Mastering the S-Curve of High-Powered Careers Playing to Your Strengths at Work
Do you get to play to your best strengths at work? For two-thirds of us, the answer is “no” (see the last few paragraphs of the Gallup webpage). But imagine what innovation and energy we could unleash if most of us could answer “yes”. Now that’s exciting. So, what can we do to move toward [...]
Leadership Lessons From Steve Jobs
Beyond the amazing innovations he has brought to our world, there are three lessons I have learned by observing Steve Jobs, the leader, from afar. And the good news is that these don’t require being an inventive genius to be useful. Career Resilience: Steve Jobs was publicly and unceremoniously fired, yet came back to rise [...]
Being Brave: Lessons from Basketball
I have been at the European National Championship Basketball tournament this week, rooting for the Great Britain Under 20s Women’s team which last year, for the first time in history, was promoted from the B League to the A League. By beating last year’s bronze medal team in the first round, they have already “won” [...]
Being Outrageous (#2): Teens Speak Out
My daughter and her 8th grade classmates had the courage to be outrageous last week by respectfully and successfully challenging their administrators on a point of principle. As is the tradition, teachers and students were asked to vote on which three classmates should speak at graduation. The administrators confirmed that they would not override the [...]
It’s About The Team
At today’s Varsity Sports Award ceremony at my daughters’ high school, I was heartened to see the next generation of leaders and reassured that, at least in a small corner of England, affirmative life lessons are being taught and learned. This is a sports program that is about more than simply winning. It is a [...]
Why Like-Mindedness is Limiting for Leaders
We inherently like spending time with people who think like us, and maybe even act and look like us. It’s easy, comfortable and fun to be with people who understand where we are coming from and share our interests. As well, it builds our confidence to have others we respect tell us they think we [...]
Intensity
in·ten·si·ty [in-ten-si-tee] – great energy, strength, concentration, vehemence, etc., as of activity, thought, or feeling[1] Why do some people train hard in the gym and play hard on the court, while others go through the motions? Are those hours equally well spent? Some would ask what the point is of showing up if you aren’t [...]
How Great Leaders Inspire Action
I wasn’t sure what to expect from the YouTube video link that my daughter recently forwarded to me (“we watched this in class today and I thought you might like it”). Well, it turned out to be great. So great that it is worth sharing. It is Simon Sinek’s TEDTalk on why the most inspiring [...]
Leaders are not Colorfast
The people we surround ourselves with have a big influence on how we think and behave, as well as how we are perceived. That’s why parents care that their kids are not running with the “wrong crowd”. The same holds true for the people you choose to work with and, most importantly, to work for [...]
Leadership in Adversity
Life is complicated. Things don’t always go the way we expect, much less the way we want. Yet, it is often adversity that brings out our best leadership qualities. For Steve, that moment came in early October when his wife Ann had a serious accident resulting in a brain injury. As she drifted into unconsciousness [...]
