Volume 7: September 2023 Greetings! Here in New Hampshire, the morning air is crisp and cool as summer wanes and we anticipate the glorious riot of fall colors. I’ve always enjoyed these seasonal variations – and yet, this year, I’m struck by the contrast between these predictable changes and the unpredictable, sometimes exciting, sometimes frightening … Continue reading
Volume 6: December 2022 Greetings! In New England we’re enjoying the inevitable shift of seasons. Only a few weeks ago, we were delighting in miraculous bursts of colorful fall leaves. Now, the days are getting shorter and cooler, and, as I write this, I can see the first dusting of snow. Yet despite the appearance … Continue reading
That Damn Mouse I kept thinking about Frederick. To be honest, I tried to write another article, but it was boring. And that damn mouse kept creeping into my head and clamoring for attention – insisting he had something to say to the house-bound about leadership and beauty and poetry. Frederick is a classic children’s … Continue reading
Recap In Part 1, I discussed the prevalence of win-lose ways of thinking and speaking and how they create polarization and conflict across the spectrum of human systems. Still, I would suggest that people are not irrevocably stuck in a given point of view. In fact as an educator I believe that anyone can learn … Continue reading
The Wisdom of Perspective “Where you stand depends on where you sit.” -Miles’s law* It’s been more than 40 years since I first heard these words. It was a warm summer day in Syracuse, New York, and I was sitting in a large auditorium on the first day of my master’s program at the Maxwell … Continue reading
A Quirky 90s Notion Years ago I read a book called The Corporate Mystic: A Guidebook for Visionaries with Their Feet on the Ground (Hendricks & Ludeman, 1996). Written at a time when narratives about hard-driving CEOs, like Ford’s Lee Iacocca and GE’s Jack Welch, were popular, this book was never destined to be a … Continue reading
The Illusory Ideal of Collaboration Years ago I worked with a CEO who would bemoan the inability of his staff to see beyond their own function, project, or individual need. Exasperated, he’d say, “I’d give anything to have people who could work together for the greater good of the company.” And yet, despite his best … Continue reading
Too Tired to Care? Compassion fatigue. We’ve known for years that overexposure to trauma can produce hopelessness and cynicism in caregivers, educators, and first responders. In 2012, journalist Nicholas Kristof extended this notion to the broader public, saying that relentless images of suffering and tragedy can be overwhelming, shutting down our ability to care. Kristof’s … Continue reading
The “In-Charge Organization” I’m a very organized person. I love to plan, whether it’s a monthly budget, a summer vacation, a meeting agenda, or my to-do list for tomorrow. Most days my penchant for planning is useful — it helps me be efficient, responsible, and reliable. But some days it feels like an addiction. It’s … Continue reading
The Reptile Rules! Brain research is all the rage these days. Everywhere I look, I see articles and books about neuropsychology and other branches of neuroscience that are unlocking the mysteries of the human brain. For example, in my field, brain researchers are offering new insights on behaviors that help or hinder interpersonal relationships within … Continue reading
“It’s crazy here,” he said to me. “I’m insanely busy. It’s just been wild.” Sound familiar? Many of my client meetings start this way, with a litany of the nearly impossible demands of work and home. The problem isn’t new. Work hours have increased steadily over several decades. And in response, we’ve learned to work … Continue reading
Author and mythologist Betty Sue Flowers (2007) says that a myth is a belief or story that we’ve stopped questioning. Although myths are neither inherently good nor bad, when we accept a myth as truth, we develop a blind spot — a learned cluelessness — about that topic. In this issue, I examine a few … Continue reading
My husband likes to poke fun at my profession. He insists that if you put the word leadership into the title of any publication, it will immediately go to the top of the best-seller list. “Leadership for Losers,” he says, “it’s a slam dunk! Write it, and we can retire on the profits!” Like any … Continue reading
Many years ago, I had an experience that changed my relationship with fear. At the time I was a new trainer in a corporate university, learning how to facilitate one of the company’s flagship leadership programs. I had just completed the second of three days of teaching and it was going pretty well, but it … Continue reading
“It has been said that we cannot save our planet unless humankind undergoes a widespread spiritual and religious awakening…What if there already is in place a large-scale spiritual awakening and we are simply not recognizing it?” Paul Hawken, Blessed Unrest, p. 184 In his 2007 book, activist and entrepreneur Paul Hawken considers the question posed … Continue reading