A few years ago I had my first skydiving experience. Yep, that's me in the photo free-falling at 14,000 feet. I don't like heights at all, and would not be disappointed if I never rode another tall roller coaster again. So, it was an adventure in overcoming my fears. The keys for me were feeling comfortable with…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Can you recite the flight attendant’s safety speech? We bet you can. You know, the one that goes something like, “. . . In the event of a loss of cabin pressure, an oxygen mask will drop from above. If you are traveling with a child, place…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Two young men were working their way through Stanford University in the late 1890s when, during one semester, their funds got desperately low. They came up with a plan: They would invite Ignacy Paderewski, the great Polish pianist, to give a performance. After paying the concert expenses,…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Jeff Immelt is the former CEO of General Electric and a three-time recipient of Barron’s “World’s Best CEO.” One of Immelt’s leadership tips is: Manage by setting boundaries, with freedom in the middle (in other words, give your employees autonomy). He says, “The boundaries are commitment, passion,…
With Independence Day right in front of us, I wanted to share this video from a visit to the Statue of Liberty to illustrate how passion enables us to perform ordinary tasks in extraordinary ways. https://youtu.be/86ad8SmgkiU You can inspire your team to deliver passionate performance by fulfilling six universal needs: 3 Intellectual needs: Achievement, Autonomy,…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. When it comes to coaching, questions are actually the answer. By simply asking questions, your employees will reveal challenges and opportunities that could potentially take you months or even years to identify. Remember, we all want to be seen and heard, and asking questions meets that need.…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Oftentimes, cultivating talent isn’t a linear path—it zigs and zags. As part of your role in helping your employees find their sweet spots, you need to structure their wanderings with a sense of direction. This was true of Tony Robbins. Most people know him as a self-help…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Leaders at Toyota coach toward autonomy to build ownership behavior in their teams. As part of The Toyota Way, employees submit suggestions to their team. They are suggestions the employees can implement themselves or with a teammate—in other words, this initiative is something employees control without need…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. Most types of sports equipment—a golf club, a tennis racket, a baseball bat—have a certain spot that, if the ball hits it, will give the player the optimal result. Hitting this sweet spot yields a long drive down the fairway, a swift crosscourt return, or a home-run…
Enjoy this excerpt from our new book, Healthy Leadership. A few summers ago, we enjoyed a family trip to Greece. It is a land of boundless beauty with a long history of tremendous thinkers. While touring the Acropolis of Athens, our guide mentioned that when the restoration of this prized structure was being scheduled, time was…
