Generated by All in One SEO v4.9.10, this is an llms.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. # The Eblin Group The Eblin Group ## Sitemaps - [XML Sitemap](https://eblingroup.com/sitemap.xml): Contains all public & indexable URLs for this website. ## Pages - [Home](https://eblingroup.com/) - As a globally recognized coach and advisor, Scott Eblin helps build better leaders who lead better lives, and help create a better world. - [Privacy Policy](https://eblingroup.com/privacy-policy/) - Privacy & Cookie policies for The Eblin Group. - [Cookie Policy](https://eblingroup.com/privacy-policy/cookies/) - Privacy & Cookie policies for The Eblin Group. - [Best Ever Podcast with Scott Eblin](https://eblingroup.com/best-ever-podcast/) - Best Ever Podcast With Scott Eblin The Best Ever Podcast with Scott Eblin is your insider's guide to what it takes to lead at the highest level at work, at home, and in your community. Each week, Scott sits down with remarkable leaders for real, revealing conversations about the mindset shifts, self-management habits, and high - [Resources](https://eblingroup.com/resources/) - Resources for... Building Better Leaders. Leading Better Lives. Creating a Better World. Scott's Best Selling Classic The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success, 3rd Edition The Next Level reads like a series of conversations with your own trusted executive coach. It's an action-oriented guide that outlines the practical steps you need to succeed - [Scott's Latest](https://eblingroup.com/blog-posts/) - Scott's Latest Insights An award-winning and long-time blogger, Scott provides regular insights on leadership and life that are practical, simple, and immediately applicable. Subscribe Oct 14, 2025 | Manage Yourself Life, Leadership, and Hope How can leaders shift hope from wishful thinking to tangible action? Three practical lessons on agency, curiosity, and appreciation from Dr. - [About](https://eblingroup.com/about/) - About Scott Globally recognized executive coach. Two-time best-selling author. Top-rated speaker and leadership educator. Best Ever podcast host. 10-year Georgetown faculty member. Registered Yoga Teacher. Aspiring rock guitarist. Meet Scott Eblin. Download Scott's Bio Work with Scott Globally-recognized executive coach Meet Scott Eblin Scott Eblin is a globally recognized executive coach committed to building better - [What Your Life GPS® Score Means](https://eblingroup.com/your-lifegps-score/) - 61 - 80: Congrats! You are taking care of yourself and thinking about what you need. The Life GPS® will be a useful tool for you to fine-tune your routines or find new ways that will help you show up at your best and live the life you desire. You're in a great position to - [Coaching](https://eblingroup.com/coaching/) - Coaching Described by Coaching.com as "one of the OG executive coaches," Scott Eblin brings the perspective of 25 years of coaching experience and his Life GPS® personal strategy tool to help his clients get clear about what they're trying to accomplish and how they need to show up as leaders and humans to make that - [Contact](https://eblingroup.com/contact/) - Let's Talk Share some information so we can have a conversation about how you'd like to work together. Connect LinkedIn info@eblingroup.com (888) 242-4680 Get Scott's Insights Join our community and get subscriber-only insights and resources. ! ! Please check to confirm you would like to be added to our mailing list. Terms and Conditions checkbox - [Life GPS® Licensees](https://eblingroup.com/life-gps-licensees/) ## Posts - [The Seven Questions I Ask My CEO Clients at Mid-Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seven-questions-i-ask-my-ceo-clients-mid-year/) - Six months into the year, here are the seven questions I ask my CEO clients to assess the first half and envision the back half. They work for any leader doing a mid-year review - CEO or not, with a coach or coaching yourself. - [“Having More” vs. “Being More”: Pope Leo Takes on AI](https://eblingroup.com/blog/having-more-vs-being-more-pope-leo-takes-on-ai/) - Pope Leo's encyclical on AI, Magnifica Humanitas, is a master class in leading from first principles. One key leadership takeaway: the difference between having more and being more. - [What CEOs work on with their coach (and what rising leaders can learn from the list)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-ceos-work-on/) - Ever wonder what CEOs work on with their executive coach? Stay tuned, because I’m about to share the top 10 topics that have come up most frequently with me in 25 years of executive coaching. And why, other than satisfying whatever curiosity you may have, am I sharing these? Because, while the stakes may be - [The Spiritual Dimension of Your Life GPS®: Staying Grounded When Life Gets Loud](https://eblingroup.com/blog/staying-grounded-when-life-gets-loud/) - “The breath is the reset button that we always carry with us.” - [From March Madness to March Mastery: A Leader's Guide to Managing Energy When the Pressure is On](https://eblingroup.com/blog/managing-energy-when-the-pressure-is-on/) - The leaders who navigate March successfully aren't the ones who grind the hardest. They're the ones who manage energy intentionally in support of three priorities: personal discipline, team engagement, and organizational alignment. Here's how to make the shift from March Madness to March Mastery. - [The Joy That Wins Gold](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-joy-that-wins-gold/) - Ilia Malinin and Alysa Liu's contrasting Olympic performances reveal a timeless truth about pressure, joy, and peak performance. Drawing on Tim Gallwey's insight that performance equals potential minus interference, this post explores what leaders can learn from two elite athletes about getting out of their own way - and how finding joy in the work, not just the outcome, might be the most powerful performance strategy of all. - [The Relational Domain of Your Life GPS®: Why Listening Is a Life and Leadership Advantage](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-listening-is-a-life-and-leadership-advantage/) - “At the root of our biggest conflicts is a failure to listen.” - [Results AND Relationships – How to Hit the Sweet Spot as the Pressure Ramps Up](https://eblingroup.com/blog/results-and-relationships/) - When the pressure ramps up, many leaders sacrifice relationships for results. Here’s why that doesn’t work and what game-changing leaders do instead. - [You’re Planning on 52 Weeks for 2026 When You Really Only Have 42](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-really-only-have-42-weeks/) - Most professionals plan the year for 52 weeks they don't actually have. You likely have around 80% of the time you’re planning for. Instead of fighting against this reality, learn how to build a realistic annual operating rhythm that leads to year-end accomplishment instead of panic. - [The Mental Dimension of Your Life GPS®: Think Clearer, Lead Better](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-mental-dimension-of-your-life-gps/) - “Mindfulness is the combination of awareness and intention.” - [The Physical Dimension of Your Life GPS®: Essential Building Blocks for Living and Leading at Your Best](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-physical-dimension-of-your-life-gps/) - “Move. Sleep. Eat. Those are the three core physical routines everyone needs in their lives.” - [Hope as Medicine: Dr. Richard Bedlack on Science, Fashion, and Living with Joy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hope-as-medicine-dr-richard-bedlack/) - “Hope is a combination of optimism and agency.” - [Questions and Answers on 25 Years in the Executive Coaching and Leadership Development Business](https://eblingroup.com/blog/reflections-on-25-years-of-eblin-group/) - Reflecting on 25 years in executive coaching, Scott Ebin shares insights on industry shifts, business resilience, and the secrets to a successful partnership. Discover the lessons learned from a quarter-century of helping leaders live better and lead better. - [Gratitude: Why It’s Too Important to Just Save for Thanksgiving](https://eblingroup.com/blog/gratitude-why-its-too-important-to-save-for-thanksgiving/) - Research confirms gratitude is a life and leadership performance multiplier. Discover three daily practices to boost team results, reduce stress, and increase longevity. - [Raise Your Level: 5 Self-Discipline Habits from Olympic Gold Medalist Dain Blanton](https://eblingroup.com/blog/raise-your-level-5-self-discipline-habits/) - Olympic gold medalist Dain Blanton shares five simple self-discipline habits that, when the pressure is high, can help you rise to the occasion by raising the level of your personal training. - [Life, Leadership, and Hope](https://eblingroup.com/blog/life-leadership-and-hope/) - How can leaders shift hope from wishful thinking to tangible action? Three practical lessons on agency, curiosity, and appreciation from Dr. Richard Bedlack, director of Duke University’s ALS Clinic. - [Want to Be an Executive Coach? Here’s My Advice](https://eblingroup.com/blog/want-to-be-an-executive-coach-heres-my-advice/) - Thinking about becoming an executive coach? Here’s practical advice on why training matters, how to differentiate in a crowded market, and when to blend coaching and consulting. - [“I Know I’m Right” and Other Hidden Blockers, with Muriel Wilkins](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hidden-blockers-with-muriel-wilkins/) - “Beliefs are like clouds. You're the sky, and the beliefs can come and go, but they can also change shape. And we all have the capacity to change the shape of our beliefs.” - [Leading with Curiosity and Humanity in the Age of AI, with Richard Culatta](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-in-the-age-of-ai-with-richard-culatta/) - “AI is good at drafting.The human brain is really good at refining. We spend so much of our human brain's time drafting, and don't have much time for refining, which is exactly the wrong order of operations.” - [Open Heart, Strong Core: Lara Lee’s Mantra for Purposeful Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/open-heart-strong-core-lara-lee/) - “To be imperturbable is to be unshakable, immovable, amid the ups and downs. Whatever comes out, you're able to self-stabilize. You're able have your own sense of equanimity, of balance, of continuity, despite what's happening around you.” - [Set the Path: Four Year-End Sprint Conversations You Need to Have with Your Team This Month](https://eblingroup.com/blog/year-end-sprint-conversations/) - The sprint to the end of the year has begun. Here are four clarity inducing conversations to align your team and finish strong. - [From 1999 to 2025 - Putting Peter Drucker’s “Managing Oneself” to Work Today](https://eblingroup.com/blog/putting-peter-druckers-managing-oneself-to-work-today/) - Peter Drucker’s 1999 classic Managing Oneself introduced five timeless questions every leader should ask to guide their career and performance. Twenty six years later, the world looks a lot different than it did in 1999. In this post, Scott builds on Drucker’s framework with some additions that feel important to successful self-management in 2025. - [Gratitude as a Leadership Superpower, with Donagh Herlihy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/gratitude-as-a-leadership-superpower-with-donagh-herlihy/) - “If I make gratitude a habit, then other people in my organization start doing it, it's the shadow of the leader. It’s the force multiplier of that habit.” - [Building Startups, Scaling Yourself, with Scot Wingo](https://eblingroup.com/blog/building-startups-scaling-yourself-with-scot-wingo/) - “Find something you're good at and do more of that thing." - [Turning Rejection into a Billion-Dollar Strategy, with Vivek Shah](https://eblingroup.com/blog/rejection-to-a-billion-dollar-strategy-with-vivek-shah/) - “You can't make small things big. Just can't. And by the way…nearly everything is small.” - [Medicine, Mission, and the Art of Listening, with Dr. Cynthia Horner](https://eblingroup.com/blog/medicine-mission-and-the-art-of-listening-with-dr-cynthia-horner/) - “Volunteer leadership in particular, if it's done well, can be a really remarkable learning experience.” - [The Leader Behaviors That Show, “I’ve Got Your Back.”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-leader-behaviors-that-show-ive-got-your-back/) - What makes people feel like their leader has their back? This post explores the top five behaviors that build trust, drawn from a LinkedIn poll and reader stories about real-life leadership moments. - [Lessons in Leadership from the Battlefield to the Boardroom, with Craig Mullaney](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-in-leadership-from-craig-mullaney/) - “Fundamentally, if you get one thing right, it's modeling the behavior you want from the people following you.” - [Creating Space for Everyone: How Maggie Kane Leads with Purpose and Passion](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-maggie-kane-leads-with-purpose-and-passion/) - “I am not good at a lot, but I am good at loving people, and I feel like that was a gift that I was given when I was born. I just want to love people, and make them feel valued, and make them feel heard, and make them feel like they have a place—because they do.” - [What Champions Do Differently, with Dain Blanton](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-champions-do-differently-with-dain-blanton/) - We don’t rise to the occasion. We fall to the level of our training. - [The Self-Reflective Leader: Harry Kraemer on Legacy, Humility, and Leading with Purpose](https://eblingroup.com/blog/harry-kraemer-on-leading-with-purpose/) - If I'm not self-reflective, how do I know myself? If I don't know myself, how can I lead myself? If I can't lead myself, how can I possibly lead others? - [Reflecting to Be Your Best Ever](https://eblingroup.com/blog/reflecting-to-be-your-best-ever/) - Learn five reflection routines that can spark clarity and fuel your best ever outcomes. - [The 7 Behaviors That Turn Solid Managers into “Best Ever” Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-7-behaviors-that-turn-solid-managers-into-best-ever-leaders/) - Learn key behaviors that turn good managers into best-ever leaders—empower teams, build psychological safety, and model authentic, impact-driven leadership. - [Three Common Pitfalls for New Executives and How to Avoid Them](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-common-pitfalls-for-new-executives-and-how-to-avoid-them/) - New executives often face hidden challenges that can derail their early success. This post outlines three common pitfalls - reacting instead of reflecting, clinging to tasks instead of empowering others, and focusing too narrowly on their own function instead of thinking like an enterprise leader - and offers practical strategies to avoid them. Based on decades of coaching experience, it’s a must-read for anyone stepping into executive leadership or supporting others in making that transition successfully. - [From Playing Not to Lose to Playing to Win: A Game Plan for Senior Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/from-playing-not-to-lose-to-playing-to-win/) - Discover how senior executives can shift from a risk averse “play not to lose” stance to a bold, opportunity seeking “play to win” mindset by reframing goals, boosting psychological safety, and building personal recovery routines that unlock sustainable growth and innovation. - [How to Tame Your Monkey Mind](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-tame-your-monkey-mind/) - Struggling with constant mental chatter as a leader? This post explores how “monkey mind” impacts leadership effectiveness and shares three practical strategies to quiet your thoughts, boost mindfulness, and lead with greater clarity and intention. - [The Power of a Verbal Yes in Driving Team Alignment](https://eblingroup.com/blog/power-of-a-verbal-yes/) - Discover the power of a verbal “yes” in building team alignment and accountability. Drawing on a familiar in-flight safety moment, this post highlights how explicit verbal commitment can prevent misalignment, reduce behind-the-scenes lobbying, and eliminate the need for the “meeting after the meeting.” Leaders who learn a simple, practical technique can gain clarity on where each team member stands on critical decisions and foster trust, engagement, and forward momentum. Ideal for executive leaders, managers, and anyone leading a team through complexity or change. - [How to Navigate a BANI World: A Leadership Playbook for Turbulent Times](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-navigate-a-bani-world/) - How do leaders navigate a BANI world—brittle, anxious, nonlinear, and incomprehensible? In this post, explore how executive teams can thrive in an era of constant disruption by building agility, fostering seamless collaboration, and sharpening their early warning systems. Learn actionable strategies to strengthen emotional resilience, promote psychological safety, and implement rapid prototyping to stay ahead of uncertainty. Whether you’re a CEO, senior leader, or leadership coach, these insights will help you future-proof your team for whatever comes next. - [Stop Asking Why: Ten 'What' Questions Senior Leaders Can Use to Drive Alignment](https://eblingroup.com/blog/stop-asking-why/) - Discover how senior executives can drive alignment and influence high-stakes decisions by shifting from “Why” questions to strategic “What” questions. Learn ten powerful questions that uncover hidden motivations, reduce resistance, and foster collaboration at the executive level. Stop asking “Why” and start leading with insight—read the full post now. - [Leading in the Age of Non-Stop VUCA](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-in-the-age-of-non-stop-vuca/) - Explore the essential skills for leading in today's ultra VUCA environment, driven by rapid advancements in AI, disruptive political changes, and global economic uncertainties. This post updates traditional VUCA leadership principles for the complexities of 2025, providing a practical framework to navigate volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Learn actionable strategies to manage disruption effectively and lead with confidence amidst continuous change. - [Making Smart Choices: How to Use a Decision Grid to Avoid Analysis Paralysis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/making-smart-choices-avoid-analysis-paralysis/) - Discover effective decision-making strategies with our latest blog post that outlines a straightforward, five-step process using a decision grid to help you choose the best option among many. This guide provides clear instructions and real-life examples on ranking choices against key criteria, ensuring you make informed decisions without falling into analysis paralysis. Ideal for anyone facing career choices, relocation decisions, or any major life or work changes, the post helps simplify complex decisions and increase your confidence in the choices you make. - [Let Your Words Be Your Guide This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/let-your-words-be-your-guide-this-year/) - Discover how to set a meaningful direction for 2025 with a simple, proven practice. In this blog post, learn how to identify guiding words that reflect your best self, visualize them in action, and use them daily to create intentional outcomes. Start the year with clarity, focus, and purpose—let your words be your guide! - [How to Make Room for Your Muse](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-make-room-for-your-muse/) - Discover practical strategies to foster creativity and innovation in the workplace with our latest blog post, "How to Make Room for Your Muse." Learn how to manage distractions and focus on the essential, enabling both leaders and teams to unlock their full creative potential. This guide provides actionable advice on cultivating a culture of curiosity that thrives in a competitive, fast-paced world. Perfect for professionals seeking to enhance creativity and prevent stagnation in their organizations. - [How to Tune into Your Energizers and De-energizers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-tune-into-your-energizers-and-de-energizers/) - Discover how to calibrate your energizers and de-energizers to enhance your leadership impact. - [How to Stop Recurring Requests from Eating Up Your Time](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-stop-recurring-requests-from-eating-up-your-time/) - How to focus on higher-level strategic work by cutting down on routine interruptions. - [What It Means to Be on the First Team](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-it-means-to-be-on-the-first-team/) - Being on the 'first team' means prioritizing the business over your function. Discover the key behaviors of successful senior executives and how they play the bigger game. - [Are You Leading the Room or Is the Room Leading You?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-leading-the-room/) - What do leaders and other public speakers need to do to lead the energy of the room? Here are three steps that work for me. - [Are You Improving Upon the Silence?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-improving-upon-the-silence/) - Does what you have to say improve upon the silence? Here are 3 signs you’re talking too much and 3 tips on how to stop doing that. - [Unreasonable Hospitality on Jury Duty: My Unexpected Experience](https://eblingroup.com/blog/unreasonable-hospitality/) - Discover how a routine jury duty experience transformed into an inspiring lesson in unreasonable hospitality. Learn how a jury services clerk's warmth and competence created a memorable and positive experience, embodying the principles from Will Guidara's TED Talk on human connection and exceptional customer service. - [Ten Questions to Keep You on Track This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-questions-to-keep-you-on-track/) - Taking time to consider what you’re trying to accomplish this year can pay huge dividends. Here are ten questions to help you do that. - [How to Get Out of the Executive Meeting Spin Cycle](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-out-of-the-executive-meeting-cycle/) - Do all the meetings you’re in have you feeling like you’re in the spin cycle? Here are seven simple steps you can take to get out of it. - [Change at the Top: How to Succeed with a New Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/change-at-the-top/) - Step confidently into a new chapter with a new boss. Key strategies for senior execs to maintain their influence and build trust. - [From Smart to Wise: Transformative Insights for Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/from-smart-to-wise-transformative-insights-for-leaders/) - Explore the vital distinctions between intelligence and wisdom with 'From Smart to Wise: Transformative Insights for Leaders'. This guide delves into how leaders can harness both to drive success and make impactful decisions. Learn about the nuances between fluid and crystallized intelligence, the importance of balancing results with relationships, and how embracing a growth mindset over a fixed one can lead to greater opportunities. Perfect for senior executives and leaders aiming to elevate their strategic thinking and operational effectiveness. - [Leading with Happiness: What Bill Walton Taught Us About True Success](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-from-bill-walton/) - Leading with Happiness: What Bill Walton Taught Us About True Success - [Five Corporate Buzzwords We Need to Banish](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-corporate-buzzwords-we-need-to-banish/) - What corporate buzzwords would you like to banish? Here are five of my nominees along with plain English alternatives. - [Five Must-Do’s to Lead Like an Ambassador](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lead-like-an-ambassador/) - What if you led like you were the ambassador for your company or organization? Here are five must-do’s if you’re interested in doing that. - [The Power of Small Rituals](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-power-of-small-rituals/) - The power of small rituals cannot be overestimated in the value they bring to your life. Here’s one that’s making a big difference for me. - [How to Win with Pattern Recognition](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-win-with-pattern-recognition/) - A regular practice of pattern recognition can be a big competitive advantage for your and your organization. Here’s how to do it. - [From Yearly Goals to a Decade of Purposeful Growth](https://eblingroup.com/blog/purposeful-growth/) - Take the long view this year. Create a Life GPS® that supports your vision of the life you want ten years from now. - [Five Ways for Leaders to Get Out of Chronic Fight or Flight](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-for-leaders-to-get-out-of-chronic-fight-or-flight/) - Five ways leaders can get themselves out of a state of chronic fight or flight. - [How to Develop a Great Strategic Leadership Offsite Agenda](https://eblingroup.com/blog/develop-a-strategic-leadership-offsite-agenda/) - What goes into creating an agenda for a strategic leadership offsite that generates great results? Here are my lessons learned. - [Feedback Fundamentals: Effective Strategies from Experienced Executive Coaches](https://eblingroup.com/blog/feedback-fundamentals-effective-strategies-from-experienced-executive-coaches/) - Discover the art of giving and receiving transformative feedback with our guide, featuring expert advice from seasoned executive coaches. Learn essential techniques that can make feedback a powerful tool for growth and improvement in any executive setting. - [Remembering a Loyal and Loving Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/judy-eblin/) - As much as anything, leadership is about the example you set for others. Here’s a remembrance of my mom and the example she set for so many. - [Progress Comes Incrementally Then Suddenly](https://eblingroup.com/blog/progress-comes-incrementally-then-suddenly/) - Progress comes incrementally then suddenly. Here’s the story behind my 63rd birthday handstand and how it applies to you. - [How to Lead Your Team Through Tough Times](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-lead-your-team-through-tough-times/) - When your team is deep into dealing with the muck, what do you do? Here’s what successful senior leaders do. - [Five Ways to Build Your Strategic Muscles](https://eblingroup.com/blog/build-your-strategic-muscles/) - A common executive coaching need is to be more strategic. Here are five proven ways to build your strategic muscles. - [Three Benefits of Removing Toxic Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-benefits-of-removing-toxic-leaders/) - The dramatic change in fortunes of the NFL’s Washington Commanders illustrates the benefits of getting rid of toxic leaders. I list some here. - [How to Create Your Leadership Scorecard](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-create-your-leadership-scorecard/) - You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Manage your development by creating a leadership scorecard to measure your progress. - [How to Be Someone’s Best Boss Ever](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-be-someones-best-boss-ever/) - Very few of us wake up in the morning with the goal of making someone else’s day more difficult. On the other hand, I doubt many of us wake up with the goal of making someone else’s day great. My guess is most of us wake up with the goal of taking care of whatever - [How to Lead with Socratic Questions](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-lead-with-socratic-questions/) - Do you want to your team to drive continuous improvement? Then lead with Socratic questions. Here’s a quick primer on how to do it. - [Are You the Traffic Controller or Traffic Enabler?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/traffic-controller-or-traffic-enabler/) - Are you stuck in the rut of controlling the traffic in your organization or are you scaling your leadership by enabling it? Here’s how to enable it. - [How to Show Confidence and Vulnerability at the Same Time](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-show-confidence-and-vulnerability-at-the-same-time/) - Leaders need to be confident! Leaders should show vulnerability! Yes, and yes, but how do you do it? Here are six ways to do both. - [How To Keep Your Smartphone From Taking Over Your Life](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-keep-smartphone-from-taking-over/) - As smart phone addicted people around the world await Apple CEO Tim Cook's introduction of the iPhone 6 tomorrow, perhaps this is a good day to think about how to keep your smart phone from taking over your life. While I was doing the research for my new book, I came across a lot of interesting stats about just how addicted many people are to their phones and how that affects their lives. - [Take the Time](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-take-time/) - When people ask me, as they often do, why my wife Diane and I moved from the Washington, DC suburbs to L.A., I tell them the truth. When Diane, who grew up outside of Philadelphia, was eight, her parents took her to Disneyland and she never got over it. She’s wanted to live in Southern California for most of her life. So, when we figured out how to do it, we moved. And, as I usually tell people, we moved in the most inefficient way imaginable. We had been in our house in Virginia for 13 years and raised two boys there. Needless to say, there was a lot of stuff in there. - [Don’t Burn Your Calendar at Both Ends](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-dont-burn-calendar-ends/) - Perhaps you think I meant to use the word candle rather than calendar in the title of this post. Nope, calendar was what I meant but the idea came from a brain blip I had recently. I was conducting interviews with about a dozen colleagues and friends of a new executive coaching client. One of my questions was, “What do you hope he gets out of this coaching engagement?” and someone answered, “I hope he’ll quit burning the candle at both ends.” When I went back to review my conversation notes to write the report, I saw that what I had actually written down was, “I hope he’ll quit burning the calendar at both ends.” - [Mental Routines for the Mindful Road Warrior](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-mental-routines-mindful-road-warrior/) - Last week, I introduced a new short series for Mindful Mondays with a post titled Travel Tips for the Mindful Road Warrior. To be honest, when I started writing that post I realized I had more to share than one blog post could accommodate – hence, this series. Last week’s post focused on the physical - [How Mindful Road Warriors Stay Connected](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-mindful-road-warriors-stay-connected/) - So, you might be thinking, “Any 21st century road warrior worth their salt knows how to stay connected. You’ve got your smartphone (maybe two), your tablet, your laptop. How hard is it to stay connected?” Yeah, with all of the tools we have it’s not that hard. But that’s not what I’m talking about. The topic of today’s installment in my mini-series on the Mindful Road Warrior is how to stay connected with people (the three dimensional kind, not the faceless pixels on a screen kind) when you’re away from home base frequently. - [The Choice That Saved Husamettin’s Life](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-choice-saved-husamettins-life/) - Last week, I had one of the more interesting and amazing conversations I’ve ever had with a cab driver. His name was Husamettin. I’ve been in New York for the past week for a series of client meetings and interviews related to the launch of my new book. (Be sure to check out the special launch week offer at the end of this post.) On the way to one of those interviews, I was talking with Husamettin about how he stays sane navigating the crazy traffic of Manhattan. He told me that he has been driving here for 30 years but if he hadn’t changed his approach to his job 25 years ago he probably wouldn’t even be alive today, let alone driving. For his first five years behind the wheel, he told me, he used to lean on his horn, yell and stress out every time he was cut off in traffic. Years of that kind of stress led to stomach ulcers so severe that he couldn’t even take a sip of coffee or orange juice without it feeling like someone was sticking a knife in his gut. He chose to make a change that likely saved his life. - [A Simple Way to Manage the End Of Year Rush](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-manage-end-of-year-rush/) - Sometimes the smallest things can make the biggest difference. A simple act like taking three deep breaths can make a world of difference in how you show up at work and at home. As the pace becomes more hectic in these last few weeks of the year, slowing yourself down with some intentional breathing is a great idea. - [Reflect, Then Project](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-reflect-project/) - We're very close to the time of year when people start thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. There’s just something about that blank calendar (or at least more blank than your end of 2014 calendar) that makes hope spring forth that the coming year will be different in the ways that matter most. It’s a good exercise for sure. As the Cheshire Cat said to Alice, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” It makes sense to set some goals for a new year and to reverse engineer back from those goals to identify the specific actions that will likely get you there. - [Set Your 2015 Direction with a Life GPS](https://eblingroup.com/blog/set-2015-direction-life-gps/) - If you’re like most people reading this, you regularly use a GPS app on your smartphone to help you get where you want to go. What difference would it make if you had a GPS for your life? As you think through and plan for what you want from 2015, you can use these three simple questions in this post to create a Life GPS® to help you get where you want to go. - [How Baby Steps Can Keep You on Track This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-baby-steps/) - Have you found yourself already Googling the topic, “Why do New Year’s resolutions fail?” On what is, for many of us, the first full work day of 2015, I’m reminded that this is where the rubber meets the road in terms of all the intentions and resolutions that were made over the holidays. There’s a lot of research and opinions out there about why resolutions fail. In this post, I want to focus on one big idea about how to make them successful. It’s baby steps. Take them. Love them. Celebrate them. Revel in them. Baby steps, when focused on a goal and consistently taken, lead to big results. They enable you to make progress by solving for 2% or 5% instead of 100%. Here are a few stories – one about the Beatles, one about yoga and one about business – that illustrate what I mean by that. The stories are followed by five principles for applying baby steps that have worked for me and my clients. Please read on and share your thoughts and questions in the comments. - [Why You Should Take Time to Not Think](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-take-time-to-not-think/) - Ah, the third week of the new year. The holiday break is an increasingly distant speck in the rearview mirror and we’re all back up to our eyeballs in work. And, of course, our brains are working overtime trying to churn through and process everything we have to do. Gotta’ stay focused, right? There’s too much to do to just let your mind wander. That’s the wrong call. - [What’s It Going to Be This Year? Doing or Being?