Insights: Communication
Truths About Public Speaking
In my former career as a minister, I used to speak every week to hundreds of people. In the past decade as an executive coach, I’ve helped leaders prepare for mission-critical presentations with billions of dollars at stake. Through these experiences, a few crucial truths have emerged about public speaking. First, it’s important for every […]
Leadership and Imposter Syndrome–You’re In Good Company
“Sometimes I just feel like I don’t know what I’m doing. If people knew what goes on inside my head, they would be shocked at how much I’m just making up as I go along, and how little I really know about how to be successful in my job.” Sound familiar? It may surprise you […]
Being Interviewed for a 360
Your colleague is working with a coach. You’ve been asked to provide the coach feedback in a 1-1 meeting. You want to provide useful feedback, but you’re wondering: What’s the best way to do that? How can I be the most helpful? How open should I be? Are there any dangers lurking in this conversation […]
Keeping in Touch with Your Growing Org
Your org has gotten big. Really big. In the past you led hundreds of people, but now you’ve got thousands. How can you stay connected with so many people? How can you be accessible without burning out? And maybe hardest of all, how can you make sure they consistently get the right messages from you? […]
Nervous about Public Speaking? Here’s How to Get Past It
Do you get anxious before a presentation? You’re not alone—most people have some level of fear of public speaking. In my experience coaching hundreds of people around high stakes meetings and presentations, I can tell you it’s extremely common at all levels up and down organizations. You’re not alone! Public speaking has been said to […]
So Your Boss Has a Coach? Here’s What That Means for You
As part of the team that ensures leaders are effective, productive, and happy our goals are exactly the same. So how can we work together? Let’s start with what I do. As a coach, I play three roles with your boss. Sounding board. Job one for me is to listen deeply, ask good questions, and […]
Senior Leadership Teams Book Review: Strategies for Leading Senior Teams
This blog is the second in a two-part series summarizing the book: Senior Leadership Teams: What It Takes to Make Them Great. It focuses on the specific characteristics of leaders in supporting senior leadership teams. My observation is that the team leader exerts an enormous impact on how a team functions. While a variety of […]
Senior Leadership Teams Book Review: Conditions for Thriving Teams
The Senior Leadership Team, more than any other group, has the power to drive the success of an enterprise. The CEOs and executive team members we know are incredibly hard working, intelligent, mission-driven people who commit an enormous amount of time and energy to their organizations. And yet, even with all their extraordinary capabilities, these […]
Increasing Confidence from the Outside-In
There are two ways to increase confidence: by changing how you think, and by changing how you act. Both approaches are useful, and often you can work on confidence from both directions. To learn more about building confidence from the inside, read How to Develop Confidence From Within. In this post, I focus on the […]