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When Your Heroes Let You Down
When someone we admire disappoints us, it’s tempting to reach for an extreme reaction. Either defend them at all costs or condemn them entirely. But growing older (and wiser) usually asks something harder of us than either response. It asks for discernment. This is not an argument against heroes or role models. Human beings need…
What Does a Leader Look Like? The Problem With Prototypes
What does a leader look like? It’s an important question to ask ourselves. Doing so may allow us to uncover biases or at least consider our perceptions of a certain look. For example, when you ask yourself, “What does a cardiologist look like?” — what comes to mind? It wouldn’t be unexpected if the first…
Highly Effective Habits of New Leaders
I don’t believe in natural born leaders. Instead, a leader is someone who, through a combination of experience and effort, becomes someone worthy of following. If you’re new to a position of leadership, remember that being an effective leader is a skill that can be improved and refined. Honing one’s ability to lead is a…
Too Old to Switch Careers?
In the distant (and not-too-distant) past, it was common — and in many cases, reasonable — to select one vocation or career path and see it through until retirement. These days, that’s no longer the precedent, nor should it be. More and more people are switching careers later in life and bringing their transferable skills…
Rewriting Unhelpful Narratives in the New Year
As we leave 2022 in the past, I find it important to identify the personal narratives you hold near and dear, those stories you tell about yourself that over time have become a part of your identity. Be honest with yourself — Are some of them holding you back? Are they even true? In many…
What to Do Before Joining a Board
You’ve received that coveted invitation that perhaps you’ve been waiting on. The CEO or Board Chair of an organization has reached out to invite you to join their board. A board of directors provides governance and guides business operations for organizations, strategizing and holding them accountable for reaching their goals. The role of most boards…
What I Said Isn’t What You Heard: How to Close the Gap Between Intent and Impact
Most of us have a tendency to get defensive when our intentions are put into question — “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings,” or “You’re hearing me wrong, what I actually meant was….” Somewhere along the line, probably when we were children, many of us learned that if our intentions were “pure,” we could…