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-whats-going-year/) - One of the unexpected pleasures of completing a yoga teacher training course a couple of years ago, was that I had to learn a little bit of Sanskrit – the language of the people who first came up with yoga thousands of years ago. And when I say I learned a little bit of Sanskrit, I mean like a thimbleful. Most of my very limited repertoire is focused on the names of different poses and a few words that represent some of the key concepts from the tradition. The fun part has been making a connection between some of the ancient words I’ve learned and very modern day situations. - [What Are You More Likely to Remember?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-likely-remember/) - So the original plan for this past weekend was to get caught up on some work while my wife, Diane, was away at a conference in Las Vegas. To some degree, that was the plan for both of us. We have a couple of big new projects coming on line so Diane took her computer with her and planned on doing some work in the evenings as well. And that’s pretty much how Friday night went down. She had dinner, played roulette for an hour or so and went back to her room to work on our website. Meanwhile, I was in our apartment in Los Angeles clearing out emails and other tasks while an HBO documentary on Sinatra played in the background. It was when Diane and I had a good night FaceTime call later in the evening that I knew that could not stand. - [Three Simple Ways to Be More Aware This Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-simple-ways-aware-week/) - If you’ve been reading my posts, articles or books for awhile, you know I do my best to keep things simple. Most of us have too much on our plates to make life any more complex than it already is. Hence, my emphasis on simplicity. For instance, the definition of leadership presence I introduced in The Next Level breaks that concept down into three sets of behaviors: personal presence, team presence and organizational presence. For another example, when I coach people who want to be more effective leaders or less stressed in their lives, I encourage them to start by focusing on doing one or two things that are in the sweet spot of relatively easy to do and likely to make a difference. If that works, keep doing it. - [Change It Up This Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-change-it-up/) - If you’ve been reading anything I’ve written over the past few years, you know what a big fan I am of routines. I’m especially fond of the routines – physical, mental, relational and spiritual – that help you show up at your best. Mindful routines help us groove the behaviors that lead to incremental improvement. Incremental improvement consistently achieved leads to big results. So, yay for routines! That said, every so often it’s important to change it up. - [Eight Ways to Stay Sane During Holiday Travel](https://eblingroup.com/blog/eight-ways-to-stay-sane-during-holiday-travel/) - Among the many reasons that the holidays can be one of the most stressful times of the year, traveling (or hosting the people that travel) can top the list. Traffic, weather, confined spaces, uncertain timelines, strange beds, strange food, strange people, disrupted routines – it can all add up to make you feel a little nuts. Here are eight suggestions for how to stay sane during the holiday travel season. - [Three Ways to Avoid a Wipeout](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-avoid-a-wipeout/) - In 15 years of coaching, I’ve worked with a lot of high-performing executives. When things go well, they run like a finely tuned Formula 1 race car. But life and humans being what they are, I’ve witnessed the occasional wipeout where, in spite of best efforts and intentions, an exec spins out and crashes into the wall. In the interest of helping you avoid a similar fate, I’d like to share three best practices that are common to the high performers I work with who run at a really high speed yet avoid wiping out. - [Three Things I’ve Learned About Public Speaking](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-ive-learned-about-public-speaking/) - If you’re in a leadership role of almost any type, the odds are high that you have to do some sort of public speaking on a semi-regular basis. Do you enjoy it or dread it? As someone who delivers 40 or 50 speeches and presentations to clients every year, it’s a good thing that I actually enjoy speaking. There are three things in particular that I’ve learned to focus on when speaking. They’re simple but powerful ideas. In the hopes that they’ll help you too, here they are: - [Five Choices That Created an Amazing Five Years](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-choices-that-created-an-amazing-five-years/) - Today is my 55th birthday. Yes, I said it. It’s part of my new policy of radical transparency. From the perspective of age 55, I can identify decisions I’ve made that have changed my life for the better. I believe they helped create the conditions for many of the good things in my life. While your mileage may vary, I thought I’d share those decisions here with the hope that they may be helpful to you. - [How Much Time Do You Need to Not Feel Stupid?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-much-time-do-you-need-to-not-feel-stupid/) - Last week I was on the phone with an executive coaching client who, like many of the people I work with, was lamenting the insanity of her schedule. It was Friday and she was finishing up a week of back-to-back meetings every day, all day. (To her credit, she kept her coaching call with me!) - [How to Tame This Attention Span Killing Device](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-tame-this-attention-span-killing-device/) - If someone tried to force you to take a drug that was going to reduce your ability to mentally focus by 33%, you’d probably do everything you could to get away from them, right? Yet, the chances are you’ve already done that to yourself over the past several years. Your partner-in-crime is your smartphone. In - [How to Find the Person Behind the Professional](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-find-the-person-behind-the-professional/) - What difference would it make if you really knew the people you work with every day? Not just knowing what they do at work and maybe one or two facts about their life outside of work, but what they really care about, are passionate about, worry about or laugh about? What difference would it make - [How to Work for a Human Tornado](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-work-for-a-human-tornado/) - If you find yourself working for a human tornado, what can you do to both minimize the damage and survive the storm? Here are five tips on how to do it... - [What I've Been Saying Lately: Two New Interviews](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-ive-been-saying-lately-two-new-interviews/) - Scott was recently interviewed by Martin Soorjoo for his podcast, Inside Mastery, as well as by Monster.com. You can check them both out in this week's blog. - [How to Create Time in a Packed Schedule](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-create-time-in-a-packed-schedule/) - Three simple strategies you can implement today to create more space in your packed schedule. - [Simple Physical Routines for Successful Stress Management](https://eblingroup.com/blog/physical-routines-for-stress-management/) - It’s only June and 2020 has already been a year of unprecedented stress. Here are some simple physical routines to help you live and lead at your best. - [Loneliness is “a Mortal Threat”; Relationships are the Cure](https://eblingroup.com/blog/relationships-are-the-cure/) - Relationships have never mattered more than right now. Here are some ideas for strengthening yours during the pandemic. - [How to Keep Your Head Clear in the Weeks to Come](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keep-your-head-clear/) - The election has a lot of us in a peak state of fight or flight. Here are some simple strategies for keeping your head clear in the weeks to come. - [How to Get Ten Hours of Your Week Back](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-ten-hours-of-your-week-back/) - Since the pandemic started, my client Susan’s been working around 15 hours a day. With her permission, here’s how we solved her problem. - [Lessons Learned from Twenty Years of Developing Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-learned-from-twenty-years-of-developing-leaders/) - This week marks twenty years in business for my leadership development company The Eblin Group. Here are some of my lessons learned in those two decades. - [What to Do When You’re Feeling Exhausted](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-to-do-when-youre-feeling-exhausted/) - 2020 has been the mother of all exhausting years. Here are six simple and effective things to do when you’re feeling exhausted. - [Ten Ways to Beat Burnout](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-ways-to-beat-burnout/) - What’s your level of burnout? Singed, Fried or Extra Crispy? Here are ten simple and practical things you can do to beat burnout. - [How to Maintain Your Mojo This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/maintain-your-mojo-this-year/) - Are your new year’s commitments bumping up against daily reality? Here’s a resource-rich list of ways to maintain your mojo this year. - [Three Things to Keep in Mind as You Return to the Office](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-to-keep-in-mind-return-to-office/) - How do you live and lead at your best as work arrangements change? Here are three things to keep in mind as you return to the office. - [Five Ways to Stay Sane When You Have to Slog Through](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-five-ways-stay-sane-slog/) - From the archives of the Department of Irony, I found myself overwhelmed this past week while working on a book whose title is Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative (coming to a web site or book store near you this Fall). I was at the point in the process where I had to read through about 400 pages of interview excerpts and sort them into working files for each of the 19 chapters of the book. It was about three days straight of reading, thinking, copying and pasting. As passionate as I am about the topic and the project, I have to confess. It. Was. A. Slog. - [What I Learned About Mindful Time Management from Jim Collins](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-time-management-jim-collins/) - This month for me is all about the big push to finish the manuscript for my book that’s coming out this Fall from Wiley, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative. As the title implies, my premise is that being somewhat more mindful in your approach to work and life is an effective alternative to being overworked and overwhelmed. - [When is “Good Enough” Good Enough?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-good-enough-good-enough/) - One of the reasons I’m writing my new book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative, is because I’ve worked with a lot of leaders over the past several years who find themselves trapped on the gerbil wheel of too much to do and not enough time to do it. There are a lot of reasons for that. Corporate restructurings and 24/7 access through smart phones are two of the big ones. - [Now or Later?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/now-later/) - Wow, can you believe it’s almost June? This year has flown by with one big event after another. One of the biggest was earlier this month when Scott finished the manuscript for his new book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative. That was a team effort that took a lot of coordinated focus. I’ve read it and I have to say you are in for a treat. - [Are You a Segmenter or an Integrator?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-segmenter-integrator/) - One of the things I learned in doing the research for my forthcoming book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative is that it’s possible to be incredibly busy with a lot on your plate and not feel overworked and overwhelmed. One of the common denominators that I heard from the people who are most successful in doing this is that they create a clear separation in both their minds and on their calendars between when they’re working and when they’re not working. - [Mindful Mondays Video: Two Minutes That Will Make You Feel More Relaxed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-video-2-minutes-more-relaxed/) - Chances are that sometime today or this week, you’ll find yourself spun up into a low grade version of fight or flight syndrome. As I explain in my forthcoming book, "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative", to counteract that you want to develop little breaks of rest and digest into your day. I was lucky enough to take an anniversary trip to Pebble Beach this past weekend and took a couple of minutes to film the waves lapping against the beach so I could share them with you. (Video) - [Habit Hacks That Make a Difference](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-habit-hacks-make-difference/) - If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile you know that I’m into simple things that are easy to do and likely to make a difference. In my new book, Overworked and Overwhelmed, I call them Habit Hacks. The manuscript for the book is already done so it’s too late to include a fantastic Habit Hack I heard last week from a participant in our Next Level Leadership® development program. That doesn’t mean, though, that I can’t share it with you here. - [Hit the Showers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hit-the-showers/) - One of the features in my forthcoming book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative, is a series of sidebars called Habit Hacks. The Habit Hacks are simple things that are easy to do and likely to make a difference in feeling less overworked and overwhelmed. I have a feeling that I’m going to be collecting a lot of good Habit Hacks over the next few years. Just last week for instance, I heard one from a client who’s been working on incorporating deep breathing into his day as a way to be more mindful (aware and intentional) and less stressed. - [Inject Some Life Into Your Daily Grind](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-life-in-daily-grind/) - Back in 2007, Tim Ferris released a mega best-seller called The Four Hour Work Week. He’s since gone on to release a couple of other best-sellers but it was his first book that really put him on the map. It was a great title for sure. Who doesn’t want a four-hour work week? I’ve always joked, however, that there was no way Tim Ferris was only spending four hours a week working on writing and then getting the word out about his book. As I’ve been doing the same thing on my second book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative this year, I’ve been reminded of what a time intensive process it is to write a book and then let the world know about it. (After all, what’s the point of writing it for people if no one knows it’s there?) The biggest challenge for me this year has been to write the book and meet my normal business obligations without becoming – you guessed it – overworked and overwhelmed. - [Coming Clean](https://eblingroup.com/blog/coming-clean/) - If you're a regular reader of this blog, you're undoubtedly aware that I have a new book coming out, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative. I hope you'll read it and get a lot of value from it. But before you do, there's something that I want to share with you, as a regular reader of this blog, that has, for the past five years, been a private issue between me, my family and a few friends. That private issue is now public. Because you're a regular reader here, I want you to hear about it from me in this setting before you read about it in the new book. - [Wow, What a Week - Thank You!!!](https://eblingroup.com/blog/wow-week-thank/) - Have you ever worked hard on something really important to you and worried if anyone was going to notice when you finished it? I think most of us have had that experience. To be really honest with you, I had that experience a couple of weeks ago as we counted down to the launch of my new book, "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative". What if I released the book into the world and nobody noticed? - [15 Ways to Get Ready for the New Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ready-for-new-year/) - As the year winds down and the holiday season is upon us, it’s a great time to reflect on 2014 and plan for 2015. (I wrote a post last week on the reflecting part. Tune in next Monday for the planning part.) When I look back on 2014, one of the biggest things I see in the rearview mirror is the release a couple of months ago of my newest book, Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative. - [Staying Productive in the Age of the Corona Virus](https://eblingroup.com/blog/productive-in-the-age-of-coronavirus/) - In Overworked and Overwhelmed, I wrote about the timeframes of mind – past, present and future. When we over index on the past, we become consumed with regret. Too much worry about the future creates crippling anxiety. So, the most productive thing we can do is to be here now. - [Why You Should Reset Your Brain and How to Do It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-reset-your-brain/) - The most emailed article on The New York Times website today is an article called Hit the Reset Button in Your Brain. It’s by Daniel Levitin of McGill University and it explains the findings of research that he did with a colleague at Stanford. The big headline is that they’ve identified a part of the brain called the insula that controls the interplay between focused attention and daydreaming. The brain has two neural networks that manage attention. One is for focus; the other is for daydreaming. They’re designed to counterbalance each other. The insula helps them do that. - [Join the OOTMA Launch Team and Receive Six Exclusive Benefits](https://eblingroup.com/blog/join-the-ootma-launch-team/) - New research shows that the smart phone equipped professional is connected to work 72 hours a week. According to the American Psychological Association, the number one source of stress is the job pressure of a 24/7 world, so it’s no wonder that 48 percent of Americans report their stress level has increased over the past five years. It doesn’t have to be that way. I’d like to invite 100 of my readers to join the OOTMA Launch Team and help us spread the word that being overworked and overwhelmed doesn’t have to be the norm. - [Five Simple Ways to Feel Better and Perform Better](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-five-simple-ways-feel-better-perform-better/) - Sitting at your desk for hours on end can take a toll on a lot of things – your mental performance, your overall outlook on life and your general health and wellbeing. There’s a reason that researchers have concluded that sitting is the new smoking. Unfortunately, for many of us, the nature of work today leads to a lot of sitting and the subsequent declines in health. - [How to Be Present and Win](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-be-present-to-win/) - We are all familiar with the phrase, “You must be present to win.” Here’s a story from one of my clients, Jessica, about how that idea can play out in real life. Jessica is one of around 30 participants in a Developing Leadership Presence program I’m doing for rising leaders at a well known Fortune 500 company. Like a lot of professionals, she’s working in an environment of constant change that can quickly consume all of a person’s time, attention and energy. They’ve all been working on practical ways to build their leadership presence. - [What I did and Learned on my summer stay-cation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-did-and-learned-on-my-summer-stay-cation/) - In case you haven’t noticed, summer is more or less over. As we look back fondly on the somewhat lazier days just ended, it’s a good time to ask, “What did I learn this summer?” One of my big lessons learned is that stay-cations can be fun, mind-expanding and energizing. That’s what Diane and I - [A Life Changing Decision to Feel and Perform Better](https://eblingroup.com/blog/feel-and-perform-better/) - What if there were an inexpensive pill with no side effects that would cure many of your aches and pains, spark weight loss, give you more energy, leave you in a better mood, increase your mental focus, help you get more done and extend and improve your life? You’d line up for that, right? So, first the bad news and then the good news. The bad news is, to my knowledge, there is no such pill. The good news is you can get all of those outcomes without ingesting anything new. It’s the opposite, actually. You just need to stop ingesting added sugar in what you eat or drink. - [What Multiple Sclerosis Has Taught Me About Life and Managing Myself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-multiple-sclerosis-has-taught-me/) - Ten years ago I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and heading downhill. Last month, I flew my 100,000 mile of the year for business. This is what I’ve learned about life and self-management with MS. - [The Big Reveal for Overworked and Overwhelmed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/big-reveal-overworked-overwhelmed/) - If you’re a current reader of our Practical Insights newsletter then the cat’s out of the bag and you’ve already seen our big reveal. But for those who are not we didn’t want you to miss out. So in case you missed the news, I’m writing a new book. Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative is due out in the Fall 2014 from Wiley. This book is for any professional who feels like their RPM is maxed out. Sustaining that is exhausting but often the way out seems just as daunting. By making the concepts and practices of mindfulness simple, practical and applicable, this book will help you take the easy steps to regaining control over the 168 hours you have in any given week. But what is a book without a cover? We are very excited to share with you the new cover! - [Overworked and Overwhelmed? We Have an Offer for You and Your Colleagues](https://eblingroup.com/blog/overworked-overwhelmed-preorder-offer/) - If you’ve been reading this blog the past few months, you know that I’ve been working on my next book, "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative". There are two questions that people usually ask me when they hear the title of the book. The first is, “When can I read it?” The second is “How does the new book relate to what you’ve been doing?” On the first question, I’m thrilled to let you know that "Overworked and Overwhelmed" is now in production and will be available on October 13. On the second question, I view this new book as the logical successor to my first book, "The Next Level". The connection is explained in the tag line of the new Eblin Group website we’re launching in a few weeks. - [Do I Ever Get Overworked and Overwhelmed?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ever-get-overworked-overwhelmed/) - One of the interesting things that happens when you launch a book is you do a lot of interviews about the book. I’ve been doing a lot of those lately as the official publication date of Monday, October 13 approaches for my new book, "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative". In an interview for a radio show last week, the host asked me, “Do you ever get overworked and overwhelmed?” My answer was immediate and clear – “Yes, absolutely!” - [52 Ways to Feel Less Overworked and Overwhelmed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/52-ways-feel-less-overworked-overwhelmed/) - Wow, it has been quite a launch week for "Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative". The response to the book in terms of sales, reader reviews and responses and media coverage has been overwhelming (in a really good way). I'll share more on Friday about what I've learned from talking with people about why they're interested in the book along with some of their stories. - [Three Short Videos for the Overworked and Overwhelmed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-videos-for-the-overworked-and-overwhelmed/) - A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dave Summers and other great folks from the American Management Association to talk about Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative. The AMA has a really cool little video series called Three Questions where authors give short answers to questions in their wheelhouse. If you’re feeling overworked and overwhelmed or know someone who is, these videos just might help. You can watch all three in under five minutes. - [What Makes a Great Leader?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-makes-a-great-leader/) - What makes a great leader? Here are my conclusions after a lifetime of leading others and coaching, advising and observing leaders. - [What I Learned from Jack Welch](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-from-jack-welch/) - Former GE CEO Jack Welch died this week. I never met him, but I studied him and got to teach where he taught. This is what I learned from Jack. - [How to Find and Connect with Your Fans](https://eblingroup.com/blog/connect-with-your-fans/) - How do you find and connect with your biggest fans? Here’s my conversation with an expert who has answers to that question. - [All You Have to Do is Ask. Here’s How.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/all-you-have-to-do-is-ask/) - “Asking for help is often the one simple act standing between us and success.” Join me for a talk with connections expert Wayne Baker on how to ask for help. - [Preview The New Audiobook of The Next Level](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-next-level-audio-book-edition/) - The new audio edition of The Next Level is here and ready for your earbuds. Here’s a complementary preview and access to the PDF that comes with the book. - [Move Beyond Conflict with Optimal Outcomes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/beyond-conflict-optimal-outcomes/) - Do you find yourself stuck in the same arguments and conflict loops? Here are an expert’s tips on breaking free to create optimal outcomes. - [When Leadership, Ingenuity and Humanity Won the Day](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-humanity-won-the-day/) - Ten years ago, 33 Chilean miners were rescued after 70 days trapped underground. Here are five leadership lessons from then that still apply today. - [Empathy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/empathy/) - Empathy is a building block of positive change. As we process the past week, here are three stories that have challenged me to deepen my own sense of empathy. - [The Learning Journey We’re On](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-learning-journey-were-on/) - The events of the past two weeks have set many of us, including me, on a new journey of learning and action for social justice. Here’s how I’m and others are learning so far. - [How Sales Leaders Can Reclaim the Advantage in a Virtual World](https://eblingroup.com/blog/sales-leaders-reclaim-advantage/) - Many of the sales leaders I’m talking with this summer are working on how to help their teams raise their games in the virtual world we’re living in. I’ve been collecting some best practice ideas that can help you and your team reclaim competitive advantage in a virtual world. Back in June (remember that distant - [When Scaling Your Leadership is a Matter of Life or Death](https://eblingroup.com/blog/when-scaling-your-leadership-is-life-or-death/) - How do you scale your leadership and organization when the stakes are the highest? The story of the LA Food Bank offers an inspiring case study. - [My Crisis Leadership Playbook](https://eblingroup.com/blog/my-crisis-leadership-playbook/) - The COVID-19 pandemic will test leaders as never before. Here’s my put-it to work playbook for leading in a crisis. - [The 360 Degrees of Crisis Communications](https://eblingroup.com/blog/360-degrees-of-crisis-communications/) - Effective crisis communications requires a 360-degree approach with 3 main elements: top-down, side-to-side and bottom-up. Here’s a quick how-to. - [A Framework for Leadership Action in the VUCA of the Pandemic](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-action-in-the-vuca-of-the-pandemic/) - The pandemic presents the biggest VUCA leadership challenge of our lives. Here’s a simple framework to make leadership actionable in a VUCA world. - [Leaders, Welcome to the Beginning of Phase 2](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-beginning-of-phase-2/) - You may have been too busy to notice that Phase 2 of working during the pandemic has begun. Here’s what you should focus on as a leader now. - [Some “What If?” Questions You Should Be Asking Right Now](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-if-questions-you-should-be-asking/) - Engaging your team with “What if?” questions can challenge assumptions and blind spots that need to be addressed as you shape your “new normal.” - [Don’t Be Paralyzed by Positive Thinking](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-be-paralyzed-by-positive-thinking/) - Is your leadership decision making a bit paralyzed by the positive thinking of “things will get better”? Here are five steps to get you moving. - [How to Create a Permission Structure for Innovation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/create-a-permission-structure-for-innovation/) - Successfully pivoting during the pandemic requires a permission structure that encourages innovation. Here’s how to build one. - [How Your Sense of Purpose Is Going to Get You Through This](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-sense-of-purpose/) - How you think about life leads to how you feel about life. Here’s how to clarify your sense of purpose to get you through this. - [How to Push Your Mental Reset Button](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-mental-reset-button/) - Finding it hard to focus with everything that’s on your plate? Here’s a quick coaching session on how to push your mental reset button. - [Are You Hearing or Listening?