“It is what it is” is often perceived as a sign of apathy or resignation because of its seemingly passive nature. I believe it can be used to express acceptance of a situation, acknowledging that some things are beyond our control or cannot be … Continue readingIt Is What It Is
We are all living in a time of great uncertainty as we hunker down during this global pandemic. What stands out to me is just how clearly leadership matters more now than it does in our routine day to day existence. We are currently seeing … Continue readingThe Leaders We Need
We all remember the childhood story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks lets herself into the house of the three bears and proceeds to eat, sit and sleep. During the process, we learned that Papa bear’s food, chair and bed were too hot, too … Continue readingIs Your Leadership “Just Right?”
The client approached me with an article that blasted the attention-grabbing headline, “Women are More Effective Leaders.” She was excited to share this article as it heralded what she believed to be true. However, upon reading the article and checking the source mentioned, like so … Continue readingWho’s the Better Leader?
” Failure is not an option,” was our rallying cry as we continued to blaze trails with our flagship product. As a forward-looking and optimistic statement of intent, I bought in. After all, I reasoned, you can’t plan to succeed if you see failure as … Continue readingFailure is Not an Option: Leadership and Unintended Consequences
Over the last year working with several clients, I gained some insight into how they viewed emotional behavior. One hundred percent could identify an angry outburst as an emotional reaction. However, it was difficult for them to identify reactions based on other negative emotions. … Continue readingCan You Recognize When You Are Reacting Emotionally?
Karen was engaging in a performance feedback session with her supervisor, when he said these words to her. “You are too nice. Stop letting others push you around, stand up for yourself.” When she asked for examples of being too nice, he shared this … Continue readingStop Being Too Nice
Ursula Burns, the first African-American CEO of a Fortune 500 company, has a unique perspective on impatience. In numerous interviews, she has been quoted as saying, “impatience is a virtue.” Her viewpoint is contrary to conventional wisdom, where patience is typically seen as a competency … Continue readingImpatience as a Leadership Competency?
A male colleague was providing unsolicited feedback to a female colleague and shared that her behavior was often aggressive. She was shocked at his statement and hurt that he would see her that way. Her natural response was defensiveness and she set out to learn … Continue readingShe’s Too Aggressive: The Art of Questioning
That’s the way one CEO described what he saw as divisiveness between female executives. “Why is it that you all don’t work well together?” he inquired. “If one of you is progressing, the others are nipping at you, trying to pull you back … Continue readingCrabs in a Barrel: How to Make it Out Alive