There is a premise at the center of my work: we can only see others as clearly as we are willing to see ourselves. I didn’t arrive at that through a book or a training. I arrived at it the way most things worth knowing arrive: slowly, through experience, through the people I’ve had the privilege of working with, and sometimes on a walk the morning after. That’s exactly what happened this time. Let me explain. My younger self had a whole lot to …
During a recent succession planning session, I asked the room a simple question: what are you actually trying to build, a replacement, or leadership capacity? No one answered right away. Not because the question was hard, but because most organizations have never actually separated those two ideas. The Trap Most succession planning starts the moment someone is expected to leave or already has. A retirement is approaching, a key role feels vulnerable, a high-potential employee has been identified. The conversation almost always narrows to …
In a recent mentor workshop, I asked a simple question. Which role do you think you are most likely to drift into as a mentor? Several people immediately said coaching rather than supervision. When I asked why, the answer was consistent and well‑intended. They wanted to support people. One participant shared that her instinct would be to encourage others with reassurance. You can do it. You have this. That instinct makes sense. Most leaders want to be helpful, …
Leadership Transitions Are a High‑Risk Moment for Organizations Leadership transitions are a critical inflection point for organizations. Strong technical leaders promoted into broader roles must shift how results are achieved through others or risk stalled execution, weakened engagement, and constrained bench strength. This case study shows how a Fortune 250 organization used executive coaching to support a leadership transition, strengthen enterprise leadership capability, and realize measurable improvement in employee engagement during a period of expanded scope. Context …
Work with teams and individual clients is a confidential process. Rarely is there an occasion for a coach to share by demonstration how they do what they do. What can be shared is a conversation on team coaching featured on this podcast hosted by Gary Nowak. In it, you will hear from me and my colleague Lisa Walsh. You can witness the different stages of a team as we form, do a little storm, and …
There is no “I” in team. But every individual in every team needs to have awareness of their “I” in order to be a strong and contributing team member. “I” in this case is knowing your strengths, weaknesses, preferences and your common stress responses as you work in a team. It sounds like: Teammate 1: I am good at seeing the big picture and can lose sight of the details. I prefer working more of …
Early in my career, I had no clue that at least one of my colleagues perceived me very differently than the warm, caring and friendly colleague I considered myself to be. Out of the blue, and not part of a performance review, a colleague shared that I gave the impression of being an “ice maiden.” Shocked by his feedback, and still trying to reconcile the vast difference between his perception and the one in my …
The drop or churning in your stomach, the sweaty palms, the flushing of the face. Full-on signs that something or someone has just sent you on a path of worry, frustration, fear, or panic. While not always appreciated, our bodies send us instantaneous signals of our state of being. The trouble with these reactions is that they served us well when we needed to outrun the saber tooth tiger, but most of us are not …
The Latin base of communication is communicare, which means to share. To share something, you must hold or know it, and recognize that sharing will benefit you and the other party. It then needs to be presented in a way that others will want to partake or engage. If the other party is not interested or does not know why they should be, the message will fall on deaf ears. This gives us three distinct …
People especially talented in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them. This short definition of the Learner® talent theme from the Clifton Strengths® Assessment summarizes how those with Learner in their dominant strengths address the acquisition of knowledge. Second in frequency in the Top 5 strengths of the population, Learner is surpassed only by Achiever. …
Driver’s education provides hand-on experience maneuvering a vehicle on roads and through traffic. Warnings about blind spots are given in training, yet the reality of their existence is hard to fathom. “How could you not see another large vehicle to your side?” Yep, we all know that feeling of “oh my gosh…a near miss!” That is the blind spot. Newer model cars include a blind spot detection system that activates to warn the driver …
Imagine awakening each morning with a deep knowing – confidence in your ability to manage your own life – that you possess an inner compass that affirms the decisions you make throughout the day are the right ones. That would be a reassuring feeling, wouldn’t it? Why Does Self-Assurance Rank Last on the List? Self-Assurance® is the talent theme described above and identified by the Clifton Strengths Assessment®. The assessment identifies 34 distinct talent …
Need a solution to a problem? Find someone on your team with the talent theme of Restorative™. The short definition of this theme is: People especially talented in the Restorative theme are adept at dealing with problems. They are good at figuring out what is wrong and resolving it.* Not only are they adept at solving problems – they can get energy from it! The talent theme of Restorative ranks #9 of the 34 themes, …
“Coaching conversations” are all the rage for leaders, especially when providing feedback on performance. Case in point: in 2013 Deloitte replaced “performance review” with coaching conversations that focus on an employee’s learning and performance. Major organizations are implementing “coaching conversations” Many other major organizations have followed suit, including Microsoft, Google, Accenture and Adobe. These are large organizations with “large” resources making it easy for them to implement, right? Not so fast. This is something you …
Significance. The word conjures up an impression of importance. “It was a significant milestone in his life” or “She played a significant role in the product launch.” Not a bad thing indeed. Significance and the CliftonStrengths® Assessment Until Significance™ shows up in the top 5 or 10 talent themes of someone who has taken the CliftonStrengths® assessment. People especially talented in the Significance theme want to make a big impact. They are independent and sort …
The topic was risk and its importance to the process of building or creating something. Whether as an entrepreneur or intrapreneur, uncertainty would be part of the formula. As the attendees weighed in with the ways in which they had taken risks, a handful of the 30 or so in attendance shared that the risk they had taken was to leave a six-figure career to become a leadership coach. Leaving the six-figure career was not …