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hearing-or-listening/) - The distinction between hearing and listening yields a big difference in outcomes. Which one do you usually do? Here are some signs. - [Stop Feeding Your Trolls](https://eblingroup.com/blog/stop-feeding-trolls/) - Chances are you’re dealing with some trolls in your work world right now. Here, are three ways to seize the initiative and stop feeding them. - [Calm the Conflict with FaceTime and a Beer](https://eblingroup.com/blog/facetime-and-a-beer/) - As teams WFH, leaders need to create new alternatives to tried and true ways of resolving conflict. Going out for a virtual beer can help. - [How to Lead with Influence Instead of Authority](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lead-with-influence-instead-of-authority/) - Working from home prioritizes flexible teamwork and devalues hierarchy. Here’s how to leverage that by leading with influence instead of authority. - [Leaders, Share Yourselves](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-share-yourselves/) - While we’re working apart, leadership can bring us together. Here are 3 favorite stories about leaders doing that by sharing themselves. - [The Leadership Difference Between Being Accessible and Available](https://eblingroup.com/blog/accessible-and-available/) - If you’re a leader, there’s a big difference between being accessible and available. Here are a couple of quick checklists on how to be more of each. - [The Question You Need to Ask to Focus and Engage Your Team](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-question-you-need-to-ask/) - How do you keep your team engaged and focused on results in an upside-down time? There’s one key question you need to ask yourself. - [Three Ways to Keep the Playing Field Level as Work Continues to Change](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keep-the-playing-field-level/) - The pandemic has leveled the playing field for teams in some positive ways. Here’s how leaders can keep that momentum going. - [Nine Ways to Be an Energizing Online Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/be-an-energizing-online-leader/) - Many of us are going to have a longer haul with working and leading from home. Here’s a checklist for how to be an energizing online leader. - [How to Decide Which Meetings to Skip](https://eblingroup.com/blog/decide-which-meetings-to-skip/) - Overwhelmed by the number of meetings on your calendar? Here’s a practical process for deciding which ones to skip. - [How Successful Leaders Use Both Retail and Wholesale Communications](https://eblingroup.com/blog/retail-and-wholesale-communications/) - Successful leaders use both retail and wholesale communications. What’s the difference and how can you use both? Here are some lessons learned. - [Leading in the Time Frames of Mind](https://eblingroup.com/blog/time-frames-of-mind/) - Is the language your team is using reflective of minds focused on the past, present or future? Here’s why it matters and what you can do about it. - [You’ve Got to Leave the Launchpad If You Want to Get to the Moon](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leave-the-launchpad/) - Sometimes you’ve got to disrupt your comfort zone to get where you want to go. Here’s a bit of what I’m learning on my own journey. - [Three Things to Stop Doing This Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-to-stop-doing-this-week/) - Interested in working a little less hard and getting more done while WFH? Here, then, are three things to stop doing this week. - [The Three Essential Components of Strong Preparation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/components-of-preparation/) - Great leaders organize their thinking around three essential components of strong preparation. Here’s how you can put them to work. - [Why You Need Spring Break (and Other Breaks) Now More Than Ever](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-you-need-spring-break/) - Even though their commutes are now “bedroom to den,” many WFH people are working harder than ever. We all need a break. Here’s what I saw on mine. - [Resetting Your Operating Rhythm for the “New Normal”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-new-normal/) - Everyone I know, including me, has been struggling to reset their operating rhythm since the COVID-19 crisis began. Here’s what’s worked for me so far. - [Give Yourself the Gift of Unconscious Thought](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-gift-of-unconscious-thought/) - Want to have a great 2020? Then spend the holidays not actively thinking about your goals. Here’s how to use unconscious thought to your advantage. - [What’s Your Pandemic Perspective Shift?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-your-pandemic-perspective-shift/) - This pandemic year of 2020 has been one of perspective shifts. Here are some of mine. What are some of yours? - [How to Reclaim the Best Part of Your Commute](https://eblingroup.com/blog/reclaim-the-best-part-of-your-commute/) - If you’ve been working from home this year, you’re probably missing the thinking time your commute provided. Here’s how to reclaim that benefit. - [How to Coach a Colleague Who’s Stuck in Their Story](https://eblingroup.com/blog/coach-a-colleague-whos-stuck-in-their-story/) - Have some colleagues who are stuck in their story? Here’s a five-step coaching process to help them get unstuck and move forward. - [How to Prepare for Performance Management Conversations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-performance-management-conversations/) - Want your performance management conversations to make a positive difference? Here are three essential questions to help you do that. - [My Ultimate Ten Point Guide to Personal Time Management Tactics and Strategies](https://eblingroup.com/blog/my-ten-point-guide-to-personal-time-management/) - Need fresh ideas on managing your time? Check out my Ultimate Ten Point Guide to Personal Time Management for actionable takeaways. - [Three Ways to Get and Keep Your Colleagues’ Buy-In](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-get-your-colleagues-buy-in/) - Just because your big initiative was approved doesn’t mean it’s going to succeed. The need for buy-in never ends. Here are three ways to get it. - [Why Leaders Need a Lesson Plan](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-leaders-need-a-lesson-plan/) - If you want your people to be engaged when they’re back in the office, take a cue from great teachers and create a “lesson plan.” Here’s how. - [How You Start Your Day is How You Start (and End) Your Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-you-start-your-day/) - How you start your day is how you start (and end) your year. Here are simple, proven morning routines that lead to better days and better years. - [How to Get Promoted to Vice President](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-promoted-to-vice-president/) - How do you get promoted to vice president (or any other executive role)? Here are 7 lessons learned from two of my recently promoted clients. - [The Transformative Power of Systematizing Simple Things](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-transformative-power-of-systematizing-simple-things/) - The transformative power of systematizing simple steps can dramatically increase your leadership effectiveness. Here’s a story about how it works. - [How to Stay Out of the Weeds](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-stay-out-of-the-weeds/) - Finding yourself bogged down in too many details? Here’s how one simple change can help you stay out of the weeds. - [Three Essential Rules for Influencing Your Colleagues](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-essential-rules-for-influencing-your-colleagues/) - Influencing colleagues is one of the key factors that separates leaders who rise from those that plateau. Here are three essential influencing rules. - [How to Get Your Team to Think Like You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-your-team-to-think-like-you/) - How do you get your team to think like you do? It starts with perspective transference. Here are some questions to get you started. - [Ten Reasons You Should Have a Peer Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-reasons-you-should-have-a-peer-coach/) - Perspective. Encouragement. Celebration. Those are three of the benefits of peer coaching. Read on for seven more and how to get your own peer coach. - [How to Survive the Mad Dash to the End of the Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/survive-the-mad-dash-to-the-end-of-the-year/) - The first work week after Labor Day kicks off the mad dash to the end of the year. Here’s how to stay focused and healthy as you get stuff done. - [How to Build a Team That’s a Talent Magnet](https://eblingroup.com/blog/build-a-team-thats-a-talent-magnet/) - Want your team to be a talent magnet? Then you need to Protect, Push, and Promote. Here are tips on how to do all three. - [How to Keep Your Team Focused on What Matters Most](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keep-your-team-focused-on-what-matters/) - It’s takeaway time. Here’s a simple tool you can use to keep your team focused on the things that matter most. - [How to Create a Compelling Narrative That Connects with Senior Execs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/create-a-compelling-narrative/) - If you want to connect with senior executives, you have to create a compelling narrative. Here’s how to do it. - [Don’t Blow Past Your Strengths](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-blow-past-your-strengths/) - Too many leaders blow past their strengths and head right to what they need to fix. Here’s how to leverage your strengths instead. - [Is Your Approach Parent-Child Management or Adult-to-Adult Leadership?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/adult-leadership-approach/) - Are you leading people like they’re grown-ups? Here are the differences between adult-to-adult leadership and parent-child management. - [How to Stay Resilient as You Begin to Travel Again](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-stay-resilient-as-you-begin-to-travel-again/) - Now that you’re traveling again, how do you sustain your resilience? It’s all about what you do before, during and after. Here are some tips. - [How to Coach Your Team to High Performance](https://eblingroup.com/blog/coach-your-team-to-high-performance/) - How do you coach your team to high performance? Here’s the 7-step process that’s working for one successful manager. - [What's Your Return on Effort?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-your-return-on-effort/) - Along with your ROI, maybe it’s time to start measuring your return on effort. Here’s how to determine if you’re investing your effort in optimal ways. - [How to Lead a Turnaround](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-lead-a-turnaround/) - What are the most important first steps you can take when you’re charged with leading a turnaround? Here are three road-tested action steps. - [How One Successful Senior Executive Juggles All the Balls](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-one-successful-senior-executive-juggles-all-the-balls/) - How do you juggle all the balls being thrown your way? Here are five strategies a successful senior executive is using with her teams. - [Three Questions That Lead to Better Meetings](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-questions-to-better-meetings/) - Been to any good meetings lately? If not, you might to share these three questions that lead to better meetings. - [How to Get Your Team the Recognition They Deserve](https://eblingroup.com/blog/get-your-team-the-recognition-they-deserve/) - Your team’s work doesn’t speak for itself, you have to speak for the work. Here’s how to get your team the recognition they deserve. - [What’s Making Zelensky a Great Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-making-zelensky-a-great-leader/) - In the most challenging circumstances, Ukrainian president Zelensky is role modeling what adaptive leadership looks like. Here’s how he doing it. - [What Have You Done for Me Lately?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-have-you-done-for-me-lately/) - If your executive leader is asking, “What have you done for me lately?”, you’ve waited too long to communicate. Here’s how to get back on track. - [Sharing My Dream to Help You Achieve Yours](https://eblingroup.com/blog/sharing-my-dream-to-help-you-achieve-yours/) - This week I’m realizing a long-held dream to help leaders at scale. Here’s the backstory on my new online self-coaching course, Next Level Leader. - [The Senior Leader’s Checklist for Shaping Company Culture](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-senior-leaders-checklist-for-driving-culture-change/) - If culture eats strategy for breakfast, it demands care and feeding. Here’s a checklist for senior leaders to shape cultures that support strategies. - [Why I Don’t Believe in Work/Life Balance](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-i-dont-believe-in-worklife-balance/) - We hear a lot these days about achieving work/life balance. I’m here to tell you that in an age of doing more with less -- or in some cases, less with less -- work/life balance is a myth. If you’re a leader in a demanding job, you’re about as likely to find it as you are - [Five Meaningful Ways to Keep Your Team Engaged](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-meaningful-ways-to-keep-your-team-engaged/) - To keep your team engaged, you have to demonstrate that they matter and that their work matters. Here are five meaningful ways to do that. - [Three Ways to Coach the Person, Not the Problem](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-coach-person-problem/) - Back when we were co-teaching The Flow of Coaching module at the Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program, my good friend, hero and fellow Davidson College alum Frank Ball used to do a funny bit with a bottle of water. To make the point that coaches and leaders should coach people and not problems, Frank would put a bottle of water on the table in the front of the room and say, “This bottle of water represents the problem.” Then he would start coaching the bottle of water. Needless to say, he never got very far. The bottle just didn’t have that many insights on what to change or how to change it. That’s the thing. People have insights, problems don’t. - [Are You Pulling the Thread Through?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-pulling-the-thread-through/) - How do you establish a narrative thread that keeps your team energized and engaged? I share four simple and actionable ideas in this post. - [Get Enough Sleep. Your Brain Will Thank You.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-get-enough-sleep/) - New research summarized in the New York Times recently suggests that your brain cells need the same kind of opportunity to clear out all the waste they generate in the course of a day of thinking. The research shows that 20% of a brain’s total volume is dedicated to channels that remove the toxins that accumulate over the course of thinking all day. The primary time those channels have a chance to work is when you’re sleeping. - [The Antidote to Languishing? Make It Better.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/antidote-to-languishing/) - If last year had you languishing, you can put that in the rearview mirror with easy-to-do, high-impact ways to make things better. I share them here. - [Does It Have to Be Perfect or Can It Be Good Enough?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/does-it-have-to-be-perfect/) - Are you pushing for perfect when “good enough” would suffice? Here are three ways to make a good choice and reduce your stress in the process. - [What Are You Grateful For?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-are-you-grateful-for/) - One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself or others is “What are you grateful for?” Here’s what happens when you do it. - [How to Have a Great Personal Planning Retreat](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-have-a-great-personal-planning-retreat/) - You do strategic planning for your business, but what about yourself? Based on 25 years of experience, here are my best practices for a personal planning retreat. - [What Have We Learned So Far?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-have-we-learned-so-far/) - It’s been 20 months since the start of the most disruptive social experiment ever. What have we learned about work and leadership so far? - [How to Avoid Delivering the Dreaded Feedback Sandwich](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-avoid-delivering-the-dreaded-feedback-sandwich/) - Are you wrapping your performance feedback up in so many empty carbs that the message gets lost? Here's how to avoid delivering a feedback sandwich. - [How to Actually Get Promoted](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-actually-get-promoted/) - What does it take to actually get promoted? Based on a few decades of executive experience, here are five key tips to get promoted. - [What Leaders Can Learn from the Most Efficient Exit Interview Ever](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-most-efficient-exit-interview-ever/) - The Great Resignation makes the war for talent even more challenging. Here are three things you as a leader can do to keep your best people. - [How to Coach for SMART Goals](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-coach-for-smart-goals/) - Here’s the step-by-step approach I used to help a group of young leaders coach each other to create and share SMART goals. - [Eight Executives Offer Their Best Advice on Building a Team of Go-To People](https://eblingroup.com/blog/building-a-team-of-go-to-people/) - How do you build a high performing team of go-to people? Eight executives offer their best advice on how they’ve done it. - [Don’t Let Your Deficiency Overwhelm Your Proficiency](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-let-your-deficiency-overwhelm-your-proficiency/) - Your proficiencies matter more than your deficiencies. Here are three ways to keep your confidence up by leveraging your strengths. - [It’s Time to Push the Reset Button Again](https://eblingroup.com/blog/time-to-push-the-reset-button/) - After a glimpse of normal, the pandemic game has changed again. Here’s how leaders can push the reset button for themselves, their teams and organizations. - [How to Get and Be a Great Peer Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-and-be-a-great-peer-coach/) - Peer coaching can be a game changer for leaders. That’s why I’m sharing my free digital course, How to Get and Be a Great Peer Coach. - [What’s Better for You? Peer Coaching or Mentoring?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/peer-coaching-or-mentoring/) - What’s the difference between peer coaching and mentoring? The best uses of each? Which is better for you? All asked and answered here. - [How Executives Should Be Thinking About the Return to the Office](https://eblingroup.com/blog/return-to-the-office/) - What’s the right approach on “return to the office” policies? Here are five things I think executives should be thinking about. - [Set Yourself Apart by Getting Ahead of the Communications Curve](https://eblingroup.com/blog/getting-ahead-of-the-communications-curve/) - The best executives set themselves apart with their colleagues by getting ahead of the communications curve. This is how they do it. - [How to Make the Move to Enterprise-Wide Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-make-the-move-to-enterprise-wide-leader/) - Are you a frustrated superstar looking to move up or managing someone who is? Here are some of the key behaviors of enterprise-wide leaders. - [Ten Things to Say Besides Yes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-things-to-say-besides-yes/) - Are all the requests for your time and attention making you exhausted? Here are 10 things you can say besides yes to keep you both sane and engaged. - [How to Provide Connection Equity in a Hybrid World](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-provide-connection-equity-in-a-hybrid-world/) - In a hybrid world, the winning organizations will be the ones that get it right on creating “connection equity.” Here’s how to get started. - [In a Hybrid World, Every Worker Will Need to Feel Essential](https://eblingroup.com/blog/in-a-hybrid-world-every-worker-needs-to-feel-essential/) - The stakes of moving to hybrid work environments are not just organizational but personal. Here’s what leaders need to consider as they go hybrid. - [How to Sustain Your Leadership Team’s Momentum Throughout the Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-sustain-your-team/) - How do you sustain your leadership team’s momentum after the big kick-off meeting? (Hint: slide decks have nothing to do with it.) Here’s what works. - [How Do You Combine Patience and Urgency?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-combine-patience-and-urgency/) - How do leaders hit the sweet spot between patience and urgency as the world comes back online? Here are three distinctions to keep in mind. - [Three Ways to Stay on Top of All of Your Communications](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-stay-on-top-of-all-your-communications/) - Do all your leadership communications commitments have you feeling under water? Here are three actionable ways to stay on top of them. - [Four Ways to Be More Proactive and Less Reactive in Your Time Management](https://eblingroup.com/blog/be-more-proactive-and-less-reactive/) - The past year has shown leaders the importance of proactively managing their time. Here are four real-world ways my clients are doing that. - [Bio-hacking Your Health and Wellbeing with Your Phone](https://eblingroup.com/blog/bio-hacking-your-health-with-your-phone/) - With the right apps your smartphone can be a powerful tool for improving your health and wellbeing. Here’s how I’ve used mine to do that during the pandemic. - [A Checklist for Your Post-Pandemic Reentry into the World](https://eblingroup.com/blog/checklist-for-post-pandemic-reentry/) - With rising vaccination rates, we can see the end of the pandemic from here. Now’s a good time to prepare for your post-pandemic reentry into the world. - [You Have Agency. Here’s How to Use It.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-have-agency-heres-how-to-use-it/) - Your agency is like a muscle. You either use it or lose it. Here’s how to you use yours to produce results. - [Three Easy Ways to Build Meaningful Connection](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-easy-ways-to-build-meaningful-connection/) - If the grind of work has you feeling like a robotic drone, you probably need more human connection in your life. Here are three easy ways to get it. - [How to Help Make the World a Better Place This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/make-the-world-a-better-place/) - Leadership and service doesn’t need to be limited to your organization. Here are four simple strategies to use your leadership to make the world a better place. - [The Three Big Things Your Team Will Need from You This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-big-things-your-team-will-need-from-you/) - There are three things that any team is going to need from any leader. Here they are and what you can do to deliver them. - [New Year, Same Boat?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/new-year-same-boat/) - If 2021 doesn’t feel any different than 2020 so far, here are some proven ideas for moving from fatigue and depletion to energy and hope. - [Who Do You Need to Be This Year?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/who-do-you-need-to-be-this-year/) - Who do you need to be this year for yourself, your family, your team and your other stakeholders? Here’s a four-step approach to answering that question. - [How the Best Leaders Encourage Open and Honest Dialogue](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-encourage-honest-dialogue/) - People do their best work in open and honest environments. Here are 3 leadership best practices for creating that kind of workplace. - [How to Manage Your Workload So You Have Time for the Unexpected](https://eblingroup.com/blog/manage-your-workload/) - One thing you can always expect is the unexpected issues that can blow up your calendar. Here’s how to make time for the unexpected. - [Great Leaders Give Direction Not Directions](https://eblingroup.com/blog/direction-not-directions/) - As a leader are you giving your team direction or directions? Here are some practical steps for following through on the right choice. - [Put Limits on Your Energy Drainers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/limit-your-energy-drainers/) - Are you aware of your energy givers and drainers? Here are 3 simple things you can do to get the optimal energy mix in your work. Put Limits on Your Energy Drainers - [Three Ways to Raise Your Decision-Making Confidence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/raise-your-decision-making-confidence/) - How can you have confidence in your decision-making when you don’t have all the information you’d like? Here are three road-tested ways to do it. - [How to Be Your Team’s Chief Marketing Officer](https://eblingroup.com/blog/be-your-teams-chief-marketing-officer/) - If you’re not telling your team’s story who is? Here’s why you should be your team’s chief marketing officer and how to play the role. - [How to Make Your Performance Review Process Suck Less](https://eblingroup.com/blog/make-your-performance-review-process-suck-less/) - It's almost time for something no one enjoys - annual performance reviews. Here are 3 ways to make your performance review process suck less. - [To Grow Your Team and Get More Done, Let Go of Perfect](https://eblingroup.com/blog/grow-your-team-let-go-of-perfect/) - Is your emphasis on perfection slowing the growth of your team and your overall progress? Here are some warning signs and what to do about them. - [Preparation Is the New Leadership Differentiator](https://eblingroup.com/blog/preparation-is-the-new-leadership-differentiator/) - Leaders who show up prepared differentiate themselves from those who don’t. Here are three best practices that my best prepared executive coaching clients follow. - [A Prescription for Eliminating 4th Quarter Panic](https://eblingroup.com/blog/eliminating-4th-quarter-panic/) - Is the push to the end of the year stressing you out? Follow this four-step prescription for eliminating 4th quarter panic. - [Three Simple Ways to Take the Big Picture Perspective](https://eblingroup.com/blog/take-the-big-picture-perspective/) - Is it possible that you’re so busy doing things that you don’t see what needs to be done? Here are three simple steps you can take to see the big picture perspective. - [Networking for People Who Are Too Busy to Network](https://eblingroup.com/blog/too-busy-to-network/) - Most leaders think it’s important to have a strong network but hardly any think they’re doing a good job of building one. Here’s how to network when you’re too busy to do it. - [Would You Rather Be Effective or Be Right?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/be-effective-or-be-right/) - Would you rather be effective or be right? There’s a big difference between the two. Here’s why it matters along with some ideas on how to make the right choice. - [Three Ways to Tailor Your Communications to Your Audience](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-tailor-your-communications/) - Effective and powerful communications depends on tailoring your message to the needs of the audience. Here are three simple ways to do that. - [My Top Three Leadership Reads for Your Summer Vacation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/top-three-leadership-reads-for-summer/) - Just in time for your summer beach reading, here’s a recap of the three most popular leadership blog posts I’ve run so far this year. Get out the sunscreen and enjoy! - [If You’re Only Transmitting You’re Not Influencing](https://eblingroup.com/blog/only-transmitting-not-influencing/) - Effective leadership communications involves two distinct activities – transmitting and receiving. To be inspirational and influential, you need to do both. Here’s how. - [Are You a Transmitter or a Receiver?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-a-transmitter-or-a-receiver-leadership-coaching/) - One of the things I love most about leadership coaching is the opportunity to see lots of different executives in action. I get to see them in team meetings, in presentations, in one-on-one’s, and just walking around the plant or office. In addition to the first-hand observations, I usually collect a lot of feedback from - [Beat the Churn with Context](https://eblingroup.com/blog/beat-the-churn-with-context/) - Are you unintentionally creating a lot of churn and needless work in your organization with your leadership communications? If so, here are some ideas on how to stop doing that. - [What I Learned About Leadership from Reading Mad Magazine](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-leadership-from-mad-magazine/) - The news that Mad magazine is heading into the sunset caused me to reflect on all the issues I read as kid. I was surprised to realized how Mad influenced me as a grown-up leader. - [A Life Leadership Lesson from My Mom](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-life-leadership-lesson-from-my-mom/) - If you’re lucky, you never stop learning from your mom. My mom has recently embodied a life leadership lesson that makes me very proud of her. - [There’s No Debate - Vote for Sleep](https://eblingroup.com/blog/theres-no-debate-vote-for-sleep/) - How much sleep should leaders get? Science shows the minimum amount isn’t debatable but most candidates for President aren’t getting enough. Here’s the breakdown. - [How to Have Your Best Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-have-your-best-week/) - How can you manage yourself so most weeks feel like your best week? Here are some field-tested strategies for doing that. - [Three Reasons Your Change Initiative Will Fail](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reasons-your-change-initiative-will-fail/) - Why will your change initiative likely fail? Here are three reasons and what you can do to increase your odds of success. - [Three Questions to Keep You from Losing Your S**t](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-questions/) - Do you have certain triggers that are guaranteed to make you lose your s**t? There are three simple questions that can help you learn how not to lose it. - [How to Get Your Micromanager Boss to Back Off](https://eblingroup.com/blog/micromanager-boss/) - Most every leader is going to work for a micromanager at least once in their career. The question that everyone asks, “How do I get my micromanager boss to back off?” Here’s one thing you need to know and three steps you need to take. - [How to Speak for Your Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-speak-for-your-work/) - If you’re a leader in a busy organization, your work won’t speak for itself - you have to speak for the work. Here are seven steps to help you do that. - [Leaders, Your Rocks Roll Downhill](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-your-rocks-roll-downhill/) - When you’re the leader, your rocks roll downhill. Here’s how to get a handle on the kind of impact you’re having on your team. - [How to Develop Your Team Like a Real Estate Investor](https://eblingroup.com/blog/develop-your-team-like-a-real-estate-investor/) - When you’re thinking through your strategy and approach to team development, it can help to think like a real estate investor. Here’s how to do it. - [My Dad The Servant Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/my-dad-the-servant-leader/) - How do you measure the success of a leader? The life of my father, Dr. Jack Eblin, offers some answers. - [Getting Grounded on Your Team Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/grounded-team-leadership/) - How can simple routines make a big difference for you and your team? This client case study shows how. - [How to Keep Your Poker Face](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keep-your-poker-face/) - How can you keep your poker face during tough meetings and conversations so that you can keep yourself and everyone else productive and on track? It may be simpler than you think. - [Five Principles for Designing Great Leadership Development Programs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/designing-leadership-development-programs/) - Based on 20 years of working as a leadership educator, speaker and executive coach, here are five principles that I’m convinced are essential to designing great leadership development programs. - [What Are Your Top Five Words?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-top-five-words/) - What are the top five words that describe you when you’re living and leading at your best? Here’s how you can use that question to set the foundation for effective self-management. - [How to Stop Being “Them” and Start Being “Us”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/stop-being-them-start-being-us/) - If you want to be an effective leader, you’ve got to work hard to demonstrate that you’re not one of “them” but are, instead, one of “us.” Here are three actionable ideas to get started. - [What Have You Learned from Your Worst Boss Ever?