Volunteer and Grow? Side Effects of Volunteering
Has volunteering made you a better leader? As I was getting established in my career, going to grad school at night, and becoming a mom, I kept thinking (and saying), “I just don’t have time to volunteer.” Sure, I would bake the cupcakes or volunteer...
Is Your "Nice" Leadership Style Counter-Productive?
Have you ever had a boss that what just too nice? Yesterday we talked about “Unnecessary Roughness: What Happens When Leaders are Mean:” On the flip-side what happened when your boss was too nice? Did they inspire? How were results? Nice feels great but...
Unnecessary Roughness: What Happens When Leaders are Mean
A side effect of being a leadership blogger is that people go out of their to tell me stories of “bad leadership.” Unfortunately bad leaders are everywhere, and show up in all kinds of organizations. Lately my readers and others have been sending me...
Is This Phone on Mute? 6 Tips for Speaking To Be Heard
Have you ever been in a meeting where 2 people said exactly the same thing but one person got heard and the other did not? Have you ever been on a conference call and felt like you were speaking to the mute button? Perhaps you know that feeling of being ignored....
Are You Developing Your Team’s Mutant Powers?
In some organizations its standard practice to “groom” leaders to adapt to corporate norms. We teach future leaders to speak so they can be heard. We encourage rising stars to capture their ideas just right in the perfect Powerpoint template. We teach them...
The Big Problem with Little White Lies
When’s the last time you sat in a meeting and heard a “little white lie”? Sure, what they presented was “technically” the truth. The statistics they presented were real, but no one walked away with the full story. Perhaps you found...
Leadership Candy Hearts: A Valentines Day Teambuilder
Leadership grows with conversation. It’s Valentines day– How about spreading the conversation with a few candy hearts? I still get nostalgic for the doily decorated lunch bag full of cardboard valentines in elementary school, coupled with that sickening...
5 Ways to Support Your Boss (Without Kissing Up)
How to Support Your Boss… Without Kissing Up Let’s talk about how to support your boss—really support them—without losing your edge, your boundaries, or your self-respect. Because here’s the deal: I don’t know your boss. Maybe she’s inspiring. Perhaps he’s...
