Startup goes so far as to encourage experimentation on your customer base, with the goal of failure, so you can turn it around into success quickly. There’s merit to...
Meg and I were lunching, as we often do, and I was being a good ear - only putting my executive coaching hat on occasionally for an old friend. The young company she’d joined a few years ago – that had allowed her to break the glass ceiling into the inner executive ranks – had just been acquired....
Yes, Steve Jobs changed the world. He was brilliant, fearless, courageous and undeniably successful by all measures but one. But, in his most blatant imperfection, I see great opportunity for you. The ends don’t justify the means I know that part of your justification for being a jerk and a...
Speaking truth to power is an important professional development skill, but it's also an important life skill. It's the best way to live in total integrity - at home and at work - every day of your life. AND it's a sure fire way to change the world around you in meaningful and important ways every...
Language is an important element of our personal power. When you catch yourself speaking with the out-of-power words we looked at earlier, don’t beat yourself up. Saying “I’ll try” instead of “I will” is just a habit and habits can be changed with focus (see below).
There are two legitimate reasons that we often choose out-of-power vocabulary. The InPower trick is to learn to use InPower language to deal with these situations. Most of the time, our language turns out to be an indicator of deeper things.
Gaining Power In Your Career: A Guide to Getting Promoted at Every Level
October 2024 Leadership Development Carnival
Breaking the Mold: Thriving as Women in the Workplace Built for Men
Unlocking Potential: How the Right Coach for Executives Can Transform Your Leadership Skil…
The Psychology of Goal-Setting Success
