Has an economic downturn, job insecurity and social unrest over the past year transformed your once civil relationship with fear into something that’s become a bit more abusive? Fear, with its leery disposition and sharp tone, may have forced you into the tight spot between a wall and a hard place, leaving you stuck and…
If you’ve had your head in the news this past week or so, you know Cracker Barrel found itself in a storm of backlash after unveiling a refreshed logo. Out went Uncle Hershel, posted up next to his iconic barrel, and in came a modernized design that many loyal customers didn’t co-sign. The response was…
“Discomfort is always a necessary part of enlightenment.” — Pearl Cleave You’ve probably been in a meeting where someone starts to share an idea, only to be cut off mid-sentence. That happened to one of my former direct reports during a meeting we attended together. He barely got two sentences out before the operations director…
Mark had been on my team for about a year before he got word his position in Nashville was being eliminated. Mark was initially offered a similar position in Chicago, which would put him in a great city, but would remove him from my team. Mark resisted. For weeks, he came up with different scenarios…
I recently worked with a coaching client who wanted the courage to break up with perfectionism — a drive toward flawlessness that has increased among young adults by 32% over the last three decades. Throughout her career, perfectionism led her to pull long hours, second guess her judgement, work through vacations and say yes to…
I can almost recite word for word a familiar question I get during Q&A sessions after I present. “How do I get my team to come out of their shells to be more courageous at work?” There’s no doubt that professionals want to take worthwhile risks in the workplace. Part one of this series explored…
The cat’s out of the bag. Employees are not working … … to their full potential. They’re not challenging half-baked ideas that they know won’t deliver anticipated results. They’re not raising concerns about gender or racial exclusion in the newest campaign. And, they’re not asking for help, giving critical feedback or raising their hand to…
I meet professionals from all over who want to know, “how do I build up my confidence … to become a better speaker, negotiate my salary, advocate for my ideas …?” Their curiosity is good, but they’re often a bit surprised when I politely tell them that there’s a better question to ask about confidence.…
I recently chatted with my friend Heather Hansen on her podcast, Elegant Warrior. Midway through our conversation, she asked if there was a common challenge I observed among coaching clients that kept them from flexing their courage muscle to own and demonstrate their brilliance at work. After a brief pause, I answered, in so many…
There are several reasonable workplace goals you could set to fuel professional progress. You could focus your ambition on managing a new project, expanding your influence or improving time management. The goals that deserve critical attention, though, are the ones that will help you consistently develop into a courageous leader — a leader who effectively…