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/worst-boss-ever/) - Want to improve your leadership? Think of the worst boss you’ve ever had and do the opposite. Here are some common bad boss behaviors to get you started. - [How to Know If You’re Keeping the Right Pace for Yourself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keeping-the-right-pace/) - If there’s one behavior that underlies managing yourself effectively, it’s pacing yourself by building in regular breaks from work. Here are 3 markers to know if you’re keeping the right pace and what to adjust if you’re not. - [Your Checklist for Leading with an “Us” Mindset](https://eblingroup.com/blog/checklist-for-leading-with-an-us-mindset/) - As you grow as a leader, your mindset needs to shift from “me” to “us.” Unfortunately, some leaders never make the shift. How are you doing? Here’s a checklist you can use for a self-assessment. - [How to Stop Inspiring Your Team to Underperformance](https://eblingroup.com/blog/stop-inspiring-underperformance/) - Are there things you’re doing as a leader that are unintentionally inspiring your team to underperformance? Here are three common traps I see and my advice on how you can avoid them. - [Don’t Assume the Worst](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-assume-the-worst/) - When I asked communications expert, Dr. Nick Morgan, for his one best piece of advice for anyone who wants to be a more effective virtual communicator, his answer was quick, simple and powerful, “Don’t assume the worst.” Here’s the back story on why Nick offered that advice and how you can apply it for positive outcomes. - [Leading After the Shutdown](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-after-the-shutdown/) - How can leaders support their teams after a government shutdown or other traumatic events? Here are some simple and practical ideas inspired by a friend and colleague who is, herself, an amazing Federal government leader. - [Are You Working With People or Through People?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/working-with-people-or-through-people/) - As a leader, are you working with people and through people? And what’s the difference between the two? Only one leads to the influence you need to accomplish meaningful things as a leader. - [Are You Triaging or Prioritizing Your Work?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-triaging-or-prioritizing-your-work/) - Most leaders and their teams have more to accomplish than time available to do it all. So, they spend a ton of effort prioritizing their work. What a lot of them are doing is not prioritizing but triaging. Here’s the difference. - [What Habits Are You Building This Year? Here Are Mine (and What I’m Learning from Them)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-habits-are-you-building-this-year-here-are-mine-and-what-im-learning-from-them/) - What habits do you plan to build this year? Here are some of the ones I'm working on and the success strategies that are helping me follow through on them. - [How to Be A Better Virtual Communicator](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-be-a-better-virtual-communicator/) - Surely you’ve noticed that most conference calls, video conferences, e-mail threads and virtually any other form of virtual communications pretty much stink. Why is that and what can we do about it? Dr. Nick Morgan, author of Can You Hear Me? has the answers. - [Why You Should Pay Attention to Trump's Leadership Style](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-you-should-pay-attention-to-trumps-leadership-style/) - What can you learn about your own leadership by paying attention to the way President Trump leads? An audience I was speaking to lately gave me some big ah-ha's which I share in this post. - [Three Reasons Leaders Should Ask for Help](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reasons-leaders-should-ask-for-help/) - Buying into the hero myth can cause leaders to crash and burn. Here are three reasons why, if you’re a leader, you should lose the myth and ask for help. - [Five Questions to Ask When You Take on the Top Job](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-questions-to-ask-about-the-top-job/) - There is always a multiplier effect when you take on a bigger role. It’s even more exponential when you take on the top job. Here are five questions to ask yourself when you’re new to the top job or on the way there. - [How Strong is Your Leadership Pyramid?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-strong-is-your-leadership-pyramid/) - In writing the 3rd edition of The Next Level, I’ve identified three leadership imperatives – manage yourself, leverage your team, engage your colleagues – that are like layers of a pyramid in which one layer is the prerequisite to the next. How strong is your leadership pyramid? - [Leaders, Don’t Be the Cheese in the Panini](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-dont-be-the-cheese-in-the-panini/) - Are you under so much pressure as a leader that you feel like the cheese in a panini? Try some of these field-tested ways to make sure you can deliver nutritional value over the long run without being under so much heat and pressure that you get squeezed out of the sandwich. - [How a Simple Mantra Can Improve Your Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-simple-mantra-can-improve-leadership/) - What if you had a simple mantra that, when repeated, dramatically changed the quality of your leadership? It’s actually easy to do and makes a big difference. Here are a couple of examples of how executives are using mantras to improve their leadership and how you can do the same. - [Info for Insiders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/info-for-insiders/) - If you enjoy reading my blog, you’ll likely appreciate my monthly newsletter At Your Best. This year, I’m writing a series on how to build skills in the leadership competencies that most organizations flag as vital. - [How to Diversify Your Happiness](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-diversify-your-happiness/) - You may know how to diversify your investments, but have you thought about how to diversify your happiness? A successful executive leader recently taught me how she has. In this post, I’m sharing her simple process for how you can diversify your happiness. - [What I've Learned from the Young Leaders of Stoneman Douglas High School](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-of-stoneman-douglas-high-school/) - This past weekend a million or more people around the world turned out for the March for Our Lives in support of the students of Parkland, Florida’s NeverAgain movement. There are some clear leadership lessons that anyone who is willing to look can take away from the young leaders of Stoneman Douglas High School. Here are five of mine. - [How to Stop Selling Your Ideas and Start Enrolling People in Them](https://eblingroup.com/blog/stop-selling-start-enrolling/) - Even though hardly anyone likes a sales pitch, there's a lot of idea selling going on in most organizations. What would it look like if, instead of selling your ideas to people, you enrolled them in your ideas? Here are five ways to stop selling and start enrolling. - [How Do You Score on the Business Stress-O-Meter?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-score-on-stress-o-meter/) - If there were a business-life stress meter you could plug into, how would you score? Based on some classic research on stress and its effects, I'm offering a quick business-life stress test in this post. What's your score and what can you do about it? Read on for answers. - [Do You "Have To" or Do You "Get To"?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/have-to-or-get-to/) - What do you notice about your thought process when you're about to start something that's difficult or intimidating? Here's a hint - your self-talk is highly predictive of the result you're going to get. There's a simple mental shift you can make that almost guarantees a better result. - [Leaders Focus on the Trends, Not the Data Points](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-focus-on-the-trends-not-the-data-points/) - This might be the time of year when you have to give annual reviews. (Sorry about that!) If you're in that position, make sure you focus on the trends and not the data points. - [What You Can Learn About Self-Observation and Self-Improvement from Kevin Durant](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-you-can-learn-about-self-observation-and-self-improvement-from-kevin-durant/) - What would you learn about yourself if you were constantly videotaped at work? Golden State Warriors star Kevin Durant had the chance to find out and made the most of it. Here's what all of us can learn about self-observation and self-improvement from Kevin Durant. - [6 Leadership Communication Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/six-leadership-communication-lessons-from-martin-luther-king-jr/) - On this Martin Luther King Day, I’m going into The Next Level Blog archives for this post on what we can learn from the speaking virtuosity of this great leader. Several years ago I was given the gift of the recordings of the sermons and speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. The sermon set is called “A Knock at Midnight,” and the speeches set is titled “A Call to Conscience.” There are companion books of the same title for each set. Over the course of a couple of weeks, I listened to every sermon and speech in the recordings. I learned a lot about King from that experience and came to some conclusions about what made him an effective speaker. As we take today to recognize King’s life and its impact on the world, I thought I’d share six qualities in his speaking that I think all leaders should emulate. If you’re pressed for time as you read this, you can skip ahead to the list. If you have a few minutes more, watch the You Tube clip of King’s “I Have a Dream Speech”. Most of the six qualities that I identified in listening to his recordings are illustrated in this clip. - [Five Quick Posts on How to Be Successful in 2018](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-be-successful-in-2018/) - Here’s hoping that 2018 is everything you want it to be. To give you some fuel for the journey, here are five quick posts about how to set yourself up for success this year. - [Five Quick Posts to Get You Ready for Next Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-posts-ready-for-next-year/) - To help you get ready for 2018, here are five of my favorite posts from 2017 that offer simple, practical and immediately actionable ideas on leading and living at your best. - [Finding Your Extraordinary Story](https://eblingroup.com/blog/finding-your-extraordinary-story/) - It’s been written that, “We are the stories we tell ourselves.” If that’s the case, then we need to do all we can as leaders and people to make sure those stories are positive, powerful and extraordinary. The guest of my latest author conversation, Maria van Hekken, has dedicated her life to helping others clarify the extraordinary story of their lives. Join us for insights you can use. - [How to Find Your Entrepreneurial You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/find-your-entrepreneurial-you/) - Whether you run your own business, are thinking about starting your own business, want to jump-start your side-hustle or are perfectly happy in your job, there’s something here for you. Join me for a fun, informative and possibly life changing conversation with Dorie Clark, the author of Entrepreneurial You. - [How to Be a Master of Civility](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-be-a-master-of-civility/) - Does anyone else feel like we could all benefit from more civility in public discourse and behavior? If you do, you can do something about it. Set yourself the goal of being a master of civility. And, if you're interested in doing that, start by listening to the highlights of a recent conversation I had with Christine Porath. - [Why You Need to Be Bored (and How to Be That Way)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-need-to-be-bored/) - When was the last time you were bored? I’m willing to bet that you can’t remember. If I’m right, it’s because, in 2017, no one ever has to be bored. How great is that, right? Actually, it’s not so great. We – you, me, all of us – need to be bored once in a while. Here’s how to do it. - [Three Basic Truths About People That Busy Leaders Should Not Ignore](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-basic-truths-about-people-that-busy-leaders-should-not-ignore/) - It can be really exciting when you’re running at a hundred miles per hour to get big things done. The challenge is that, in that kind of situation, it’s easy to lose sight of some basic truths about people that you just intuitively get when you’re not so absorbed by everything else you have to do. Here, then, are three basic truths about people that busy leaders should not ignore: - [How to Create Space to Think](https://eblingroup.com/blog/create-space-to-think/) - A lot of thinking is really just reacting. That’s not all bad. A lot of stuff gets done that way. But who’s stuff is getting done – yours or someone else’s? To get your own most important stuff done, you have to create space to think. How, when and where do you do it? - [How to Determine If the Balls You’re Juggling Are Rubber or Glass](https://eblingroup.com/blog/juggling-rubber-or-glass/) - If you’re feeling stressed by all the balls you’re juggling, it can help to recognize that some are rubber and some are glass. Good to know, but how can you tell the difference? Here are five questions that can help you get a handle on which are which. - [Why Leaders Should Focus on Outcomes Instead of Solutions](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-focus-on-outcomes/) - Too often, executives and managers confuse their commitment to a particular solution with the outcome. Of course, it’s not. A solution is a means to an outcome, not the outcome itself. What happens when leaders shift their focus from solutions to outcomes? - [Three Life Lessons from Vin and Arnie](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-life-lessons-from-vin-and-arnie/) - Two legends said goodbye yesterday. At age 88, Vin Scully, after 67 seasons in the booth, called his last home game for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Like the closing scene of a movie, the boys in blue clinched the NL West in the bottom of the 10th with a walk off homerun. After celebrating at - [Why Micromanagement Is Really a Trust Issue (and What to Do About It)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/micromanagement-is-a-trust-issue/) - I often hear from relatively senior managers that their even more senior managers constantly expect them to have detailed answers for any question that might pop into mind. How do you break this cycle of micromanagement? Start by recognizing that it’s really a trust issue. - [What Great Leadership Looks Like](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-great-leadership-looks-like/) - In 2017, it can be difficult to find examples of great leadership. Today, I want to offer two of them. The first is about Americans pulling together to rescue each other and the second is a leader taking time to stop and inspire the people around him to continue to focus on their mission. - [There’s One in Every Group (and How to Make Sure It’s You)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/theres-one-in-every-group/) - One of the many fun things about my work is the patterns I get to observe from working with lots of leaders in lots of different organizations. The best part of that is when I see helpful things in the patterns that I can share with my readers. That’s what I want to do in this post – share a pattern I’ve observed that can help you lead and live at your best. - [Something Uplifting to Start Your Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/something-uplifting-to-start-your-week/) - In case you missed it, I'm sharing a wedding announcement from the New York Times. The newlyweds are 98-year-old Gert and 94-year-old Alvin. They met at the gym. That's just one of the many things that makes this story so uplifting. If you're looking for inspiration and a couple of role models, look no further. Gert and Alvin are all you need this week. - [Loyalty and the Rest of the Values on the List](https://eblingroup.com/blog/loyalty-and-the-rest-of-the-values-on-the-list/) - Leadership isn't about the office or the title; it's about the way you live your life. - [A Good Scout](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-good-scout/) - If we're lucky or blessed in life, we have leaders and mentors who both inspire and love us. The good looking guy in the Scoutmaster's uniform standing to the right was one of those people for me. He was my grandfather, Leonard Eblin, who passed away last night at age 93. For many years, my - [Three Things Executives Around the World Tell Me Always Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-executives-around-the-world-tell-me-always-work/) - Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to speak over the course of several programs in the U.K. with a couple of hundred executives from around the world. During those sessions I was struck by the commonalities of what helps high capacity people lead and live at their best. In fact, when I have the - [Three Ways to Increase Your Influence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-increase-your-influence-2/) - Effective leadership is all about getting stuff done through and with other people. Even for the most powerful leaders (think of the President of the United States for instance) getting stuff done is more often about influence than it is authority. In a recent conversation with a fellow executive coach and author, Joel Garfinkle, we brainstormed what influence is all about and simple, actionable ways that you can increase yours. As the author of Getting Ahead: Three Ways to Take Your Career to the Next Level, Joel has done a ton of research, coaching and speaking on the topic so he was a great guy to talk with about influence. - [Recovering from a Bobby Jindal Moment](https://eblingroup.com/blog/recovering-from-a-bobby-jindal-moment/) - OK, so you know your big speech didn’t go so well when, the next day, you’re being compared in a side by side screen shot with Kenneth the NBC page from 30 Rock. That’s the situation for Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal who gave the televised GOP response to President Obama’s non-State of the Union address - [At Every Altitude, Attitude Makes the Difference](https://eblingroup.com/blog/at-every-altitude-attitude-makes-the-difference/) - And now for something completely different. The story of my amazingly positive experience on United Airlines. - [What's Your Leadership Gap?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-your-leadership-gap/) - Join me as I interview Lolly Daskal, Founder and CEO of Lead From Within, as we discuss The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness. - [Four Things United Got Wrong This Week and One It Got Right](https://eblingroup.com/blog/four-things-united-got-wrong-this-week-and-one-it-got-right/) - What did United's Oscar Munoz do right during this week's PR disaster? I have some thoughts. - [This Blog Post Will Self-Destruct in 8 Seconds](https://eblingroup.com/blog/this-blog-post-will-self-destruct-in-8-seconds/) - The average attention span has fallen to eight seconds. This is a major issue in our culture and our workplace. Have you experienced dopamine derailment? - [What If We All Hugged It Out?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-hug-it-out/) - Because I fly a lot for my work, I get upgraded to first class a good bit. Sometimes, it’s just a happy surprise and other times, I’ll use frequent flyer miles to secure a seat up front at the end of a long week of travel. Last week was one of those long week of travel scenarios. I had a connection at Washington Dulles to catch a late afternoon flight to Los Angeles. My connecting flight to Dulles was late taking off and then got put in a holding pattern over the airport for 45 minutes. By the time we landed and I got my bags, it was five minutes after the door to the LA flight was supposed to close. I decided to make a run for it anyway because I really wanted to get home. After running a half mile through concourse D with my back pack strapped on and my roll aboard trailing behind me. I made it to the gate and was thrilled to see that the door was still open. I wasn’t so thrilled when the gate agent told me that she had just given my first class seat away. I was too out of breath to argue about it and took the seat she gave me. As I got on the plane, a flight attendant named Catherine greeted me. I mentioned that I had just lost my seat up front and was hoping to get dinner on the plane since I was really hungry. She said that there were snack boxes in coach that I could buy. It was at that point that I said I was pretty upset that the gate agent had given my seat away. And in that moment, Catherine began what was one of the more amazing sequences of human kindness that I have ever encountered. She looked at me and asked, “Do you want to hug it out?” - [A World Class Example of Dopamine Derailment](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-world-class-example-of-dopamine-derailment/) - It's hard to resist the Pavlovian need to check your device or post to social media. But what happens when that desire leads to a major error that could cost you your job? In this blog post, I look at PricewaterhouseCoopers' Oscar snafu and how to avoid what I like to call 'Dopamine Derailment.' - [Three Leadership Lessons from La La Land's Jordan Horowitz](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-leadership-lessons-from-la-la-lands-jordan-horowitz/) - Leadership lessons from La La Land's Oscar loss. - [The Ten Behaviors of Strong Personal Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-ten-behaviors-of-strong-personal-leadership/) - Since writing the first edition of The Next Level in 2006, I’ve coached, spoken with, and observed thousands of leaders in action. Many of them have been good leaders. Some have been great leaders. The great ones have one big thing in common. They don’t just lead at their best; they live at their best. - [What's on Your De-Stress Checklist?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-your-de-stress-list/) - In a meeting with a group of CEO's last week, we were talking about how to show up at your best under conditions of high stress. One of the group shared a checklist of that a well eds expert had given him. It was a list of activities you could do either indoors or outdoors that would lower your stress. Each activity has a point value assigned to it. The goal is to get in 100 point points worth of de-stressing activities a week. Here are some examples of what was on the list and the point values assigned to them... - [How to Make Something Productive Out of Your Anxiety](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-make-something-productive-out-of-your-anxiety/) - As an executive coach, I often work with clients who don’t just have very full plates; it can feel to them like they’re spinning four or five full plates at once. (That sounds really messy.) When you’ve got so much to do that it’s hard just to keep track of what’s on the list, it’s - [The Case for Radical Kindness](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-case-for-radical-kindness/) - As I write this, it's 6:30 AM on November 9, 2016, and, I think it's fair to say, hundreds of millions of people around the world are asking themselves, "What next?" Millions are asking that question with excited anticipation and millions more with overwhelming anxiety. Whether you're on one end of the spectrum or the - [What Could a Life GPS® Do for You in 2017?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-could-a-life-gps-do-for-you-in-2017/) - In working with and speaking to tens of thousands of leaders over the past 16 years, I’ve become convinced that if you want to lead at your best, you have to live at your best. The first goal is completely dependent on the second. That’s why I’ve become so passionate in encouraging my clients and - [New Year, New You? Three steps to actually change yourself this year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/new-year-new-you-three-steps-to-actually-change-yourself-this-year/) - OK, it’s January 2, 2017. Have you transformed yourself yet? No? C’mon man! What are we even doing out here, man? Time’s a wasting! Get busy! Sorry about that. I got caught up in all of the annual and predictable “New Year, New You!” hype we’re reading everywhere this week. Yes, this is the time - [Leaders Can Change the Weather](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-can-change-the-weather/) - Lately, I’ve been in a lot of conversations with leaders about what’s different about moving into more senior and visible executive roles. One guy in a group last week summed it up by saying, “I change the weather.” When I asked him to explain, he said he’s been noticing that his team and extended organization - [Look for the Space Between the Waves](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-space-between-the-waves/) - One of the great things about having old friends is that they can remind you of things that you said once but have since forgotten. That happened to me last week when I spent time with my dear friend, Rae Ringel, at a training program for faculty members of the Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program. In an early conversation last week, Rae told me that she still remembered what I had shared with her about “bardo” when she was a student in the program 9 or 10 years ago. The blank look on my face said it all. I had totally forgotten about bardo. - [How to Optimize Your Operating Rhythm](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-optimize-operating-rhythm/) - From the department of real life experience, here's a quick post on how to optimize your operating rhythm. As I work on a new book while maintaining a pretty full plate of work with clients, I've found that tuning into my operating rhythm is vital to getting anything done. What, you might ask, is an operating rhythm? I'm sure there are lots of definitions out there. Mine is paying attention to what kind of work matches up best with what times of the day and week. - [Three Things Mindful Leaders Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-things-mindful-leaders-do/) - How are you feeling as the week begins? Is it a peaceful, easy feeling or something a bit more frantic than that? If there is one common denominator I see in the leaders I work with across a range of industries it’s that most of them would check in on the more frantic and overwhelmed end of the spectrum than the peaceful and easy end of the scale. The irony is that a bit more of the peaceful and easy approach can help lessen the frantic and overwhelmed feeling that a full calendar, inbox and to-do list can produce. The answer lies in taking a more mindful approach to leadership. - [Chill Out. Your Life Depends on It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-chill-out-your-life-depends-on-it/) - Along with my normal routine of coaching, speaking and writing, my big project this summer has been taking a 200 hour course to become a certified yoga instructor. While I don’t plan to chuck everything else and start teaching yoga full time, it’s been a really great experience – enlightening, challenging and humbling all at the same time. And, I’m happy to report, it wraps up next week. It’s been fun, but it will be nice to have my weekends back. I spent a good part of this past weekend working on the take home version of the final exam. (The in-class exam is next week – wish me luck!). One of the questions on the take home was right in the wheel house of what I’ve been writing about in the Mindful Mondays feature so I thought I’d share it with you. It’s about how chilling out can save your life. Here’s the story. - [The Business Travel Diva’s Rules for Family Vacations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-business-travel-divas-rules-for-family-vacations/) - It’s that favorite time of year. Summer, when the road warrior, business travel divas deign to disrupt their routine to fly with their families on vacation. You can spot them easily. They’ll be the people who are walking about a quarter mile ahead instinctively passing on the left and otherwise artfully sidestepping the aimless people - [What Leaders Can Learn from Lab Rats: Five Tips for Beating Stress](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-from-lab-rats-five-tips-for-beating-stress/) - Have you ever noticed that the more stressed you get, the more likely you are to keep doing things that aren’t that productive (e.g. waste another 10 minutes surfing the web or eat that second piece of cake)? Well, I don’t know if this will make you feel any better, but it turns out that - [Three Leadership Rules for the Shark Cage](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-leadership-rules-for-the-shark-cage/) - If you haven’t already seen it, watch this video of a great white shark attacking a dive cage. It runs about a minute and a half and is straight out of Jaws. OK, now that you’ve watched it, we need to draw some leadership lessons from what happened there. (Great thanks and props to my - [Three Talking Points Best Practices](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-talking-points-best-practices/) - Before we go any further, this is not a post about the 2016 presidential election. I have nothing to add to the millions of words that have been written about the topic already other than, like lots of people, I wish it was over. So, this post isn't about political talking points, it's about leadership - [Seven Ways to Play a Bigger Game This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/play-a-bigger-game/) - In fifteen years of coaching high potential and senior leaders, I’ve conducted thousands of hours of colleague feedback interviews. One of the themes that I hear a lot from senior executives talking about high potential leaders is that the client needs to play a bigger game. What the executives mean by that is that the high potential needs to start making an impact beyond their immediate function and start acting as a leader of the entire organization and not just their function. