How do we make sense? Researchers and scholars have been trying to understand how we make sense of our experiences for ages. Chris Argyris and Donald Schoen created the ladder of inference model to describe human decision-making. This model shows how we become consciously aware of available data and attribute meaning to that data, ultimately […]
Category: Leadership
Warning: This is a POOPy Post on Doing Your Business
“If you want to be the boss, you must deal with a lot of sh#t!” said my usually reserved Dad, who was then President of Dix Enterprises, Inc., a mid-sized athletic equipment reconditioning company. I worked with my Dad the month before I started graduate school, and I had asked him what it was like […]
Leader Has Become Meaningless
Reading LinkedIn posts on #leader and #leadership has me frustrated,confused, and more than a little discouraged. Most people have no idea what the words leader and leadership mean. Do we even understand what we are talking about regarding leaders and leadership? Merriam-Webster offers the following two definitions of the word leader relevant to business usage: […]
Collaboration Requires Character
I recently enjoyed a fascinating conversation with a psychologist colleague of mine, Ann Daniel. She has invested a great deal of her professional career advising a major health care network on how to live out the network’s behavioral expectations for effective working relationships. One key element which Ann teaches is the importance we all place […]
Why Some People Hate Working Virtually
Jennifer, a Senior VP of a large corporation, slammed down her cellphone in frustration when she read the latest corporate email announcing their indefinite extension of virtual work from home privileges of most employees. What motivated Jennifer’s intense reaction to the announcement? Jennifer is one of the estimated 20% of humans who is naturally motivated […]
Effective Executives Are Power Providers
When I think of an effective executive, I think of a power block. An effective executive is plugged directly into the organization’s power current. They are the power providers for those connected to them. An effective executive is a surge protector for their team. They provides safety in storms to prevent those connected to them […]
How Can You Relate?
“What skill do you think is most valuable for a founder to develop?” asked my executive coaching client.“Relatability powered by the empathetic understanding of others,” I replied. Relationships Require Connections Being in an interpersonal relationship with anyone requires the ability to relate to each other meaningfully. Relating, by definition, means to establish a connection. Where […]