Sometimes our leadership is restricted not by strategy or implementation issues, but simple because the culture we’re influencing is progress resistant. Here Coach Dave discusses what’s required to begin to shift the culture from resistance to collaboration. [Read more…]
Escaping the Paradox of Productivity
“More from less” – a familiar paradox that very few truly trust and rarely practice. Oh, we might say we value it, but our personal behaviors and routines belie us: stressed, exhausted, lethargic and maybe resentful. As one reads the summary article from The Week’s A Better Way To Work, you probably won’t be surprised by the data that history has shown to be true in creative fields from music to math, hard sciences to psychology…Yet in our American culture from education to government to the marketplace, our job descriptions call for a 40 hour plus work week, requiring being in an office at continuously prescribed time frames. Sure, we have days we work from home and flex-hours, but the fact remains we predominantly believe, even demand from ourselves and our organizations “more from more.” So how can we step out of this paradox of productivity? [Read more…]
Why it Takes 7 Positives to Reverse 1 Negative
In our rapid-change culture, whether your in a entrepreneurial venture or established niche, it can be very challenging as leaders to separate our organization’s fragile net worth and the cultural stress from our own self-worth and significance. As leaders, our fear or frustrations can often produce stress and negative emotions that in turn stimulate negative conversations within ourselves and with those we lead or serve. The result is communication, conflict resolution, collaboration and creativity are often stifled, just the opposite of what’s needed for growth and success. So what chemically happens within leaders and followers when leadership conversations turn negative? [Read more…]
Fresh Perspective for a First Quarter Reflection
As we closed out 2016 and looked forward to 2017, many evaluated the year with questions such as: “was the glass half empty or half full this year?” The answer to that question depended on your perspective! And your perspective determined what goals and resolutions you did or didn’t set for the New Year. As we near the end of the first quarter of 2017, it’s time to reflect and evaluate our progress, and more importantly reevaluate our perspective again. [Read more…]
When Making a Difference Seems Impossible
“These things that are impossible with people are possible with God” – Jesus
A successful young leader was talking to Jesus, seeking to move from being merely success-driven to a life of eternal significance. But what he heard from Jesus seemed difficult, seemingly impossible and he walked away sad. Ever find yourself feeling that way – something in your life seems impossible – that there’s got to be more to life than just success?
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