DON’T WASTE THIS CRISIS Let’s Not Get Back to Normal
A crisis is really a terrible thing to waste. – Paul Romer, Stanford economist In college, while on the track team, I was inspired by the university’s volleyball coach. He had a mantra that guided all his practices. Every time the ball came on your side of the net he would say, “use it.” “The ball is not your enemy,” he would continually remind […]
HOW TO EMBRACE CHANGE AUTHENTICALLY
Authentic leadership is both active and reflective. One has to alternate between participating and observing. I am in the midst of navigating my own way through that journey and feel compelled to share my experiences and perspective with you. This pandemic is an enormous experiment in shared authenticity. Fear and grief can bring out our […]
Accountability, Ownership, and COVID-19
The focus of my life’s work and passion is authentic leadership. At the foundation of authenticity lies ownership and personal accountability. In part, this means the ability to distinguish between what you can control and what you can’t and putting energy into that which you can influence. I am aware that COVID-19 is causing concern […]
FIVE WAYS TO LIVE A LIFE OF ENOUGH
Do you have more than one pair of shoes? Do you have more than one choice about what you’ll eat for each meal? Do you have access to your own means of transportation? Do you have more than one pair of underwear? If you answered “yes” to three or more of these questions, then by […]
FINDING YOUR VOICE: A Story of Authenticity and The Birth of an Immortality Project
What in your life is calling you? When all the noise is silenced, the meetings adjourned, the lists and agendas laid aside… what still pulls on your soul? In the silence between your heartbeats hides a summons. Do you hear it? Name it, if you must, or leave it forever nameless, but why pretend that […]
WHAT DO THE HOLIDAYS MEAN TO YOU? Five Ways to Stay Authentic During This Busy Season
Last Friday — Black Friday — I delivered the closing address at a conference in the Fantasyland Hotel in Edmonton, then walked through the attached West Edmonton Mall to the food court for lunch. I was shocked by what I saw: deal-hungry consumers jammed this huge shopping center wall to wall. I couldn’t help but […]
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP: Using Deficiency to Earn Credibility
A leader can be defined simply as a person who has followers. Not followers in the conventional sense of being subservient, compliant, or submissive. And not necessarily social media followers. Leaders have followers in the truest sense: they follow not because they have to but because they want to. They follow by seeking your advice, […]
MATURITY: The Responsibility That Comes with Citizenship
One of the highlights of my career is the opportunity it affords me to periodically present to teachers and school administrators. I learned this summer from Allen Davidson, Assistant Superintendent with Foothills School Division in Alberta and Social Studies teacher for seventeen years, of the importance of engaging students in critical thinking around current events. […]
CONSIDERING THE LOST ART OF CONSIDERATION
“Being considerate of others will take you and your children further in life than any college or professional degree.” Marion Wright, American activist It has been said that the true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit. This week I received an email from an old […]
CARING LEADERSHIP – The Undervalued Virtue of Human Touch
“Whether at home, at work, or at play, the human heart seeks to be known, understood, and connected. If you do not connect, the ones you care about will find someone who will.” Dr. Henry Cloud In 1980, when I was in graduate school, I was inspired by a study from Ohio State University where […]
