Facing Racism: It Starts With Personal Accountability
I was lamenting with a colleague about how we all have areas in our lives and our leadership that drive other people crazy, cause damage to the world around us, and hurt the people we care about. And we are blind to them. That’s why we call them blind spots in our leadership development program. […]
RESPONDING TO OUR TIMES: Lessons From Nelson Mandela
For many years the life and leadership of Nelson Mandela has inspired and guided my work. Mandela had many teachers in his life, but the greatest of them all was prison. In the words of his biographer, Richard Stengel, “Prison taught him self-control, discipline, and focus, and it taught him how to be a full […]
CREATING PSYCHOLOGICALLY SAFE WORKPLACES – It Will Depend on All of Us
There are people in our world who do not feel safe because of the color of their skin. There are people who don’t feel safe because of their gender. There are people who don’t feel safe because of their religious beliefs or sexual orientation. This has to stop. It’s time to decide, once and for […]
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, […]
