How to Stop Solving Problems and Start Creating Possibilities
What if leadership is less about solving problems and more about opening new possibilities? As leaders, we are expected to make progress fast and constantly optimize for better outcomes. This is useful when things can be predicted and controlled. When we get into more ambiguous territory, however, relying on a …
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A New Kind of Re-Entry: Waking up from Busyness as We Return to the Office
When Covid-19 hit in early 2020, the threat of a deadly pandemic spread with lightning speed. The world as we knew it came to an eerie halt. And yet, despite the fear of the unknown, it offered an almost welcome respite for those of us who had the privilege of …
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What to Do When I Don’t Know What to Do
So far, 2020 has not been an easy year to say the least. Right now, as wildfires are raging in the Western US, the air quality is hazardous and friends are losing their homes to the flames. It’s scary and another stark reminder how tough and unpredictable these times have …
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Coyote Trickster
While catching up recently with two of my wonderful colleagues at Cultivating Leadership, one of them asked the other what kinds of new connections she was making since having chosen her fetish. Wow, I thought, what a juicy conversation this was going to be! Yet quickly I was told that …
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Finding the Courage to Speak Up
The term of “psychological safety” was first introduced by organizational behavioral scientist Amy Edmondson of Harvard. She defined it as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking”. Teams where everyone can show up fully and feel accepted and respected. …
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From High Stakes to High Yield
A coaching client recently shared with me that when stakes are high and he needs to be at his best, he ironically shows up at his worst. This is a pattern I often observe in the people I work with, and I know it well from my own experience as …
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My Year After Google – A Personal Reflection
It’s been well over a year since I left Google. People keep asking me how it’s been, what I’m learning about work, about myself, and about life. Here is an initial attempt at answering some of these questions. Slowing Down The first thing I wanted, needed, and received after exiting …
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Acting Compassionately
When I was in my early twenties, I met a psychic who told me that one day I’d make a living by teaching people in the corporate world how to suffer less. At the time, this didn’t resonate with me and I laughed it off. I was in training to …
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Speaking Truthfully
“The problem with telling the truth is that it is never the whole truth.” James Flaherty, founder of New Ventures West Speaking truthfully is the third component of four foundational leadership principles that to me are essential in creating a workplace where everyone can thrive (along with paying attention, listening …
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Listening Deeply
In my last blog, I wrote about the four foundational skills of great leaders: paying attention, listening deeply, speaking truthfully, and acting compassionately. Today, I’d like to dive deeper into why I think the practice of listening deeply is crucial for effective leadership. You’ve probably heard it a hundred …
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