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve asked around three dozen high potential leaders to answer the question, “What’s the one thing you need to do to play a bigger game this year?” I’ve boiled their answers down to seven ways to play a bigger game. If you’re ready to play a bigger game, you’ll want to take a look. - [Make Time For Now](https://eblingroup.com/blog/make-time-for-now/) - Last Friday afternoon I decided to retreat into my shell. Earlier in the day, I had a really disappointing business call in which I felt a lot of work that I had poured my heart and soul into was unappreciated. As I usually do when I'm in town, I headed to yoga class at the - [How to Prepare for Your Meetings Like Olympians Prepare to Compete](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-prepare-for-your-meetings-like-olympians-prepare-to-compete/) - Last night, Diane and I were watching the U.S. women's gymnastics team compete in the opening round of competition in the Rio Olympics. The floor exercises were the most astounding thing I saw. Tiny young women like Simone Biles, Laura Hernandez, and Aly Raisman stand at one corner of a springy floor, gather themselves, seemingly - [How to Break the Trust Barrier](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-break-the-trust-barrier/) - There's trust and then there's trust. Sure, you and your team need to trust each other to achieve results over the long run, but you're likely not working together at supersonic (and I mean that literally) speed to achieve peak performance. JV Venable has led teams that perform at supersonic levels and joins me in - [Resting and Digesting in a Beautiful Place or Wherever You Are](https://eblingroup.com/blog/resting-and-digesting-in-a-beautiful-place-or-wherever-you-are/) - A fight or flight response chronically stuck in the on-position can lead to poor performance, bad decision making, and serious health issues that can shorten your life expectancy. The good news is that, in addition to a sympathetic nervous system, we're all equipped with a parasympathetic nervous system. The nickname for that is the rest and digest response. - [The Secrets of a 30-Year Partnership Revealed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-the-secrets-of-a-30-year-partnership-revealed/) - So, it was back in March of 1985 when I was dared to ask Diane Dougherty out on a date. She worked in an office across the hall from mine in a Washington, DC trade association. It was my first real job out of college and she was an intern in town for a semester. - [Mindful Mondays: How to Silence Your Itty Bitty Committee](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-how-to-silence-your-itty-bitty-committee/) - A while back, I was coaching an executive who found herself getting emotionally hijacked. Like a lot of executives in large organizations, her job required her to work cross-functionally with lots of different people. That kind of work environment leads to lots of conversations, meetings, e-mail threads, presentations and the like. With all of that information flying around the matrix, there are lots of opportunities to get hijacked if you're not watching out for it. - [Mindful Mondays: Five Reasons You Should Rip the Band-Aid Off Fast](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-five-reasons-you-should-rip-the-band-aid-off-fast/) - Unless you have a bit of a sociopathic tendency (and none of my readers do!), you probably don’t enjoy delivering bad news. It could be announcing that the quarterly numbers aren’t on target, letting someone know that they underperformed, admitting that you made a mistake or telling someone that they no longer have a job - [A 90-Year-Old's Ten Rules for a Healthy and Happy Life](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-90-year-olds-ten-rules-for-a-healthy-and-happy-life/) - One of the more revealing regular features in The New York Times is a little story they run each week called Sunday Routine. In it, someone, usually famous or notable in some way, walks the reader through what a typical Sunday in New York City is like for them. Quite often they have packed so many activities into their Sunday that I leave with the impression that what they've actually described is their fantasy of a perfect 48 hour Sunday in New York rather than what they really do. - [3 Leadership Lessons Illustrated by Tom Hanks Heroes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-leadership-lessons-illustrated-by-tom-hanks-heroes/) - With all of the different roles he’s played in the movies, Tom Hanks is as well qualified as anyone to speculate on what makes a hero a hero. From Army Ranger captain John Miller in Saving Private Ryan to astronaut Jim Lovell in Apollo 13 to the cargo ship commander Captain Phillips and, coming later this year, “Miracle on the Hudson” pilot Sully Sullenberger, Hanks has lots of experience going deep on what makes a hero. - [Mindfulness at Work Doesn't End When You Leave Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindfulness-doesnt-end-when-you-leave-work/) - This week I wrote a piece over at Fast Company about a "minor work habit" that is leading to burnout for countless workers, from junior team members to executives. What's the habit? E-mail. Or rather, answering work e-mail after 7 or 8 PM. What I prove in the article is that there's an extremely high chance that all those e-mails you feel obligated to answer from your boss are completely unnecessary -- and I have numbers to prove it. - [Putting Your Pieces Together](https://eblingroup.com/blog/putting-your-pieces-together/) - Earlier this month, when I was speaking on mindful leadership to the Latino Leadership Summit of one of my client companies, I shared the graphic that accompanies this post. It shows what happens when the body is in the chronic state of fight or flight that comes from being constantly overworked and overwhelmed. Chronic fight or flight impacts your leadership effectiveness for sure, but, more importantly, it shortens your life and reduces the quality of it while you’re still here. - [Love, Laughter and the Meaning of Life](https://eblingroup.com/blog/love-laughter-and-the-meaning-of-life/) - In the midst of another crazy, busy week it can be easy to overlook how much value there is in getting together with old friends to share some love, laughter and maybe even discuss the meaning of life. I share thoughts on all of that and how you can follow through in your own life in this week’s Mindful Monday. - [Live Your Day Really Well](https://eblingroup.com/blog/live-your-day-really-well/) - If you’re of a certain age, you likely recognize the name, Dr. Art Ulene. For 23 years, he regularly appeared as the medical expert on NBC’s Today Show. While he’s long since retired from that gig, the show still runs his 30 Day Weight Loss program every year. Today he’s almost 80 years old and is a role model for the healthy lifestyle that he’s been promoting for years. I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Art for a new podcast I’m launching later this year called, At Your Best. He was a terrific guest because he had so much wisdom to share. - [Three Things They Always Tell Me](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-they-always-tell-me/) - Last week, I had the nice surprise of hearing from a participant in a Mindful Leadership workshop I did a couple of years ago. He told me he’s still applying a number of takeaways from the workshop. I asked him for examples and he gave me three of them. They turned out to be three things that I almost always hear about from people when I connect them with months or years after working with them. I guess that means they work for people. I summarize them for you in this week’s Mindful Monday post. - [The Coaching Habit](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-coaching-habit/) - With The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever, Michael Bungay Stainer has written a really useful book for anyone charged with leading and facilitating the work of others. Michael is a star in the coaching field and has distilled all he's learned over the years into seven simple and sequential questions that practically guarantee really useful coaching conversations. And, he's done that in a format that is as fun to read as it is useful. I recently had a lively conversation with Michael and recorded it so you can listen in. - [Take Some Time to Connect](https://eblingroup.com/blog/take-some-time-to-connect/) - Last week, I had two reminders of how important it is to take some time to connect with other people and how we leave so much value on the table when we don’t. The first reminder was when I had a group of corporate leaders in a Developing Leadership Presence program we started last week take part in a transformational listening conversation on what they’re grateful for. As they sat in trios for 15 minutes, I heard laughter and saw tears of joy and gratitude. This was among a group of people who didn’t know each other at all five hours earlier. When, during a debrief, I asked them to describe what had just happened, one woman shared that she was struck by how quickly she went deep in conversation with someone she really didn’t know. In reflecting on the conversation, she said it made her realize how much she is missing in her daily interactions with other people she works with. - [Separating Fat from Fiction](https://eblingroup.com/blog/separating-fat-from-fiction/) - Last month, I wrote a post about how reducing the amount of sugar in your diet can dramatically improve the quality of your life. Today, I want to share a follow-up post about what you should eat instead of sugar. You may be surprised to learn that the answer is fat. As Dr. Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine, explains in his new book, Eat Fat, Get Thin, eating the right kinds of fats can have a big positive impact on your health and well-being. Because the right kinds of fat also have positive impacts on your cognitive capacity, they can also improve your professional performance. I didn’t have the opportunity to interview Dr. Hyman personally about his latest work but he’s provided some interesting information that I want to share with you. - [The Character of Listening](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-character-of-listening/) - What’s really going on when we listen to someone else completely and without any agenda other than to connect? At a conference this past weekend, I was introduced to a simple but powerful way to think about that by a new friend, Christopher Kai. In a brief talk to the conference participants, Chris explained that the Chinese character for listening (which accompanies this post) offers an integrative approach to transformational listening. - [What It Takes to Be a Superboss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-it-takes-to-be-a-superboss/) - When you think back on the best bosses you’ve ever had what stands out about those people? What do they all have in common? What makes a good boss great and a great boss a super boss? What does it take to be a super boss? Those are the kinds of questions that have intrigued Sydney Finkelstein, Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dart­mouth, for much of his professional career. They’ve intrigued him so much, in fact, that he spent ten years researching and conducting 200 interviews on the questions. (Audio) - [Closing a Chapter Gracefully](https://eblingroup.com/blog/closing-a-chapter-gracefully/) - It wasn’t a great game, but it was a win. For Peyton Manning, it was, in all probability, his last as an NFL quarterback. After 18 years of the sacks, injuries and surgeries that come with a career in the League, the soon to be 40 year old Manning managed the Broncos offense well enough to enable its defense to win the 50th Super Bowl. There are Peyton Manning fans and Peyton Manning haters. Personally, I don’t have strong feelings about him either way but I found a lot to admire in Manning in how he conducted himself in preparing and playing for the Super Bowl and what he said after it was over. There was a lot there that I think anyone could learn about how to handle yourself as life catches up with your talents and skills. - [David Bowie's Innovation Lessons for Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/david-bowies-innovation-lessons-for-leaders/) - Like many, I was moved earlier this month by the news of David Bowie's death and what he accomplished in his life. Last week, I shared some of my thoughts on Bowie's innovative career and life on the Huffington Post. Thought you'd like to read them here in case you missed them there. While few of us possess the raw talent of a David Bowie, there are lessons about the practice and application of innovation that all leaders can learn from him. I find them inspiring for my own business and I hope they are for you as well. - [Your Weekly Perspective Check](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-weekly-perspective-check/) - Like a lot of new senior leaders, my client was all in on doing a great job. That was appreciated by all but some of his colleagues shared a concern that he not go so all in that his health and other priorities in his life suffered. They cared about this guy personally and believed he would be more effective professionally if he kept his perspective. A glimpse of the shock trauma room was the catalyst for how one of his colleagues keeps his own perspective. - [Two Simple Ways to Be More Mindful This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/two-simple-ways-to-be-more-mindful-this-year/) - I’m always looking for great examples of simple things that any of us can do to be more mindful – aware and intentional – about how we approach work and the rest of life. Last week, I heard two great ones from my friend and colleague, Jeff Smith of Voltage Leadership Consulting. Jeff is a former financial services executive, runs a very successful business and is a member of our Conduit program for coaches and our Life GPS® certification program. With his permission, I’m sharing with you what he’s been doing that’s working. - [How to Perform at Your Best in 2016](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-perform-at-your-best-in-2016/) - Most of us have hopes and dreams for how the year will go and what we’ll accomplish. Many of us have a long list of goals. The lists can be so long they can be overwhelming. What difference would it make if you could boil all of that down to one simple and memorable goal? What if your primary goal this year was to perform at your best more often than not? What difference would that make? What would that even look like? - [Preventing the Downstream Effects](https://eblingroup.com/blog/preventing-the-downstream-effects/) - During a long walk on Saturday, I was listening to Krista Tippet’s podcast, On Being. In this episode, she was moderating a panel discussion on The Evolution of Medicine with Mark Hyman, James Gordon and Penny George. If you are interested in or concerned about the health and well-being of yourself and those you care about, I strongly recommend listening to the conversation. It’s eye-opening, paradigm-shifting and will likely inspire you to take action in some positive way. - [Thrown Into the Deep End](https://eblingroup.com/blog/thrown-into-the-deep-end/) - This is the time of year when it’s natural to look back on the year that’s ending and look ahead to the year that’s coming up. You may find yourself focused on tallying up wins, losses and what’s too soon to call. If you’re charged with leading a team, you may be thinking through what you need to do coach your team to the next level of performance in the year to come. - [Giving Thanks for Living Treasures](https://eblingroup.com/blog/giving-thanks-for-living-treasures/) - This is the week in the United States when we set aside a day for thanksgiving, it seems like a great opportunity to not only give but express thanks for the people who are living treasures in our lives. If you’re intrigued by the idea of naming living national treasures, learn more. - [Remembering What’s at Stake](https://eblingroup.com/blog/remembering-whats-at-stake/) - Like a lot of people reading this post, I’ve spent a good part of the past weekend trying to process what happened in Paris last Friday night (and Beirut a few days before and the apparent bombing of a Russian airliner over the Sinai a few weeks before that). I know that’s not the kind of opening you’ve come to expect in these Mindful Mondays posts, but that’s what’s on my mind as I write this and it doesn’t feel honest to write about something else today. - [Now is the Time For…](https://eblingroup.com/blog/now-is-the-time-for/) - When you go through a 200 hour yoga teacher training class as I did a couple of years ago, one of the elements you’re introduced to is the Yoga Sutras of Pantanjali. The Sutras are an ancient text made up of 196 aphorisms that tie the different aspects of yoga together. (One of the translations for the Sanskrit word, sutra, is thread.) The first yoga sutra is Atha Yoganuśhāsanam. There are a lot of different translations of those words from Sanskrit. The one that stuck with me the most from teacher training is “Now is the time for the study of yoga.” What I like about that translation is the direct way it calls out the purpose of what you’re there to do. - [Three Ways for Non-Beginners to Keep a Beginner’s Mind](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-for-non-beginners-to-keep-a-beginners-mind/) - Lately, I’ve been thinking about what it means to have a beginner’s mind and why, especially if you’re a non-beginner, it’s so important to have one. The thought process started for me a few weeks ago when I was in a yoga class. If you’ve read my blog for awhile you know that I’m a committed yogi... - [What You Can’t Learn From Failure](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-you-cant-learn-from-failure/) - Is there a mindful approach to failure? You may reject the question on its face. After all, if you were mindful in the first place, wouldn’t you succeed rather than fail? You might if you had perfect knowledge or controlled all the variables, but, of course, none of us do. - [What Makes it So Hard to Let Go and Move On?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-let-go-move-on/) - What is that you’re holding on to that keeps you from moving on to something new? What makes it so hard to let go and gracefully transition into the next chapter of your leadership journey or, for that matter, your life? That’s what I talked about last week in a conversation with Pamela Dennis. (Audio) - [Pope Francis’ Nine Rules for Happy Living](https://eblingroup.com/blog/pope-francis-nine-rules/) - In case you haven’t been paying attention, it turns out that Pope Francis is one of the most popular people in the world. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that he has a 90% favorability rating among U.S. Catholics and a 70% favorability rating among all Americans. Another Pew study at the end of last year found that he has a median favorable rating of 60% across 43 nations and only an 11% unfavorable rating. - [Doing the Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-work/) - So, it’s not every day when you can say that one of your lifelong best friends just won a Tony award. Today is actually the second time I’ve gotten to do that. The fact that today is actually National Best Friends Day makes it even more fun. Last night, one of my best friends since third grade, Michael Cerveris, won his second Tony award. His latest is best lead actor in a musical for playing the role of Bruce Bechdel in the ground-breaking show, Fun Home. The show was nominated for 12 Tonys and, in addition to Michael’s award, won for best musical, best director and best score and book. - [Choosing How You Want to Show Up This Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-choosing-how-to-show-up/) - As I wrote here earlier this year, a word that's working for me this year is the Sanskrit word sankalpa. As explained to me by one of my teachers, Sara Ivanhoe, sankalpa encourages us to focus less on what we're going to do and more on how we're going to be. Of course, those two ideas are not mutually exclusive. How we show up in any given situation has an enormous impact on what we actually accomplish. - [Five Ways Leaders Can Make It Easier to Let Go](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-leaders-can-make-it-easier-to-let-go/) - Earlier this month, I wrote a post titled What Makes It So Hard to Let Go? In this recent post I wrote for Fast Company, I outline five proven ways that leaders can make it easier to let go. In my 15 years of executive coaching and running leadership development programs, I’ve worked with thousands of leaders charged with getting different results. A number of scenarios can drive the demand for new results. How many of these apply to you? - [What I Learned About My Emotions from Pixar’s Inside Out](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-i-learned-about-emotions-from-inside-out/) - Last Friday night was movie night for our family and I got to pick. The fact that I chose the new Disney/Pixar movie, Inside Out, instead of Jurassic World probably tells you all you need to know about me. In case you’re not familiar with the premise, Inside Out is an animated tour through the mind of an 11 year old girl who’s struggling with her family’s move from Minnesota to San Francisco. Five core emotions, Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger and Disgust, are struggling, competing and ultimately working together to get her through a tough time in her life. - [What Makes It So Hard to Let Go?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-makes-it-hard-to-let-go/) - Earlier today I was presenting a Leading Next Level Teams workshop to about 70 senior leaders in a global financial services company. It was a fun session made even more so by the use of a cool interactive technology called SpotMe where everyone could use special iPads to answer a few questions I was interested in. One of the early questions was "Which is harder, picking up new skills and behaviors or letting go of old skills and behaviors that used to work for you but likely no longer do?" - [Old Memories and Fresh Perspective](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-fresh-perspective/) - This past weekend I attended the Capital Coaches Conference to give a couple of presentations on “Coaching Your Clients to Mindfulness” and to share with a few hundred fellow coaches how our Life GPS® personal planning model makes it easier for busier people to be more aware and intentional. Along with many other factors, one - [The Surprising Benefit of Comparing Yourself to Others](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-surprising-benefit-comparing-others/) - Every so often you hear a story that’s the exception that proves the rule. In this case, the rule is don’t compare yourself to others; just do your best and play your own game. The exception is the story that David Duval shared this past weekend at the British Open. Even if you follow golf, - [What’s the ROI on Your Leadership Capital?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/roi-leadership-capital/) - The science of economics is often described as being about the division and allocation of scarce resources. Any leader has been through a corporate budgeting or capital allocation process has experienced this first hand. A lot of time and attention gets spent on the division and allocation of financial resources. Decisions about how to deploy - [Three Easy Ways to Unplug on Vacation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-easy-ways-unplug-vacation/) - One of the big reasons you need a vacation this summer is to take a break from the chronic state of fight or flight that an overworked and overwhelmed lifestyle generates. By doing some quick math based on email statistics collected by the Radicati Group, I’m ball parking that the average business person gets 113 - [The Surprising Benefits of Being More Fully Present at Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-surprising-benefits-fully-present-work/) - Whenever we run a 360 or self-assessment based on The Next Level model of leadership presence, one of the lowest rated behaviors is usually “Gives others his/her full presence and attention during meetings and conversations.” If you take a little time to observe your own behavior and that of others you work or live with, - [Quit Trying to Solve for Work-Life Balance](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-quit-trying-solve-work-life-balance/) - Do you know how many results come back when you do a Google search on “work-life balance”? I just did one and the answer is 176 million. That’s an awful lot of discussion on a problem that no one has really solved. You could keep trying to solve for work-life balance or you could try - [The Case for Competitive Civility](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-case-competitive-civility/) - The executive that signed professional golfer Jordan Spieth to a long-term endorsement deal with Under Armour should get a raise. In the year, since he signed on, the 21 year old Texan has won two major golf championships, missed winning the other two by a total of four strokes and, with his second place finish - [How to Live a Life That’s “Beyond Happy”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/beyond-happy-beth-cabrera/) - Being happy is a fundamental life goal for most people. But is it possible that by setting the bar at “being happy,” that we’re aiming too low? In her new book, Beyond Happy: Women, Work, and Well-Being, Beth Cabrera makes a compelling case for striving for more. Better yet, she offers practical and actionable steps - [What any of us can learn from Pope Francis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-us-can-learn-pope-francis/) - Like a lot of Americans, I spent a lot of last week transfixed by the coverage of Pope Francis’ trip to the United States. I’m not Catholic, but found myself moved by his words and images several times. The pictures were what really got me. The look of joy of people in the crowds as - [Don't Write Yourself Off](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-dont-write-yourself-off/) - Last week I had a vivid reminder of why, when a health crisis or some other kind of major life setback occurs, you should never write yourself off. As I shared here last year, I was diagnosed with MS in the summer of 2009. My primary form of exercise, head clearing and general sanity maintenance - [How to Be a Coaching and Mentoring Ninja](https://eblingroup.com/blog/coaching-and-mentoring-ninja/) - One of the elements I love the most about our leadership development programs like Next Level Leadership® group coaching and Developing Leadership Presence is the peer coaching. In both of those programs, the participants are expected to pair up with a peer colleague and spend 20 minutes a week coaching each other. That might sound complicated, but it's not. What I want them to do is to take ten minutes each to ask their partner questions that get them off the dance floor and onto the balcony. One of my favorite ways for them to do that is ask each other three questions: - [Love Casts Out Fear](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-love-casts-out-fear/) - In a first century A.D. epistle to believers in Ephesus, John the Evangelist wrote that “perfect love casts out fear.” In the United States over the past two weeks, we have witnessed remarkable example after remarkable example of love triumphing over fear. As we begin a new week, it seems worthy to reflect on recent events and how they might inspire our actions going forward. - [What Any Leader Can Learn from Pope Francis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/learn-from-pope-francis/) - Jeffrey A. Krames has been involved in publishing more than 400 business books over the course of his career and has written books on business and government leaders like Jack Welch and Donald Rumsfeld. As Krames describes himself, he is the son of Holocaust survivors and believes that Pope Francis is the most authentic leader he has ever seen. As he told me in a recent conversation, he felt moved to write a book on the Pope. It's called Lead with Humility: 12 Leadership Lessons from Pope Francis and is available this week. (Audio) - [Hug The One You're With](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hug-the-one-youre-with/) - As I was skimming through the headlines from the New York Times on Saturday morning, I was stunned to read the news of the death of Dave Goldberg. You may not have heard of him until this past weekend. He was the 47 year old CEO of the online questionnaire company, Survey Monkey. He was - [Three Ways to Stop Judging Yourself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-stop-judging-yourself/) - What would it take for you to stop judging yourself? When my coach asked me that question, it stopped me in my tracks. More than 15 years later, it remains the most meaningful and impactful coaching question I’ve ever been asked. When she asked the question, I was a Fortune 500 vice president in my thirties and, by a lot of external standards, a success. - [Five Simple Ways to Make Creative Thinking a Daily Habit](https://eblingroup.com/blog/creative-thinking-a-daily-habit/) - Where or when do you get your best ideas? I ask that question to a lot of clients and executives attending my presentations and seminars. The answers I often hear are things like "In the shower," "Walking the dog," "Working out," "On my commute," "Taking care of the yard," or "Cleaning the house." But do you know what answer I never hear? - [How to Get Your New Team Off to a Strong Start](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-new-team-to-a-strong-start/) - If you’re a leader in your organization, there will be multiple times in your career when you have to get a new team off to a strong start. One of the critical steps in that process is when you bring the team members together for the first time. That’s a rare opportunity to define the purpose, build trust, establish the ground rules and set the priorities. Like they say, you only get one chance to make a first impression. Make the most of it by giving some thought to that first team meeting and taking some time to prepare for it. - [Would You Sell It to Your Kids?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/would-you-sell-it-to-your-kids/) - Decision making can get pretty complex sometimes. That’s especially true in businesses or other organizations where the often competing interests of different stakeholders have to be balanced. Recently, I had the opportunity to hear how the CEO of a large and well known company thinks through decisions by sitting in on a business briefing he did for his extended leadership team. He’s definitely a long term thinker as a well as a continuous learner. From a strategic standpoint, he follows the advice of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky and “skates to where the puck is going to be.” - [What Do You Have to Share?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-share/) - The news from the devastating earthquake in Nepal this past weekend is tragic and heart rendering. It’s a natural impulse at times like this to want to help. Most of us, of course, are not qualified to offer help on the ground. Fortunately, there are organizations with volunteers who are. If you want to contribute to their efforts by sharing some of your own resources, this link provided by the New York Times will provide you with the donation links for over two dozen organizations that are moving to help the people of Nepal. - [What’s the Difference Between Executive Presence and Leadership Presence?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/executive-presence-and-leadership-presence/) - The title of this post is a question I was asked yesterday during an interview for the book summary service Get Abstract. (Audio excerpts from the interview will be available in a few months.) While I guess I’ve thought about the difference between executive and leadership presence over the years (I wrote a book on the latter after all), I have never had the question put to me that directly. - [Are You Ready to Change the Way You Think About Leadership?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/change-how-you-think-about-leadership/) - When you think of the word “leader” what comes to mind? For lots of people, the picture that comes to mind is the charismatic visionary that sets a direction that people want to follow. All too often, that model of leadership fails because the followers inevitably end up disappointed and disengaged when the leader is incapable of delivering everything he or she promised. (Audio) - [Three Signs That You Have Too Much Executive Presence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/too-much-executive-presence/) - It’s common for leaders who want to make a bigger impact to work on building their executive presence. It’s so common, in fact, that my company offers a seven month group coaching program for high potential leaders slated for executive roles. Our goal in that program is to make the often discussed but rarely clearly defined topic of executive presence a tangible and actionable thing to develop. We try to move away from the “I know it when I see it,” definition of executive presence by focusing on specific behaviors and tactics related to factors like showing up with an appropriate amount of confidence, tailored communications, building great teams and working with colleagues to get bigger things done. Along with all of that, we focus on the idea that it’s possible to have too much executive presence. - [Five Ways to Clear the Decks](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-clear-the-decks/) - I'm a little late writing this post this morning because I’ve spent the past 45 minutes clearing the decks. When I sat down at my desk this morning, it looked like it had been through a hurricane. I’ve got lots of reasons (excuses) for that. I’ve been away on business a lot this past month, we have multiple projects underway, there have been deadlines to hit for clients and, finally, we’ve had a ton (that’s probably a literal word) of stuff to sort through that’s come back into the house following a fire in our storage units last year. The effect of all of that is that stuff has just been thrown on my desk by me and others in my family for weeks as the incoming exceeded our capacity to generate the outgoing. When I sat down this morning, I knew something had to give. - [What is the Creator’s Code?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-is-the-creators-code/) - What do Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, Spanx founder Sara Blakely and Under Armour founder Kevin Plank all have in common? Amy Wilkinson has done the research and knows the answer. She shares it in her new book, "The Creator's Code". (Audio) - [Are You the Firehose or the Nozzle?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-firehose-or-nozzle/) - As you enter into countless live and virtual conversations this week, here's a question to consider. Are you the firehose or the nozzle? Here's a quick description of each and a few ways to tell the difference. To get the mental picture of a firehose, imagine the real thing hooked up to a fire hydrant on a summer day. The water is turned on full force and is just gushing everywhere and in no particular direction. There's a lot of waste and, other than getting the street soaked, very little is being accomplished. - [Ten Ways to Lead Bigger](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-ways-lead-bigger/) - As I wrote here a few months ago, the biggest development opportunity for many of the rising leaders I work with as an executive coach is to play a bigger game. Once a leader achieves a level of mastery in leading his or her functional team, the next step is to play a bigger leadership role (informal, formal or both) in the broader organization. This dynamic has come up in a couple of coaching conversations I’ve had lately which prompts me to share these ten tips for how you or the rising leaders you work with can step up and lead bigger. - [One Less, One More](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-one-less-one-more/) - We’ve all heard the phrase less is more. Perhaps it’s also true that more is less. I think that’s where Robbie Vorhaus is coming from with his recent book, "One Less. One More. Follow Your Heart. Be Happy. Change Slowly". Vorhaus is a well respected crisis expert and communications strategist with years of experience advising corporate leaders, government officials and celebrities about how to get things back on track when they’ve run off the rails. - [Make Better Choices for Better Time Management](https://eblingroup.com/blog/better-choices-time-management/) - There's a very high likelihood that you've heard the counsel to spend your time on the things that are important but not urgent. Easy to advise, hard to do, right? It's all too easy to end up spending your day reacting to things that are both urgent and important or, worse, not that important to you but urgent to someone else. And, after hours and days of that, burnout can easily occur and you end up wasting your time and attention on stuff that is neither urgent or important just to get some relief. (Audio) - [Three Good Reasons to Embarrass Yourself in Public](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-good-reasons-embarrass-public/) - Can you imagine what it would be like to stand up in front of a roomful of strangers and read selections from the journal or diary you kept as a teenager? If you find yourself in Denver on the right evening, you could have the opportunity to find out. There’s a great story in the Wall Street Journal this week about a semi-regular gathering at the Contemporary Museum of Art Denver called “My Teenage Angst.” Similar events have been held in Seattle, Los Angeles and other cities around the U.S. The point of them is summed up by Ben Haley, an event organizer in Seattle, “Our guideline for would-be readers is to find something where your first thought is, ‘I hope nobody finds this.’ And bring that.” - [Do the Same Rules Apply to You?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/rules-apply/) - If you’re following the news this week, you’ve probably seen the headlines about Hillary Clinton using a private email account supported by her own private email server during the four years she served as Secretary of State. As far as this blog is concerned, I’m not really interested in speculating on her motivation or intent in doing so. Nor, am I interested in spending time here parsing the legalities of how she managed her email. - [Considering Spock’s Legacy and Ours](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-considering-spocks-legacy-ours/) - When I looked earlier this morning, more than 1,000 people had left comments on The New York Times obituary of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played Mr. Spock. Obviously, I haven’t read all of them, but I have looked at a few dozen. Many of them are quite moving in the way that they describe the impact that Nimoy’s portrayal of Spock had on their lives. - [What Would You Say In Your Acceptance Speech?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-say-acceptance-speech/) - So imagine this. You’re an Academy Awards nominee and you’ve just won a coveted Oscar. (Maybe even a super cool Lego Oscar like Oprah got.) You’ve got around 60 seconds at the podium to say what’s on your heart before the orchestra cranks it up and starts playing you off the stage. What would you say? - [A Lesson on Managing Your Expectations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-lesson-managing-expectations/) - My son Brad and I spent a couple of hours at CarMax yesterday afternoon. After moving to a new apartment building without enough parking spaces for his car, he decided to sell it. He strongly prefers public transportation over driving in Los Angeles anyway so the decision to sell it was pretty easy. He had to move pretty quickly, though, because finding parking on the street around where we live is a very hit or miss proposition. The process of a private sale would have taken too long so he decided to sell it to a dealer. I went to a local CarMax with him to start the process and, within a couple of hours, got a great lesson from Brad on managing your expectations and not getting too attached to outcomes. - [Angela Merkel Shows Leaders How to Lean In](https://eblingroup.com/blog/angela-merkel-shows-leaders-lean/) - Chancellor Angela Merkel deserves to take the weekend off. As I write this, the outlines of a cease-fire in the Ukraine have been announced following an all-night negotiating session that Merkel and French President Francois Hollande mediated between the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The agreement wraps up more than a week of non-stop shuttle diplomacy on Merkel’s part that took her to Moscow, Washington and various other locations in Europe. Her schedule has left me wondering how she’s gotten any sleep. - [What Would Happen If You Let Go?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-happen-let-go/) - As I've been out talking about and coaching around the book for almost 10 years, I've recognized that I stumbled on to something deeper than I realized when I was writing The Next Level back in 2005. Most people that are talented enough to reach next level scenarios in their careers are pretty good at picking things up. That's primarily a cognitive exercise of learning to do something new. The high achievers have spent most of their lives learning and mastering new skills. Picking up isn't a problem for them. The much bigger challenge is letting go. - [If You Can’t Be Confident in Your Knowledge, Be Confident In Your Ignorance](https://eblingroup.com/blog/cant-confident-knowledge-confident-ignorance/) - The title of this post comes from a comment made at a global leadership team meeting I was facilitating earlier this year. The purpose of the meeting was to review 360 degree feedback on the team and its members. In the format we were using, each team member had around 15 minutes in the spotlight to share what they learned from their feedback, what they are working on to take their game to the next level and to get advice from their colleagues on simple things they could do that would make a difference. - [Reflections from a Sunday Morning at Dachau](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-reflections-sunday-morning-dachau/) - As I write this, I'm in Munich, Germany on a business trip. Last night, I was tagging a photo of a classic German Biergarten meal and noticed that Dachau came up on the list of geotag options. This is a very quick trip that I'm on and, to be honest, I did zero research on what I might see or do in Munich before I came over. When I saw Dachau on my smartphone screen, though, I immediately knew how I was going to spend my Sunday. For reasons that I can't completely explain I knew I had to go there. After being there today, I wish everyone could go. I'll try to explain why in this post. - [Three Interesting Reads from the Week of January 26](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-interesting-reads-week-january-26/) - As the week wraps up, I thought I’d share three articles that have caught my eye and made me think this week. Here’s the list: Bitcoin and the Digital Currency Revolution: A couple of weeks ago I was talking with a CEO who told me that Bitcoin puts a lot of companies in the same position that Kodak was in at the beginning of digital photography. This essay from the Wall Street Journal is the best article I’ve seen for an explanation of how Bitcoin works and why it could be a game changer. - [How to Uncover Happiness When You’re a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/uncover-happiness-when-youre-a-leader/) - Being a leader can be and often is a high stress job. The demands on your time, the tough calls, the conflict resolution - it can all add up. If you’re not paying attention, it can leave you feeling stressed out, burned out and even depressed. In this episode of The Next Level Podcast, I’m sharing a conversation with an expert who can help teach you how to avoid that. (Audio) - [What Do We Agree On?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-agree/) - Yesterday, millions of people in Paris and around the world marched in solidarity against hate and for human rights. In Paris, the march was led by 40 heads of government from around the world. On the front line, spaced four people away from each other, were Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. By marching together, these two leaders along with the 38 others and millions of citizens in Paris and around the world showed a lot of mindfulness. - [Consider How You Want Them to Feel](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-you-want-them-to-feel/) - If you work in an organization with other people, this is the time of year that you're likely having conversations about goals and expectations for the year. You may be the boss having those talks with your team members. You may be the team member talking with your boss. You may be both. - [How to Avoid the Disaster of Leadership Vertigo](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-vertigo/) - Is there a gap between how you view the impact of your leadership and the way others view or experience it? If there is, then you're suffering from what leadership expert, speaker and author Tanveer Naseer calls "leadership vertigo." That's actually the title of a new book that Naseer has co-authored with S. Max Brown. As Tanveer explains it in a recent conversation he had with me, leadership vertigo occurs when your brain tells you one thing and the facts tell you another. (Audio) - [Leaders Behaving Badly](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-behaving-badly/) - You don't have to look very hard in any given week to find examples of leaders behaving badly. This week had a couple of doozies. First, we had the story of Heather Cho, the vice president of inflight customer service for Korean Air. She was travelling on her own airline and as her plane from taxiing away from its gate at JFK, a flight attendant gave her macadamia nuts without asking if she wanted any and, (worse!) left them in the package. Cho flipped out and called the lead flight attendant to her seat to dress him down. - [Five Things to Do to Find a Great Mentor](https://eblingroup.com/blog/find-a-great-mentor/) - Over the course of my career, I’ve had the good fortune to have a number of mentors who have helped shape my life and career. I wrote about one of them in a pre-Thanksgiving post I wrote last week. I don’t think I ever set out to recruit a particular person as a mentor. The relationships just sort of naturally evolved with the people who ended up being my mentors. At this point in my career, I’ve been both mentor and protégé (I can’t stand the word “mentee” – it sounds like a candy you’d eat after dinner.) Considering both of those perspectives, I’ve identified five things to do to find a great mentor. With the hope that they’re useful to you or someone you know, here they are: - [Consider The People You’re Grateful For](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-people-youre-grateful-for/) - As we approach Thanksgiving Day in the United States, I’m coming off an experience this past weekend that reminded me of what I’m most grateful for. It’s the people and the experiences I’ve been blessed with in my life. In the middle of doing a bunch of chores on Saturday, I got an email from Holmes Morrison saying he was in town and wondering if I could break away for a visit. Holmes is on the very short list of the most influential people in my life. I would have stopped doing almost anything to spend some time with him. - [Which Matters Most? Ambition or Talent?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ambition-or-talent/) - One of my favorite Saturday routines is spending an hour or so browsing through the weekend edition of the Financial Times on my iPad. There are often fascinating long interviews with newsmakers in a feature called “Lunch with the FT” and usually some interesting reviews of books I won’t read but am interested in learning a little bit about. Without fail, though, my favorite feature is a short one called “The Inventory.” - [Seven Things Leaders Can Learn from Bill Clinton About Connecting with People](https://eblingroup.com/blog/7-things-leaders-can-learn-from-bill-clinton-connecting-with-people/) - Delivering his monologue after the midterm elections last week, David Letterman was talking about President Obama’s low approval ratings and landed a great line: “Take a look at this: gas under $3 a gallon – under $3 a gallon. Unemployment under 6%, whoever thought? Stock market breaking records every day. No wonder the guy is so unpopular.” As Letterman said, before delivering his punch line, being President of the United States is a “lonely, lonely gig.” - [How to Relax Like a Baby](https://eblingroup.com/blog/relax-like-a-baby/) - One of my guiding principles in life is to look for and act on the stuff that’s easy to do and likely to make a difference. Even the smallest mindful breaks can make a huge difference in reducing the overwork and overwhelm that comes with modern life. If you are looking for a super simple way to get started, you’ll want to listen to my recent conversation with Mimi Sommers. (Audio) - [Five Questions for Leaders Who Would Rather Be Effective Than Right](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-questions-for-leaders/) - During the opening session of a new leadership development program last week, I asked the participants to share the biggest leadership lesson they’ve learned in their careers so far. There were a lot of interesting answers. One participant shared one that really stuck with me because I think it’s so true. The lesson was it’s not enough to have the right idea, you have to influence other people to believe that it’s the right idea. - [What You Can Learn About Focus from the World Series MVP](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-learn-focus-from-world-series-mvp/) - If I ever write another book, I want to interview Madison Bumgarner for it. That dude knows how to focus and I’d love to know more about how he does it. As you may have seen last week, the San Francisco Giants starting pitcher came on the mound in the 5th inning of game seven of the World Series and pitched for the rest of the game. The scene was set in Kansas City and the Giants had a 3-2 lead over the Royals when Bumgarner took over. He shut the Royals down pretty much exactly as he had when he pitched a nine inning shut-out just two days earlier in game five. - [Getting Up to Speed on A World Gone Social](https://eblingroup.com/blog/world-gone-social/) - Whether you love it, hate it or are somewhere in the middle on it, social media can have a huge impact on your effectiveness as a leader. Whether you're in the conversation or not, the chances are people are talking about your organization online. Why not search for your organization on Google, Yelp or Glassdoor and see what you find? The results might surprise you. (Audio) - [Are You Fit to Lead?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/fit-to-lead/) - The question posed in the title of this post is one that I’ve heard asked a lot over the years. Usually, it refers to someone having the right mix of temperament, ethics, experience and the like that’s needed to be an effective leader. My guest in the podcast interview that accompanies this post would likely ask the question from a different perspective. Carol Himmelhoch is a professor of leadership at Siena Heights University and she’s recently published a monograph titled "Transformational Leadership and High-Intensity Interval Training". If you’re familiar with CrossFit, you know what High Intensity Interval Training (HITT) is. Himmelhoch is a HITT devotee herself and started wondering about the connection between her avocation and vocation. She decided to explore whether or not physical fitness has an impact on leadership effectiveness. (Audio) - [How to Feel Amazing in Five Minutes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-feel-amazing-in-five-minutes/) - One of the ironic effects of the hyper-connected age we live in is that there is very little true listening going on. As I write about in my new book, there’s a lot of transient listening in which we’re so preoccupied with all the thoughts of our multi-tasking minds that we hear each other but don’t really listen. Higher up the value chain is transactional listening in which we’re listening with the goal of accomplishing something or solving a problem. That’s important but doesn’t really do much for the heart and soul. Then there’s transformational listening which is when we slow down, focus and listen to another person just for the sake of listening. It’s listening without distractions or in service of a particular agenda. In a lot of my workshops and presentations on mindful leadership, I ask people to practice transformational listening. - [The Spiritual Routines of the Mindful Road Warrior](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-spiritual-road-warrior/) - As I write this post this morning, I'm sitting in the airport waiting to board a flight that marks the beginning of a two week tour in support of my new book. The next 12 days are going to be filled with speeches, interviews, conferences, meetings and a couple of parties. It's going to be a lot of fun and also a bit of a whirlwind. You can bet I'll be following my mindful road warrior routines during this trip. All of the physical, mental and relational routines I've written about these past few Mindful Mondays will definitely be in play. I'll also be following some spiritual routines this week. That's what I want to focus on in this closing installment of my series on the routines of the mindful road warrior. - [Tough Conversation Ahead? Get into The Discomfort Zone](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tough-conversation-discomfort-zone/) - For this episode of The Next Level Podcast, I'm joined by coaching leader and former ICF President Dr. Marcia Reynolds, discussing her new book, "The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs". During our discussion, Marcia shares her perspective on how leaders can transform difficult conversations with team members into opportunities for a new perspective and deeper trust. Among other insights, Marcia shares the importance of fostering mutual respect. When good intentions are present, real breakthroughs can occur. There's more in our conversation. (Audio) - [Does Your Culture Engine Need a Tune-Up?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/does-your-culture-engine-need-a-tune-up/) - In his new book, The Culture Engine, veteran leadership consultant Chris Edmonds makes the very valid point that many leaders focus far more on what their organizations do than how they actually do it. If you want results for the long run, the "how" matters – a lot. (Audio) - [What Leaders Must Learn from the NFL Fiasco](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-must-learn-nfl-fiasco/) - The speed and volume of the emerging fiasco facing the NFL has been breathtaking. In the first football weekend after the League’s response to the video of Ray Rice punching his fiancé, there were players with similar charges against them scheduled to play on Sunday. One was pulled just before game time; the other played. - [Travel Tips for the Mindful Road Warrior](https://eblingroup.com/blog/travel-tips-for-the-mindful-road-warrior/) - My work requires a lot of travel to meet with and present to clients. As the recent news stories about high altitude disputes over reclining seats on airplanes suggest, business travel can be stressful. That stress can eat you alive if you let it. Over the years, I’ve adopted some routines that have helped me stay healthy and sane when I travel for business. I thought I’d start to share some of them with you today. Let’s call them travel tips for the mindful road warrior. - [The NFL Shows That Culture Change (Or the Lack of It) Starts at the Top](https://eblingroup.com/blog/nfl-culture-change-starts-at-the-top/) - In the annals of interesting timing, it doesn’t get much better than an article that ran in the Financial Times this past Monday morning. It was a piece titled, “The HR Guy Cleaning Up NFL Locker Rooms” and described how the League’s new head of HR is on a mission to get rid of bullying, homophobia and racist language in the workplaces of the NFL’s 32 teams. - [Three of the Most Common Delegation Ah-ha’s](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-common-delegation-ah-has/) - One of the biggest shifts that most rising leaders have to make is the shift from being the go-to person to someone who builds teams of go-to people. As you take on more and more scope in your leadership role, you can’t continue to operate as the go-to person who acts as if you’re personally responsible for everything that happens. You need to be accountable and own the results but you can’t expect yourself to do everything that leads to the results. - [Tired of the Fire Drills? Appoint a Fire Marshal](https://eblingroup.com/blog/appoint-a-fire-marshal/) - One of the things I talk a lot about with my executive coaching clients is the highest and best use of their time and attention. When they think about what they really need to accomplish and how they should be spending their time to do that they often see a gap. The gap is between what they should be spending their time and attention on and what they actually are spending it on. - [What Leaders Can Learn About Trust from Vladimir Putin](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-can-learn-trust-vladimir-putin/) - Given his track record in Crimea and Ukraine over the past several months, you wouldn’t think there is much that leaders could learn about trust from Russian President Vladimir Putin. The shoot down of the Malaysian Air flight, the Russian-backed rebels, the troops massed on the Ukrainian border, the government-stoked propaganda in Russian media and the current “humanitarian” convoy that the Russian army is driving into Ukraine have blown the international community’s trust in Putin out of the water. - [Weird Al Takes Business Buzz Word Abusers to School](https://eblingroup.com/blog/weird-al-takes-business-buzz-word-abusers-school/) - Years ago, someone introduced me to a game called BS Bingo. (They actually spelled it out but I’m keeping things PG here.) If you were playing, you had a bingo type card where each square contained a common business buzzword. You could take the card to a meeting and check off the boxes as you heard the words used. When you got five in a row in any direction, you yelled out, “BS!” and you were the winner. God bless Weird Al Yankovic for bringing BS Bingo into the 21st Century. He’s recently released the video for “Mission Statement,” the last song on his new album (which hit number one on the Billboard chart last week!). (Video) - [How to Overcome Your Fear of Thinking](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-overcome-fear-thinking/) - If you haven't seen it, take a look at this recent article in the New York Times titled "No Time To Think". It's a fascinating recap of a study at the University of Virginia that confirms what you may already know. Lots of us are keep ourselves "super busy" because we'd rather have a day packed with doing stuff than leave anytime to be alone with our thoughts. The UVA study showed that most people don't like being in their own heads for even six minutes because if you give yourself time to think you might have to think about difficult, unresolved problems or challenges. - [ESPN's Stuart Scott Brings You the Best 15 Minutes of Your Day](https://eblingroup.com/blog/espns-stuart-scott-brings-best-15-minutes-day/) - Last night at the ESPY awards, SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott took up the mantle of Jim Valvano when he accepted the Jimmy V Perseverance Award. Scott has battled multiple forms of cancer for seven years now. As recently as last week, he had four surgeries in seven days because of complications from his latest round of treatment. And yet, he stood on stage last night and delivered a speech on living and loving that you need to watch. It will be the best 15 minutes of your day - even if it makes you cry. - [Six Things to Admire in LeBron James Letter to Cleveland](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-six-things-admire-lebron-james-letter-cleveland/) - Long time readers of this blog may have noticed that I don’t write as often as I used to about leaders in the news. There are different reasons for that. One of the biggest is the great examples seem fewer and farther between. Another is that I’m skeptical about being spun. You may have heard about the way NBA superstar LeBron James shared the news last week that he’s returning to his hometown to play again for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Rather than staging a press conference or a media spectacle like the classless The Decision broadcast in which he announced four years ago that he was “taking his talents to South Beach,” he posted an open letter on the Sports Illustrated website. So, yeah, I recognize that when someone as famous as LeBron James makes a big announcement that I am, to some degree, being spun. In this case, I don’t care. The points he made in the letter and the way he made them are, at their most basic level, ones that leaders can admire. In reading through it, I identified six admirable traits that are worth reflecting on and aspiring to on a Mindful Monday or any other day of the week. - [Three Executive Productivity Hacks That Any Leader Can Use](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-executive-productivity-hacks/) - One of the things I love about my work is getting to meet and learn from some very talented top executives. That happened again recently when a senior vice president in a Fortune 500 client company stopped by for a lunch conversation with participants in our Next Level Leadership® development program. She was one of the clearest thinkers and communicators I’ve met recently. Her organization is responsible for billions of dollars in sales so, as you might imagine, she has a very full plate. Recognizing that her time and attention is a limited resource that she must deploy as effectively as possible, she’s come up with three productivity hacks that help her determine where she needs to focus. They’re simple, effective and can be applied by leaders at any level in any organization. Here they are: - [Put the Phone Down and No One Gets Hurt](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-put-the-phone-down/) - If you’re reading this while you’re on vacation or getting ready to go on vacation, this post is for you. Please, please, please, give yourself and your family a break. As I wrote a couple of years ago, the Europeans have it right. They don’t go on vacation, they go on holiday. Here in the States, we don’t holiday, we vacate. As in vacate the office and take your work with you. I hear way too many stories from clients who insist on checking in every day and keeping up with their email and conference calls while they’re gone. I hear too few from people who actually let their team and colleagues handle things while they’re away for a week. Can’t image not taking your work with you? Consider this story. - [Seven Ways to Keep Wizard of Oz Syndrome from Killing Your Organization](https://eblingroup.com/blog/wizard-of-oz-syndrome/) - Every so often I come in contact with an organization where everyone is on pins and needles. They’re afraid of their own shadows. Everything is on an urgent deadline. The smallest mistakes or surprises are crises. Any sense of humor remaining is solely of the gallows variety. Here’s what everyone of those organizations seems to have in common – the “little people” view the senior leaders as if they’re the great and powerful Oz (and by Oz, I mean the man behind the curtain, not the doctor on TV). - [The Three Things You Can Control](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-you-can-control/) - A good friend of mine, who I’ll refer to here as Rick, is a Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force. He’s approaching the end of a 20 year career and just got married a few months ago to a wonderful woman. A couple of weeks ago, much to his surprise, he found out that he’s going to be deployed for six months to a base on the opposite coast and, possibly, to the Middle East. That’s not what he expected when he got married and signed a lease on a really cool town house. He is not, however, freaking out about it. - [Dan Snyder and the First Rule of Holes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dan-snyder-rule-of-holes/) - The first rule of holes is that when you’re in one, quit digging. Apparently, Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder didn’t get that memo. He’s in a deep hole and continues to dig. Long time readers of this blog know that I am not a fan of Snyder. Back in 2009, I wrote a rant/takedown on his leadership style that, to my surprise, landed me on TV. I am sorry to report that not much has changed since then including his insistence on sticking with the offensive name of his team. - [Accepting the Help](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-accepting-help/) - In a New York magazine article called “Life, After”, former CNN anchor Miles O’Brien shares his experience of what life has been like after losing most of his left arm a few months ago. O’Brien was on a reporting trip in the Philippines when a heavy camera case fell on his arm. What seemed like a minor injury became a major problem and his arm had to be amputated below the shoulder and above the elbow. Since then, he’s been learning how to do everyday tasks like showering, brushing his teeth, getting dressed and cooking. He’s figuring out new ways to do his job of reporting and typing his stories. He’s learning how to run with a new center of gravity. He’s also learning how to accept the help of friends, family and colleagues who care about him. - [What Good Did You Do You Today?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-good-today/) - I had been working in my hotel room in Wilmington, DE most of the day last Wednesday and decided to head up to the concierge lounge to see if they had anything I could eat for dinner. As I got on the elevator, there was already a gentleman in the car who seemed a little stressed out. You know, some heavy sighs, comments of “What a day,” and things like that. Guessing that he was looking for a beer or a glass of wine, I told him I was headed for the lounge and to follow me. Fortunately, they were serving Chef Salad, so I loaded up one of the little plates they use and sat down at a table to eat. It was crowded in the lounge and my new friend from the elevator asked if he could join me. I had brought a file folder of work to look at to prep for a leadership development program I was leading the next day but quickly decided that could wait. As he took his first sip of white wine, it seemed to me the right question to open the conversation was, “So, what good did you do today?” He thought for a couple of seconds and said, “Well, I saved a sheep this morning.” The conversation got more interesting from there. - [Healthy Food Options On The Road](https://eblingroup.com/blog/healthy-food-options-road/) - Are you someone who travels a lot for business or is headed out on a vacation and you don’t want to abandon your healthy eating habits? Or maybe you’re thinking the life of fast food in the airport or at highway exits is your only option and it’s all bad. Here are a few quick tips for our road warriors readers. They’re all really simple and will help you to feel great on the road. - [Why You Should Be Brief and How to Do It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-you-should-be-brief/) - There’s a famous quote that’s often attributed to Mark Twain but actually originated with the French mathematician and philosopher, Blaise Pascal – “I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.” That Pascal was one smart guy. A full five hundred years before the information flood that all of us face today, he understood that brevity is important and that it takes work to be brief. If you want to learn more about why you should be brief and how to do it, check out a new book, "Brief: Make a Bigger Impact by Saying Less" by marketing expert Joe McCormack. (Audio) - [Three Must Do’s for Leaders Leading Through Change](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-must-dos-leaders-leading-change/) - As reported in the New York Times this week, the World Bank is in the midst of a two year restructuring effort. The basic goal of the change is to shift from the Bank’s decades-long regional structure to one that is organized around areas of functional expertise. Another goal is to reduce expenses. Everyone’s world is being rocked there and the criticism and rumors are flying. - [What Does Your Boss Really Want From You?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-does-your-boss-want-from-you/) - What's the most critical relationship you have at work? Any way you slice it, the relationship you have with your boss has to be very close to the top of the list if it doesn't already occupy the number one spot. Because your relationship with your boss has so much impact on what you're able to do, what you're known for, what your future prospects look like and so many other factors, it just makes sense to step back and think about what your boss really wants from you. (Audio) - [What I Learned on a Silent Retreat](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-learned-silent-retreat/) - So let me clear things up right from the start. The picture that accompanies this post is not one I took on a silent retreat I went on this past weekend. It’s a picture I took a couple of hours after it ended. The scene is just outside the front door of my son, Andy’s, apartment building in San Francisco. (I stopped to visit him on the way home from the retreat.) Each year in SF, there’s a road race called Bay to Breakers and, while there are people who actually run the race, there are thousands more who use it as an excuse to dress up in costumes and sort of, kind of walk the course until they get to Panhandle and Golden Gate Parks. Then the party starts. It’s about as far away from a silent retreat as you can get. It was a lot of fun but you probably won’t find it in the typical playbook about how to transition out of being quiet all weekend. - [Why Leaders Need to Learn How to Get Angry Without Being Stupid](https://eblingroup.com/blog/angry-without-being-stupid/) - One of the topics I regularly discuss with participants in my leadership workshops is whether or not they should show their anger or frustration when things don’t go well. Most of the time most of the people begin by saying that that’s not an effective leadership move. But, when they think about it a little bit more, though, many acknowledge that there are times when leaders need to show their anger. Recently, I had the chance to talk shop on this topic with a fellow leadership coach, consultant and author, Henry Evans. (Audio) - [Nothing Changes Until You Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/nothing-changes-until-you-do/) - Have you ever felt like you’re the only one who doubts yourself? Does that little voice inside your head compare you to people who seem like they just totally have everything completely together? Well, guess what. It’s not just you. Most everyone has their own inner critic that’s way too hard on themselves. (Audio) - [How Do You Get Your Freak On?