Line Leadership: Navigating Patience, Perspective, and Presence in the Workplace

Line Leadership: Navigating Patience, Perspective, and Presence in the Workplace

As a leader, what can the often-frustrating experience of waiting in line teach us about patience, perspective, presence, and our own anxiety levels? In a delightful foray into the world of lines, Michael Blanding’s Harvard Business Review article, Customers at the Back of the Line Are Anxious—Can You Keep Them from Leaving?  pulls back the…

Compassion

Why Leaders Must Choose Compassion Over Empathy

As a keynote speaker on the topics of leadership, connection, resilience, and relationships, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about empathy versus compassion over the past year. In fact, in my virtual presentations on personal connection, I quickly became aware of the buzzwords associated with the COVID-19 lockdown; authenticity, mindfulness, empathy and compassion.…

feedback

The Absolute Best Way to Ask For and Receive Actionable Feedback

Have you ever worked with someone who couldn’t benefit from gaining advice on their career? How about gaining awareness of a behavior that’s getting in their way? I didn’t think so. Why then is it so difficult to both ask for and receive quality feedback? Although people say they want to learn and grow, everyone…

7 Speaking Strategies to Build Confidence and Connection

The woman in the royal blue jacket sitting in the front row gasped when she heard my next request. “One at a time, please walk to the front of the room, plant your feet, smile, and say both your name and where you work.” Easy, right? Simply stating your name and employer information doesn’t require…

Are you Contributing to the Loneliness Epidemic?

Loneliness is detrimental, destructive, and sometimes deadly. Loneliness has the same impact on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, more than even obesity. Different than depression or feelings of solitude, loneliness is more about the quality of a person’s social relationships. The workplace is not immune, and everyone pays the price when loneliness strikes.…

circumstances

3 Costly Mistakes Connected Leaders Never Make

Mistakes happen even under the best of circumstances.  In today’s digitally-distracted, demanding world where many businesses are understaffed, mistakes happen even more frequently. A recent client shared with me that presentation binders [prepared in hopes of inking a major deal], showed up onsite an hour prior to the meeting… with a competing institution’s name on…

3 Powerful Ways to Lead with Heart

Business articles and books which marry the theme of leadership with heart have gained traction of late, and as a speaker on the power of connection, I’m thrilled to witness the joyful union. When Robert K. Greenleaf coined the phrase “servant leadership” over 30 years ago, who knew it would take this long to shift…