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 […]
CONVERSATIONS WITH AUTHENTICITY – What Makes Ordinary leaders Extraordinary?
I have the great privilege to meet and learn from remarkable leaders and incredible human beings in the course of my work. It is one of the many advantages of doing what I do, and I learn some valuable lessons from everyone I encounter. You may be aware of my Podcast project entitled “The Other […]
RECONNECTING IN A DISTRACTED WORLD
“The key to living well in a high tech world is to spend much less time using technology.” Cal Newport, author of Digital Minimalism Christopher Robin is a delightful 2018 Marc Forster film, starring Ewan McGregor. The story follows an adult Christopher Robin who had, years earlier, left behind his childhood friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, and with […]
THE MAGIC OF BOLDNESS
“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it; Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.” -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe In my travels the past few weeks, I have suffered many a delayed or cancelled flight and the stress and inconvenience that goes along with it. This is the time of year when […]
MASTERY AND THE POWER OF REFLECTION
“Don’t aim to become a person of success; rather, aim to be a person of value.” -Albert Einstein A key to living authentically is the capacity to reflect. Reflect means to go back over; to study again. Go back over your notes. Go back over your thoughts. Go back over your day, your week. I like to […]
HOLIDAY GREETINGS: LESSONS LEARNED FROM OUR CANINE FRIENDS
Having completed another “Other Everest” retreat for developing authentic leadership capacity last week, I have been relishing the experience. The group consisted of a remarkable collection of leaders from a variety of walks of life, committed to making a difference by being more authentic. A central theme of the time we had together was slowing […]