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-get-your-freak-on/) - So, this past week I’m just moving along, minding my own business, getting work done and all of a sudden I start to freak out. It starts off small as just one thought about something I have to do. It hasn’t even happened yet. It’s not even going to happen for a few days. It requires a lot of preparation, expertise, information from others and then me delivering front and center. - [Ten Reasons Smiling is More Than Lip Service](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-ten-reasons-smiling-lip-service/) - Hi, Diane Eblin here. I’m very excited to start contributing to the Next Level Blog. As a Certified Health Coach, I have worked first hand with overworked and overwhelmed professionals, coaches, and homemakers to help them discover and make the best choices for themselves. Here I will share those simple and practical insights that helped them and could help you too. - [Why You Need to Learn to Lead Positive](https://eblingroup.com/blog/learn-to-lead-positive/) - If you are a leader struggling with keeping your team and yourself focused on the positive, you're not alone. As a matter of fact, functional MRI research shows that the neurocircuitry of the human brain is programmed so that 2/3's of initial neural activity is set to scan for what's wrong than what's right. (Podcast) - [What Any Leader Can Learn from Common Executive Succession Planning Mistakes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/succession-planning-mistakes/) - Ever wonder how smart people make bad decisions? That can happen in lots of situations including conversations around the board of directors table about who the next CEO is going to be. In a recent conversation with Scott Saslow of the Institute of Executive Development, I got an inside look at some of the common mistakes boards of directors make on executive succession planning. In partnership with the Rock Center of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Scott’s organization has released a new study on best (and worst) succession planning practices. (Audio) - [How to Get What You Really Want](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-get-really-want/) - Before we go any further, let me clarify what I mean by the title of this post. When I write “How to Get What You Really Want,” I’m not talking about a bigger house, a nicer car or a more important job. There are ways to do all of those things, of course, but, if you think about it, are any of those things what you really want? My guess is the items on your really want list are more intangible but longer lasting than any of those. It probably includes things like good health, true happiness and strong relationships with the people that matter most to you. This post is about how to get those things – the things you really want. - [Why You Need to Flex to Connect as a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/flex-to-connect/) - In the nine years since Tom Friedman wrote The World Is Flat, it has become even flatter and smaller. Even if you're a leader who never leaves your home country, in any given day you’re likely to be video conferencing with colleagues halfway around the world and sitting in meeting rooms with team members who grew up in other cultures, come from different socio-economic backgrounds than yours, are significantly older or younger than you or represent any number of other differences from your own experience and background. - [Three Ways to Quiet Your Mental Chatter (aka Monkey Mind)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-quiet-mental-chatter-aka-monkey-mind/) - Has this happened to you lately? You’re in a conversation, or a meeting or working on an important project. All of the sudden, out of nowhere, you’re thinking about what you’re going to have for dinner or the email you forgot to respond to or the March Madness game you watched over the weekend or an errand you forgot to run or someone you need to call or that crazy episode of House of Cards you watched last night. The likelihood is you’re having a whole series of those thoughts, not just one. - [What Does Mindfulness Even Mean, Anyway?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-does-mindfulness-even-mean/) - If you do a Google search on the word, mindfulness, you’ll find close to six and a half million results. Mindfulness is clearly a hot topic. Since I’m writing a book on the mindfulness alternative to being overworked and overwhelmed, I get asked a lot, how I define mindfulness. Based on dozens of interviews I’ve conducted with everyday leaders, experts in health and wellness and my own experience with clients and in my own life, my definition of mindfulness comes down to two big ideas. - [Three Simple Ways to Create Space to Think](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-space-to-think/) - Last week, I took a break from working on my new book about mindful alternatives to being overworked and overwhelmed to speak to the New Jersey Human Resources Planning Group on the same topic. We had a great morning together and it was a terrific opportunity to pilot some of the ideas from the book with a roomful of smart people. One of the things we spent some time talking about is how do you create the space to step back and actually think about what really needs to be done when the input is coming in far faster than the output is going out? - [What’s Your Organizing Principle?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-organizing-principle/) - Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent a lot of time reading through the transcripts of interviews I’ve been conducting for my new book. It’s been a fun process because I’ve had the great good fortune of speaking with some very compelling leaders who take a mindful approach to their work and life. Two of those interviews were with Kaye Foster-Cheek and Danae Ringelmann. - [What Can We Learn from a 10 Year Old Girl About Making a Stand?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-can-learn-10-year-old-girl-making-stand/) - The adorable 10 year old girl in the picture with my wife, Diane, and me is Vivienne Harr. We met her at a party at the Wisdom 2.0 conference in San Francisco on Valentine’s Day evening. Earlier that afternoon she spoke to 2,000 people (video below) about how her lemonade business has raised over a million dollars to help free 18 million child around the world from slavery. - [Accepting Reality](https://eblingroup.com/blog/accepting-reality/) - Every so often, one has to face reality and accept the circumstances as they are. This is one of those moments for me. I’m very excited about the work I’m doing on my next book which will be published by Wiley this Fall. And, in the category of accepting reality, I’ve come to the conclusion today that I’ll be blogging less frequently until I deliver the manuscript to my editor in May. - [What Brings You Joy as a Leader?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-brings-joy-leader/) - Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk who first became publicly known for his efforts to negotiate a peace treaty during the Vietnam War. Since then, he’s taught around the world and has written more than sixty books that have had an influence on people in all walks of life. (I’ve only read a few of his books; my favorite is Being Peace.) Last week, a friend of mine, Alanson Van Fleet, sent me a note to share how some of Hanh’s work is making a difference for leaders in corporate America. Alanson is a senior executive in a financial services firm and a longtime mindfulness practitioner who's also doing some leadership coaching inside his company. - [A Bunch of Yogis Just Won the Super Bowl](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-bunch-yogis-just-won-super-bowl/) - For the first time in a long time, the Super Bowl was blowout. The Seattle Seahawks best defense in the NFL totally shut down the Denver Broncos league best offense in a 43 - 8 rout. While Peyton Manning and his team struggled to get anything going, Russell Wilson and the Seahawks seemed focused, faster and, if its possible to be so in the biggest game of the year, relaxed and having fun. - [The Seventh Circle of Conference Call Hell](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seventh-circle-conference-call-hell/) - One of the theories about what makes comedy funny is when the bit does such a great job of describing everyday reality that you laugh out loud in recognition. That’s what made Jerry Seinfeld a wealthy man and it’s what makes this video on the seventh circle of Hell known as a corporate conference call from comedy duo Tripp and Tyler so hellaciously funny. - [Three Tips for Leaders Who Want to Keep It Real](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-tips-for-keeping-it-real/) - In case you missed it, here’s a link to a great article by the Washington Post’s Alexandria Petri in which she describes how Hillary Clinton attempted to make a connection in a recent speech to the National Association of Automobile Dealers. She shared a story that since the last time she drove a car in 1996, the Secret Service hasn’t allowed her to get behind the wheel. The response, apparently, was confused crickets. - [Making the Most of Your Limited Engagement](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-your-limited-engagement/) - Over the weekend, I came across a video and an article that reminded me to be present and make the most of now because my time here on earth is what you might call a “limited engagement.” It’s sort of like a Broadway show with a limited run. Of course, that’s true for all of us. - [How to Not Be a Weenie Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/weenie-leader/) - Earlier today, someone I care about a lot was the victim of weenie-like behavior from someone in a leadership role who should have known better. Unfortunately, weenies are all around us. You can recognize them by their unique combination of spineless and thoughtless behavior. That and their lack of nutritional value. - [Pay Attention or You Might Miss It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-pay-attention-might-miss/) - One of the good news/bad news aspects of my work is that I travel a lot. The good news part is I love the work and the people I work with. The bad news part is I also love being home and, sometimes, I find myself not paying a lot of attention to what’s out there on the road. Fortunately, I was paying attention last week and got to take this picture of a couple of segments of the Berlin Wall that are on display at a hotel in Dallas. On Monday and Tuesday, I was at the Hilton Anatole, just outside of downtown Dallas, for client meetings. While grabbing a quick dinner at the hotel bar on Monday night, I started chatting with the bartender. It was kind of a typical “Where are you from? How long have you worked here?” conversation and then he told me he loves working at the Hilton Anatole because of all the art. My response was, “What art?” - [What Jennifer Lawrence and Colin Kapernick Can Teach Us About Setting Goals](https://eblingroup.com/blog/jennifer-lawrence-colin-kapernick-can-teach-us-setting-goals/) - In her Golden Globes acceptance speech last weekend, Jennifer Lawrence talked about how, as a teenager in Kentucky, she loved a movie called I Heart Huckabees. She wanted to know more about the movie so she Googled it and found out its director was David O. Russell and that he had directed three of her other favorite movies. Less than ten years later she was on stage in Hollywood expressing her amazement that David O. Russell had made her career by casting her in Silver Linings Playbook (a 2013 Golden Globe and Academy Award for Lawrence) and, now, American Hustle (a 2014 Golden Globe for Lawrence - so far.) - [Chris Christie: “I am not a bully.” Not His Call to Make.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/chris-christie-bully-call-make/) - As I write this, Chris Christie, the governor of New Jersey, has just finished a press conference to explain why he’s not at fault for last year’s George Washington Bridge toll lane closures that created nightmare commutes and endangered public safety for the citizens of Fort Lee, NJ. As you may have read, emails have surfaced that prove that lieutenants of Christie engineered the lane closures in retaliation for the Democratic mayor of Fort Lee not endorsing the reelection of the Republican governor. - [What’s In Your Roomful of Gratitude?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-whats-roomful-gratitude/) - As the first full work week of the new year begins, it’s going to be all too easy to get caught up in the swirl of the “human doing” and lose sight of the “human being.” Here’s a simple idea to help you stay connected with what matters most as the pace picks up. At least once this week, stop in whatever room you’re in and look around for a few minutes. Ask yourself, “What’s in this room that reminds me of something I’m grateful for?” - [The Power of Your Choices in 2014](https://eblingroup.com/blog/power-choices-2014/) - Happy new year everyone! After taking a couple of weeks to relax, reflect and renew, I’m looking forward to the new year. As the year begins, I’m thinking a lot about the power our choices have to shape the course of the next twelve months. - [Why You Should Lead Like a Monk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lead-like-a-monk/) - When you think about leadership role models it’s likely that your first thought isn’t a monk. Maybe it should be though. In his new book, "Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks", August Turak explains why. (Audio) - [Three Tips for Pain Free Performance Reviews](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-tips-pain-free-performance-reviews/) - This is the time of year that instills fear and loathing in the hearts of managers everywhere. The good news is that you may be planning on taking some extended time off during the holiday season. The bad news is you may also be planning to spend some of those precious hours writing up annual performance reviews for the people that report to you. If that sounds like what you’ll be doing over the next couple of weeks, I’m here with three tips to help make it at least somewhat pain free for you as you write the reviews and, more importantly, as you deliver them in the weeks to come. - [Make the Most of Your Holidays](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-make-holidays/) - This will be my last Mindful Monday post of 2013 as I intend to take some time off over the holidays. I suspect many of you will be doing the same. Here’s some advice. Really make it a holiday. Celebrate. Rejoice. Relax. Laugh. Love. Give. Receive. Unplug. Don’t just give presents, be present. - [What Machiavelli Could Have Learned From Mandela](https://eblingroup.com/blog/machiavelli-learned-mandela/) - I have no idea if Mandela read Machiavelli but from everything I’ve read about the South African leader’s life, I’m pretty sure that he didn’t practice what Machiavelli preached. If, through some miracle of time travel, the two were able to have had a conversation about the practice of leadership, I think Machiavelli could have learned some things from Mandela. Here’s just one example of what he might have learned. - [A Perspective Check to Start the Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-perspective-check-start-week/) - My parents have been in town this past weekend to celebrate a milestone birthday for my wife. While some of our crew went shopping on Friday, my dad and I spent the afternoon at LA’s Griffith Observatory. You can’t beat it for breathtaking views of earth and sky. It was a light crowd on Friday so we were able to make a last minute decision to catch the 30 minute show at the Griffith’s planetarium. Half an hour later I walked out feeling very insignificant. Believe it or not, it was an humbling, awe inspiring and liberating experience to feel that way. Here’s why. - [The Life of Nelson Mandela: Archbishop Tutu Describes It Best](https://eblingroup.com/blog/life-nelson-mandela-archbishop-tutu-describes-best/) - It would take days to read through all of the histories, reflections and tributes to the life of Nelson Mandela. I took an hour or so this morning to read as many as I could. There's so much that can be learned about leadership from the life of Mandela. With the humility, forgiveness, selflessness, vision, creativity, resolve, warmth and so many other traits that he exhibited, he embodied the term servant leader. - [When Leadership Skills Trump Technical Skills](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-skills-trump-technical-skills/) - At some point in your career, your leadership skills need to trump your technical skills if you’re going to make the biggest possible impact. Most professionals start their careers as a subject matter expert in something. Quite often, the best subject matter experts get promoted into roles where they’re responsible for leading other subject matter or technical experts. That’s the great inflection point where leadership skills begin to trump technical skills. It’s represented in this simple graph: - [Dealing with End of the Year Stress](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-end-of-year-stress/) - In doing the research for a new book I’m writing, I’ve been reading a lot of old and new favorites on the topic of mindfulness. One of those is the recently released second edition of a classic in the field, Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. In 1979, Kabat-Zinn created the first Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program for patients with all sorts of chronic conditions at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Kabat-Zinn is a hero of mine and when I met him at the Wisdom 2.0 conference earlier this year, I acted like a total fan boy (as you can see in the accompanying picture). - [How to Give Thanks (Mindfully)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-give-thanks-mindfully/) - As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches in the United States, I want to spend a few moments discussing how to give thanks. I’m not talking about how you get ready to eat more than you usually do, spend time with relatives you don’t see that often or veg out in front of football game after football game. I’m not even talking about giving thanks for all the things you’re grateful for (although that’s always a good idea). What I’m talking about is how to give thanks to the people in your life – at home, at work and in the community – who deserve it. When you stop and think about it, you probably come in contact with dozens of people on an average day who deserve your thanks. - [If Peter Drucker Were Your Personal Coach...](https://eblingroup.com/blog/if-peter-drucker-were-your-personal-coach/) - For more than 50 years of his almost 96 year life, Peter Drucker was known as the "Father of Modern Management." His dozens of books included The Concept of the Corporation, The Practice of Management and The Effective Executive. Drucker was one of the few big thinkers who changed the way people view leadership. Can you imagine what it would have been like to have had him as your personal coach? (Click headline for podcast.) - [Three Things Leaders Can Still Learn from JFK](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-leaders-can-still-learn-jfk/) - The coverage this week of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is a stark reminder of the impact his life and death had on the United States and the world. With the perspective of fifty years, it’s easy to argue for or against Kennedy’s strengths and weaknesses. It’s easy to debate what he did or didn’t accomplish. You may think he was a great president or you may not. Still, on this anniversary of his death, I would argue there are still some things that leaders can learn from JFK. Here (with links to JFK videos that illustrate the points) are three things that I think leaders can still learn from John F. Kennedy. - [The End of “Stow Your Devices”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-end-stow-devices/) - On two cross country flights last week, I unexpectedly marked the end of one era and the beginning of another. I had read, with great joy, that the Federal Aviation Administration intended later this year to abolish the requirement that passengers turn off and stow their electronic devices between the closing of the cabin door and reaching 10,000 feet. The implementation of the change snuck up on me. I was taken aback last week when the flight attendants on United said that we could leave our devices on after the door was closed. - [The Single Best Thing You Can Do to Be More Creative](https://eblingroup.com/blog/single-best-thing-to-be-more-creative/) - Do you think you’re creative? Are you a font of innovation and new ideas? Do you regularly spark your team to think differently? If your answer to these questions is yes, that’s awesome – keep going. If your answer is no or I don’t know, there’s a single best thing you can do to be more creative. In a recent conversation I had with David Burkus, assistant professor of management at Oral Roberts University and author of the new book, The Myths of Creativity, he made the point that most creative ideas come through combining pre-existing ideas. - [A Tale of Two Speeches](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tale-two-speeches/) - Not to get all Dickensian on you but it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. That was the case at a conference I attended recently. To accommodate the schedules of two high powered CEOs who agreed to speak during the lunch session, the meeting organizers scheduled two keynote addresses during the meal. That's a risky agenda move but one that could work if both speakers rock the house. Unfortunately that was not the case. - [Our Help is Needed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-help-needed/) - As you’ve likely seen in the news, a typhoon of historic proportions struck the Philippines this past weekend. As communications is reestablished and relief crews are reaching the stricken areas, it appears that at least ten thousand people died in the storm, entire communities have been wiped out and hundreds of thousands of people have been left homeless. It’s hard to imagine but that kind of devastation could touch any of us at any time. If it did, we would welcome whatever help anyone could provide. As you consider that, I invite you to consider joining me in making a donation to the relief efforts in the Philippines. - [How to Cure Your Toxic Team](https://eblingroup.com/blog/cure-your-toxic-team/) - If you’ve been in organizational life for any amount of time, you’ve probably been a member of a toxic team. Not to be a downer, but if you haven’t been you likely will be in the future. The good news is there’s something you can do about it no matter what your role is on the team. Team dynamics expert Liane Davey shares practical steps on how to do that in her new book, You First: Inspire Your Team to Grow Up, Get Along and Get Stuff Done. In a recent conversation with Liane, she explained why it’s critical to take ownership of curing your toxic team. In the recording that accompanies this post, you’ll learn how to start taking action. - [Three Signs You Should Make Leadership Team Changes Sooner Rather Than Later](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-signs-to-make-leadership-changes-sooner/) - A few years ago I wrote a post called Three Reasons You Should Fire the Prima Donna. That one was about why leaders should be decisive in exiting high performing but totally disruptive members of their team. Consider this post the next level up companion to the Prima Donna post. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve been in multiple conversations in which experienced senior leaders have discussed their lessons learned along the way. In every case, the leader said their biggest lesson learned was they should have made key changes in their senior leadership team sooner than they did. - [What Journaling Can Teach You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-journaling-can-teach/) - Last week I wrote in the first few pages of a new journal. I haven’t counted all of the old, filled-up, dog-eared journals I have. I’d guess there are around 10 of them. I started journaling in the mornings for a few minutes around 15 years ago. If you’ve doing the math, you’ve probably figured out that I’m not a very consistent journal keeper. Some weeks I’ll write every day in a row and other weeks not at all. I’ve even taken entire years off. For example, the journal I just finished spanned from January 2010 to October 2013. When I flipped through it the other day, I was reminded that I had written two entries, both in January, for all of 2011. Still, I keep coming back to journaling. I know why I do. It’s not so much the act of capturing whatever is going through my mind on a given day. Rather, it’s the historical record that those entries create over time. - [The Six Roots of Healthy Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/six-roots-of-healthy-leadership/) - If you’re a leader who’s feeling continually pulled from pillar to post, you’ll want to check out the new book, "Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted in an Uncertain World" by Bob Rosen. In a recent conversation with Bob, we talked about the research he’s done in more than 20 years as an organizational psychologist and advisor to senior executives. "Grounded" is the summation of all he’s learned. Bob has concluded that grounded leaders have deep roots in six important domains of health: - [Three Ways Leaders Build (or Break) Trust](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-leaders-build-break-trust/) - It's a bad sign when a leader gets to the point where both friends and foes are asking, “What did he know and when did he know it?” That’s where President Obama is this week with lots of questions being raised about what and when he knew about big problems with the Healthcare.gov website launch and more than five years of NSA eavesdropping on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone conversations. While I don’t take pleasure in writing this, my guess is the questions being raised over the past couple of weeks mark the end of the President’s ability to get much done during the remainder of his term. The healthcare and Merkel stories both get down to whether or not Obama can be trusted. Which, by the way, is not at all the same thing as whether or not he is telling the truth. That may be part of it, but it’s definitely not all of it. The problems the President is experiencing now are representative of the interplay of three critical ways that leaders either build or break trust with their followers. These three factors, first articulated by the linguist Fernando Flores, don’t just apply to top government leaders or big business leaders. They apply to any leader from moms and dads raising their kids to small business owners serving their customers to the leader of the Free World. They’re three simple, one word ideas that are easy to understand and remember. They’re critical for leaders that want to build trust and not break it. Here they are: - [How to Keep From Getting Fired](https://eblingroup.com/blog/keep-getting-fired/) - When the news came out last week that JP Morgan Chase had agreed to pay $13 billion in fines to settle a case with the U.S. government over the sale of “troubled mortgage securities” I asked myself, “How does their CEO, Jamie Dimon, keep his job? - [Why Do Women Work Better Together Than Men?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/women-work-better-together-men/) - One of the few encouraging things that came out of the Federal government shutdown fiasco that ended last week was that the women of the US Senate were instrumental in working together to solve it. As reported in the New York Times and elsewhere, the women of the Senate from both sides of the aisle took it upon themselves to start talking and keep talking until they figured out a way out. While the men were squabbling, the women were solving. Which raises the question, are women better at working together than men? And, if they are, why? - [Seven Things I’ve Learned About Life and Leadership from Three Years of Yoga](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-seven-things-ive-learned-from-yoga/) - It was three years ago last week that I started practicing yoga. I got into it because I was looking for a way to stay in shape when my knees and other health challenges more or less brought an end to my thirty five year career as a runner. I thought I was in pretty good shape but my first yoga class seemed like it would never end. Three years later, I’ve taken close to 1,000 classes and, about a month ago, completed a 200 hour yoga teacher training program. It’s hard for me to believe I’ve spent so much time on a yoga mat. There’s been a lot more to it than bending and stretching. Over the past three years, I’ve written a number of posts about what I’ve learned from yoga. I spent some time reviewing them last week and, honestly, I got a little choked up. It was humbling to realize that skills and knowledge I take for granted now are things that I literally couldn’t imagine doing three years ago. As much as anything else, yoga for me has been a vehicle for learning. That’s been my point in writing about it here. You don’t have to do yoga to learn life and leadership. It’s worked for me. Something else might work for you. In any case, based on my own historical record, here are seven things I’ve learned about life and leadership from three years of practicing yoga. - [The Three Variables of Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-variables-of-leadership/) - There are a lot of theories on what it takes to be an effective leader. Here’s an interesting one that I heard recently from an experienced senior executive who was a guest speaker in one of our Next Level Leadership® group coaching programs for high potential leader. This executive’s perspective is that effective leadership is about getting things done and that getting things done boils down to the effective management of three variables – time, money and resources. Agree? Disagree? Take a quick look at where he’s coming from on each and weigh in with your take. - [What’s Your Saber Tooth Tiger?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-whats-saber-tooth-tiger/) - Let’s play caveman or cavewoman. You’re walking along, minding your own business, when all of the sudden you spy a saber tooth tiger lurking around the next big rock. At that moment, the part of your brain called the amygdala activates your fight or flight response. Adrenalin and other neurochemicals and hormones surge through your body as you make split second decisions about standing your ground or getting out of there as fast as you possibly can. - [Leaders' Poll: What State Are You In?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-poll-what-state-are-you-in/) - Interested in seeing how you compare with other leader's self assessment of their typical state of mind? I am. If you are, take a second to click on the option that best describes your typical state of mind (or add one of your own at the end). - [What to Do When the S**t Hits the Fan](https://eblingroup.com/blog/when-the-s-t-hits-the-fan/) - Two acknowledgments to begin this post. First, this is a family friendly blog so when I say “the s**t hits the fan,” you know what I mean. Second, everyone has times when the s**t hits the fan. If you’re a leader, s**t hitting the fan could look like a breakdown in your team. It could like not delivering for a customer on a key commitment. It could look like the challenge of keeping everyone focused and motivated under very challenging conditions. It could look like any of the above becoming public and snowballing into epic proportions before you even recognize that it has. The possibilities are endless, really, and because they are you’re guaranteed to have s**t hits the fan moments. Like so many things in life, the key is how you respond when the fan is hit. While your mileage and circumstances may vary, here are three tried and true steps on what to do when the s**t hits the fan. - [Mindful Mondays Video: The Break You Carry With You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-video-break-carry/) - If you’re like most of the leaders I work with, your calendar is racked and stacked, your inbox is full and your smartphone is always buzzing. It’s pretty hard to show up mindfully when all of that is going on. You need to take a break, but how do you find the time? The good news is that a short break can make a big difference and you carry all the tools you need to take one around with you all day long. It’s your breath, but it only helps if you breathe the right way. - [How to Promote Yourself and Still Respect Yourself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/promote-yourself-and-respect-yourself/) - In a world where there is more and more information competing for everyone's attention, it's important to make sure you stay relevant. If you're a leader in a large organization, this is especially important because your team's success depends on how good a job you do as their Chief Marketing Officer. As I've written here before, the work doesn't speak for itself, you have to speak for the work. That's what leadership and career expert Dan Schwabel teaches you how to do in his new book, Promote Yourself: The New Rules for Career Success. Dan is a particular expert in the millennial generation and has made it his mission to help members of that cohort be accountable for their careers and take charge of their lives. I spoke with Dan recently about his book and asked him for his top three ideas on how leaders can promote their work without, as Dan says, coming off like "a self-promotional jerk." Whether you're a millennial or not, Dan offers some very important advice which you can hear in the brief interview that accompanies this post. - [The Government Shutdown and the Verbal Tells That Give Leaders Away](https://eblingroup.com/blog/government-shutdown-verbal-tells-give-leaders-away/) - Well, here we are again. This week’s Federal government shutdown is the latest in a series of sad and maddening examples of a leadership class that’s disconnected from the people it’s supposed to lead and serve. There are plenty of commentators from across the spectrum who are offering their opinions on the issues and the politics behind the shutdown so I won’t go into that here. That’s not the purpose of this blog anyway. Instead, I want to call out something I’ve noticed in the story that can be both a pitfall for leaders and a warning sign for the people they lead. It’s the go to word or catch phrase that a leader uses when they don’t want to say what’s really going on. It’s known as the verbal tell. - [Elephant or Chicken?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-elephant-or-chicken/) - A client who frequently travels internationally told me a fascinating story recently. My client is a regular visitor to Africa and told me about a safari tour guide he met in Botswana. This guide is so skilled and experienced at what he does that he can approach an 18,000 pound bull elephant with no fear of being charged. The guide and the elephant go eye to eye. The guests get great pics and the guide does it again on the next safari. He is at one with his environment. - [Disappointment Sucks. So, Now What?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/disappointment-sucks-so-now-what/) - Yesterday I found what is already one of my all time favorite New Yorker cartoons. I pulled the current issue out of the mailbox, started flipping through it and saw the classic guy on a therapist’s couch. The caption was “I did seize the day. But then it seized me back and used some kind of jujitsu move to flip me on my ass.” - [Join Me for a Conversation in Leadership with Skillsoft’s Shawn Hunter](https://eblingroup.com/blog/join-me-for-a-conversation-in-leadership-with-skillsofts-shawn-hunter/) - Please join me for a complimentary webinar: A Conversation in Leadership with Skillsoft’s Shawn Hunter, on Tuesday, October 1, 12 – 1 p.m. EDT. Click through for details and registration. - [Don't Like Organizational Politics? Get Over It.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-like-organizational-politics-get-over-it/) - At the end of a Next Level Intensive workshop yesterday, I asked the participants for some ideas on topics they'd like to cover in future sessions or what they'd like to see me address in my blog. As people were leaving the room, one of the managers sidled up to me and said she'd really like to see a post on navigating organizational politics. That's one that I have some strong opinions on so here we are. (And thanks for the request - you know who you are!) Before I got on the plane, I looked up the root of the word politics on Wikipedia. Here's the first line of the entry: - [You People Are Amazing!](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-you-people-are-amazing/) - Next month marks the third anniversary of me getting serious about yoga. I’ve had a lot of great yoga teachers in the past three years. Many of them have had a lasting impact on me on and off the mat. Preston Scott is one that really stands out for me. I was a Saturday morning regular for Preston’s class when I lived in the Washington, DC area and was still very new to yoga. Preston moved to Florida a couple of years ago and, with his wife, Christen, opened a studio called The Power Yoga Tribe. From what I’ve seen on their web site, it looks like a great community. - [Two Presidents, a Pope and Leadership Clarity](https://eblingroup.com/blog/two-presidents-a-pope-and-leadership-clarity/) - A couple of days ago, in the wake of the zigs and zags of the U.S. response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria, I started thinking about writing a post on the points along the spectrum of clarity in leadership. Anchoring one end of the spectrum is the last U.S. President, George W. Bush. One of the seminal moments in his presidency was when he said at a press conference, "I'm the decider and I decide what's best." It doesn't get much clearer than that. The problem comes when the decisions don't turn out very well. - [The Empire Business: Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston’s Lessons for Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-empire-business-breaking-bads-bryan-cranstons-lessons-for-leaders/) - I'm late to the party for what many claim is The. Greatest. Television. Show. Ever. Over the past couple of months, I’ve found myself really getting in to Breaking Bad. Thanks to my iPad, it’s become my late night flight obsession on the way home from business trips. I’m about halfway through Season 2 and find myself thinking about bad guys like Tuco at odd times. - [Three Signs That You Need a Break](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-signs-that-you-need-a-break/) - A few weeks back, I wrote in this space that I’d be taking a break from blogging and would be back sometime in September. Well, here I am – back to it and excited to be doing so. A break was just what I needed to give some thought to what I want to do here over the next few years. As always, my main goal is to share practical and applicable ideas that can help all of us be more effective as leaders and people. - [See You in September](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-see-you-in-september/) - In the category of “practice what you preach,” I’ll be taking a break from the Next Level Blog over the next few weeks to recharge my blogging batteries. I’ll be back online here sometime in September. In the meantime, I’d love to hear from you about any leadership topics on your mind or ideas and observations you have for the Mindful Mondays feature I’ve been writing this year. Please give me a shout via email if you do. Have a great start to the “new year” (it kind of feels that way as summer winds down) and I’ll see you in September. - [Three Ways to Overcome Impostor Syndrome](https://eblingroup.com/blog/joyce-roche-overcome-imposter-syndrome/) - As a leader, have you ever felt like there must have been some sort of mistake in the selection process that led to you being in the role you’re in? If so, you’re not the only one. Most leaders do at some or more than one point. The phenomenon is known as imposter syndrome and it’s the subject of a new book by Joyce Roche called The Empress Has No Clothes: Conquering Self-Doubt to Embrace Success. When you read Joyce’s bio, you’d think that if anyone could skirt imposter syndrome it would be her. - [How Leaders Can Get to the Truth](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-leaders-can-get-to-the-truth/) - One of the great challenges in taking on a more senior leadership role is staying plugged in to what’s really going on. All too often, leaders are blindsided because the people on their team tell them what they think they want to hear rather than what they really need to hear – the truth about what is actually going on. In this brief interview with "Out Think" author Shawn Hunter, he shares what a literal life or death situation from recent history can teach leaders about the importance of getting to the truth and some simple, practical ideas for doing that (audio). - [Your Life is Now](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-your-life-is-now/) - The title of this post is the title of one of my favorite songs, Your Life is Now, by John Mellencamp. It has been on my mind since the very unexpected passing last week of an old high school friend, the Reverend Greg Hamby. As is often the case with news of long ago friends, I learned from Facebook of Greg's death. He broke his neck while body surfing with his son on vacation at Myrtle Beach and died in ICU the next day. The past couple of weeks have been the equivalent of an online funeral for Greg. Hundreds of people have posted their memories of him, their stories of how he affected their lives and their shock and grief at losing him so suddenly. - [“Brand You” Has Nothing to Do with Twitter](https://eblingroup.com/blog/brand-you-has-nothing-to-do-with-twitter/) - While travelling this week, I’ve been reading This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America's Gilded Capital by New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich. It’s a simultaneously entertaining and depressing account of the power elite in Washington, DC. The primary point of the book, which Leibovich illustrates with story after story, is that the players in D.C. (referred to in the book as The Club) are all about Brand Me. The whole scene, as described by Leibovich, is a constant flurry of self interested self promotion across as many platforms as possible. The book does a great job of explaining why so many Americans are so disgusted with what goes on in and comes out of DC. In a word, it’s shallow. - [Five Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself On a Regular Basis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-five-questions-you-should-be-asking-yourself/) - How many decisions do you think you make in a day? The research I’ve seen says its anywhere from 600 or so to 10,000 on average. When I think about all of the relatively inconsequential decisions I make every day (e.g. what shirt to wear, what I’m going to have for breakfast, etc.), I’m inclined to go with the higher number. Any way you slice it, it’s a lot of daily decisions for most people. As represented by the little blue loop in the picture that accompanies this post (the cognoscenti among you will recognize it as the Double Loop Learning Model from Chris Argyris), most of us tend to get into a well grooved loop of actions and results (or cause and effect if you like). That’s a good thing for the most part because with all of those decisions we’re making everyday, we’d have total analysis paralysis if we had to actively stop and think about every decision we make or action we take. So, it’s a good thing until it’s no longer good thing. And when it is no longer a good thing? It’s no longer a good thing when you’re stop getting the results that you want, need or expect. Sometimes, we can be so caught up in our little blue loop that it’s hard to see that it’s no longer working. That’s why it’s important to periodically pull your perspective back to the bigger green loop and mindfully ask some questions that will help you look at the bigger picture. Here are five of my favorites. What other questions would you add to the list? - [Let Them Think Out Loud](https://eblingroup.com/blog/let-them-think-out-loud/) - A few days ago, I got a call from a coaching colleague who was looking for some advice. He's been working with the top executives of a company and has developed strong relationships with each of them. The challenge is that those executives are sorting through some disagreements with each other and each of them is confiding their points of view in my friend, the coach. - [What Will Be Your Responsible “No” This Week?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-will-be-your-no-this-week/) - My wife has this great line that she sometimes uses when she’s asked to help with something that’s not as high a priority as other things on her calendar. She listens to the pitch and then politely says, “What you’re doing sounds great and really important. I’d like to be able to help but given everything else going on in my life, it wouldn’t be responsible of me to say yes.” - [Leadership Lessons from the San Francisco Plane Crash](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-the-san-francisco-plane-crash/) - My friend and Georgetown leadership coaching colleague sent a thought provoking email to his friends and clients last week on the recent crash of an Asiana 777 jet liner at San Francisco International Airport. In it, Bob raises a lot of important questions for leaders and their colleagues to consider. With his permission, I’m sharing his thoughts on the Next Level Blog. - [Five Ways to be a Human Being Instead of a Human Doing](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-five-ways-to-be-a-human-being-instead-of-a-human-doing/) - I don't remember where I first heard it, but one of the best questions I was ever asked was are you a human being or a human doing? A big portion of my life has been spent as a human doing. Lately, though, I've spent time and attention on being in the midst of all the doing.My schedule is usually pretty crazy and I'm guessing yours is too. It sort of comes with the territory when you're a leader. What are simple, practical things you can do in the midst of the swirl to reconnect with the idea that you're not just a human doing, you're also a human being? Here are five things I've been doing lately that have been working for me. - [Be More Gentle with Your Self Talk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-be-more-gentle-with-your-self-talk/) - Do you say things to yourself that you would never say to someone you care about? Most of us do from time to time. Some of us more than others. We chastise ourselves when we don't live up to our own expectations. We berate ourselves when we make a mistake. We kick ourselves when we forget something important. That voice inside your head that's saying all of that is often called the inner critic. I prefer to call it the itty bitty sh***y committee. Whatever you call it, it's important to not let it run amok. Here's why. - [Unplug](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-unplug/) - This will be my only blog post this week because, like a lot of people in the US, I’m taking advantage of the 4th of July holiday this Thursday and, after today, am going offline, literally and figuratively, until next week. Interested in joining me? If so, you might want to check out this series of articles from Fast Company about how to unplug. They’re full of road tested, simple and practical ideas for reclaiming some of your brain space. - [Three Signs That You’re Ready for a Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-signs-that-youre-ready-for-a-coach/) - When I wrote a post last week called Three Reasons You Should Not Hire a Coach, I promised to revisit the topic this week with the reasons you should hire a coach. Upon further reflection, I thought it would be more useful to share three signs that you’re ready for a coach. Much like last week’s post, my point of view is informed by more than a dozen years of working with scores of great coaching clients and, frankly, a few that I shouldn’t have taken on. So, based on that experience, here are three signs that you’re ready for a coach. - [Focus on What You Can Do Now](https://eblingroup.com/blog/focus-on-what-you-can-do-now/) - One of the biggest barriers to being present is worrying about what might happen in the future rather than what you can do right now. Two of my favorite quotes speak to this challenge. The Renaissance writer, Montaigne, wrote, "My life has been full of misfortunes most of which never happened. A few hundred years later, Thomas Jefferson expressed the similar idea, "How much pain they have cost us, the evils which have never happened." This topic is on my mind today because of a realization I had after a yoga class yesterday. - [Three Reasons You Should Not Hire a Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reasons-you-should-not-hire-a-coach/) - As an executive coach, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that the title of this post may not be the world’s best business development strategy. But, after more than 12 years as a coach, I think I’ve learned when it makes sense to hire a coach and when it doesn’t. I’ll get to the reasons why you should hire a coach next week. This week, though, I want to start with three of my favorite reasons why you shouldn’t hire a coach. Through the school of hard knocks, I’ve learned that these reasons are sure fire predictors of a failed coaching engagement. That’s why when I hear one of them or sniff it out, I turn down the business. Here they are: - [Leave It Outside](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-leave-it-outside/) - Melissa, the young woman who cuts my hair, is wise beyond her years. She’s 26 years old and got into town 7 or 8 months ago. Within a week of getting here, she had three job offers from different salons and was promoted to assistant manager in the one she selected about three months after she started. Once a month we have an hour long conversation about music, favorite vacation spots, working out and business while she cuts my hair. Yesterday, I asked Melissa how, as a manager, she deals with the drama that can come up when you lead a team. She said that there really isn’t much drama in her shop because everyone follows the rule. What’s the rule? - [Should Leaders Ever Lie?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/should-leaders-ever-lie/) - News stories don't get much bigger than this week's revelation that government contractor Edward Snowden revealed classified information to The Guardian and the Washington Post that the National Security Agency has a program that collects and analyzes the phone records of millions of Americans. This post isn't a commentary on the NSA program or what Snowden did (although I agree with Jeffrey Toobin's argument on why he should be prosecuted). - [Three Reasons to Consider Dialing It Back a Bit](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-three-reasons-to-consider-dialing-it-back-a-bit/) - A lot of leaders end up in the roles they’re in because their Type A people who don’t settle. They have high expectations of themselves and others and give everything 100%. That’s a good thing until it’s no longer a good thing. In the interest of mindful leadership, I want to raise the question of whether or not you should consider dialing it back a bit. As an executive coach, I work with a lot of Type A leaders who always have the dial set to 10. When I run 360 degree feedback surveys for them, they tend to score low on behaviors like pacing themselves by building in breaks from work and differentiating between efforts that require perfection and those for which “good enough” is sufficient. - [Three Steps for Leaders Who Want to Work Better with Their Peers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-steps-for-leaders-who-want-to-work-better-with-their-peers/) - This weekend, President Obama will host the new president of China, Xi Jinping, for two days at a resort called Sunnyvale in Rancho Mirage, California. As reported in the New York Times and other outlets, the two leaders will spend a lot of time in relaxed and unscripted conversations with the goal of getting to know each other better. While there are risks involved in such an approach, they seem to be outweighed by the potential rewards of the leaders of the world’s two biggest superpowers better understanding each other. Their approach holds a lesson for leaders in all walks of life who, like Obama and Xi, find themselves simultaneously collaborating and competing with their peers. - [Check Yourself Out](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-check-yourself-out/) - So, you may be asking yourself, “What on earth does checking yourself out have to do with mindful leadership?” Fair question. If, by checking yourself out, we’re talking about sneaking in an admiring glance as you walk by a mirror or a storefront window, the answer is not much. If, on the other hand, we’re talking about the modern day version of what Socrates meant when he said, “The unexamined life is not worth living,” then the answer is a lot. - [What Songs Are On Your Mindfulness Playlist?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-songs-are-on-your-mindfulness-playlist/) - Music can have a powerful impact on mindfulness. Certain songs or genres can be totally distracting or annoying while others set you up to remember why you do what you do as a leader. Likewise, there are distracting and annoying things about smartphones and there are also very useful things about the devices. One of those is the capacity they give you to carry around a mindfulness playlist in your pocket. Having one can be very useful when you need some help in refocusing on a more mindful approach to leadership and life. As an example, there are three songs on my mindfulness playlist that I come back to again and again. - [Seven Tips for Taming Your Calendar](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seven-tips-for-taming-your-calendar/) - A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called Five Ways to Get Your Calendar Under Control. Since then, I’ve used it as the starting point for a conversation among high potential leaders in our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program. As the inflow becomes heavier and the expectations become higher, taming the calendar beast is a common challenge for leaders. Here are seven of the best ideas I’ve heard lately from leaders who are figuring out how to leverage their time to get important stuff done: - [Mindful Mondays - Breathe to Relax](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-breathe-to-relax/) - If you’ve been following Mindful Mondays, you know that I’m a big fan of stretching and breathing. As I mentioned in this video, combining the two can be a quick and effective way to take a break that pushes the reset button on your brain. Of course, you may want to take a quick break by focusing on one or the other. If I had to pick one to start with, it would be breathing. Obviously, we all do it and, because we do, it’s always available as a resource for slowing things down enough to step back, relax and reset your perspective. - [Why Leaders Need to Be Indifferent](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-leaders-need-to-be-indifferent/) - A couple of months ago, I was talking with an executive leader I’ve known for a few years. One of the things I’ve noticed about him in that time is that his confidence has grown in a very appropriate and admirable way. I mentioned this to him and, in reply, he laughed softly and said, “It’s a fine line between confidence and indifference.” - [Mindful Mondays – Choose Your Word for the Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-choose-your-word-for-the-week/) - The ancient Greeks had a word called praxis which is the root of our modern day English words, practical and practice. Aristotle described the end goal of praxis as action. When he wrote about praxis, one of his points was that if you want to be a certain way, start acting that way. - [Four Tips for Talking with the CEO](https://eblingroup.com/blog/four-tips-for-talking-with-the-ceo/) - Does the thought of a brief conversation with the top executive in your organization stir up the butterflies in your stomach? If it does, you’re not alone. It’s basically a form of corporate stage fright that lots of people experience. - [Mindful Mondays - What I Learned About Perfectionism from Yoga](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-i-learned-about-perfectionism-from-yoga/) - The best coaching question I was ever asked was about 15 years ago when a woman who was coaching me while I was a corporate VP asked, "What would it take for you to stop judging yourself?" That question hit me like a ton of bricks because it cut to the quick of my perfectionism and feeling like I never measured up to my own expectations. I'd like to be able to report that I was immediately transformed by the question and it was all sunshine and roses from there. That wasn't the case, but, by raising the question, my coach succinctly framed something for me to work on for the next fifteen years. - [Three Ways to Know What You Need to Know](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-know-what-you-need-to-know/) - A big part of my job as a coach is delivering colleague feedback summaries to my executive coaching clients. Sometimes the feedback is hard for them to hear. I have sympathy for them. I was once a corporate executive and, in one particular case, got some blistering 360 feedback that had me licking my wounds for a month or two before I finally gathered up the gumption to act on it. - [Presence in Boston When It Mattered Most](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-presence-in-boston-when-it-mattered-most/) - What a week it was for the city of Boston. It’s hard to believe that the citizens there went from the attack at the Boston Marathon to a citywide lockdown as police hunted for the surviving suspect to the celebratory singing of Sweet Caroline with Neil Diamond himself in an afternoon game at Fenway Park all within the span of five days. When I wrote about the resilience of Bostonians last week, I had no clue just how resilient they would prove to be. - [A Boston Marathon Memory and Hope](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-boston-marathon-memory-and-hope/) - There’s little I can add to what’s already been observed about the tragedy at the Boston Marathon this week. The horror, the heroism and the heartache will stay for a long time with everyone who experienced or witnessed it. What I want to add to the conversation is my own memory of running the Marathon with my friend Tiffany when we were both graduate students in Boston back in 1987 and how that memory gives me hope today. - [The Warning Signs That You’re Taking on Too Much](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-warning-signs/) - NBA star Kobe Bryant blew out his Achilles tendon in a game last Friday night. In a last ditch effort to get the Lakers into the playoffs, the 34 year old, 17 year veteran logged more than 40 minutes a game in his last 10 outings. Bryant calls his own shots and was determined to play no matter what. Now he’s got no choice but to be off the court for the next six to nine months. Like me, you’ve probably seen a lot of leaders who take on too much. You might even be one of them. What are the warning signs that you might be taking on so much that you’re headed towards your own version of a ruptured Achilles tendon? With the Kobe Bryant story in mind, here are three of them: - [What Are You Famous For?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-are-you-famous-for/) - The title of this post was inspired by a conversation with Bill, (not his real name) a friend of mine who works in a well known company. We were talking recently about what he’s learned in a long and successful career that has spanned some of the top organizations in the private and public sectors. Even with all the great experience under his belt, Bill is still open to learning. That’s a big factor in his success. Another is that he pays attention. In his current company, he’s noticed that career success is all about how quickly you put points you on the board. If you’re a manager in the company, the same thing applies to your team. What really put this front and center for Bill was a conversation he had with a senior executive about the development of one of Bill’s team members. The executive asked Bill, “What is he famous for?” - [Mindful Mondays - Two Resources from Google’s Jolly Good Fellow](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-two-resources-from-googles-jolly-good-fellow/) - In this installment of Mindful Mondays, I’m sharing two resources brought to us by Google’s Jolly Good Fellow, Chade –Meng Tan. Even though he started out as an engineer at Google, Jolly Good Fellow is Meng-Tan’s job title today. He earned it by coming up with the most popular internal training course at Google, a program on mindfulness and meditation called Search Inside Yourself. - [The Rutgers Basketball Fiasco: Leadership, Responsibility and Accountability](https://eblingroup.com/blog/rutgers-basketball-fiasco-leadership-responsibility/) - If you follow sports or even just the news in general, you’ve likely seen the video of Rutgers men’s basketball coach Mike Rice shoving his players, hitting them with thrown balls and screaming homophobic slurs at them during practices last year. Make that former Rutgers basketball coach Mike Rice because once the tape was aired on ESPN this week, went viral and commentators started calling for his head, he was fired within 24 hours. - [Scheduling Time to Be Present](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-scheduling-time-to-be-present/) - In the closing session of a recent Next Level Leadership® group coaching program, I asked the participants to talk about what had changed for them over the previous six or seven months. A number of them talked about how they had made changes to be more consistently present with their families during the course of the program. They had made simple changes like getting home by 6:00 pm at least three nights a week or staying off email for at least a full day during the weekend so they could focus on their partner and kids. Essentially, they were scheduling the act of being present. The pace of professional life today can have you running so flat out that you don’t even realize you’re doing it and don’t realize what you’re missing in the process. By taking some time to recognize what they’d been doing, these leaders renewed their relationships with their families and, at the same time, renewed their own perspective. To a person, each of them said they felt more productive and creative at work because they had scheduled some regular time to be present with their families. This past weekend, I did the same thing. My parents came out to L.A. for a visit and I more or less cleared the decks to be fully present with them and my wife and sons. (That’s the six of us on the beach on Sunday afternoon.) Don’t get me wrong. I don't think I did anything particularly heroic or notable here. All I did, following the examples of my clients, was schedule some time to be present. Here are three simple ideas that worked for me that might make it easier for you to be present with the people who matter to you outside of work: - [How Do You Deal with an Abusive Leader?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-deal-with-an-abusive-leader/) - Five years ago, I wrote a blog post that recapped reporting from The New York Times on just how tough mayoral aspirant Congressman Anthony Weiner was to work for. (Yes, the same Anthony Weiner who resigned from Congress a couple of years later for sending risqué direct messages to select followers on Twitter.) And this week the Times profiles the leadership stylings of another candidate for mayor, New York City council speaker Christine Quinn. An abridged list of her attributes includes: - [Mindful Mondays – Stretch and Breathe](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-stretch-and-breathe/) - Is your calendar racked and stacked with one meeting after another five days a week? Are your weekends filled up with even more commitments to family, organizations or work? Are you wondering how to build in a break that will allow you to relax, refresh and recharge? Can you find two minutes in your busy day? If you can (and most everyone can), I’ve got something for you. - [Why Men Should Read Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-men-should-read-sheryl-sandbergs-lean-in/) - So, it’s pretty clear that Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, doesn’t need any help from me in promoting her new book, Lean In. (For more on Sandberg on this blog check out Wondering ‘Am I A Good Leader?’ Take the Sheryl Sandberg Test.) In what is the most impressive book launch I’ve ever seen, Sandberg and her book on women and leadership have received a ton of coverage and conversation online. She’s chatted with Oprah, been on the cover of Time magazine, and featured in publications like the New York Times, Harvard Business Review and the Financial Times. Lean In sold 140,000 copies in its first week and the publisher has ordered 400,000 more copies. It’s number one on Amazon, USA Today, and will be number one in the March 31 edition of the New York Times bestseller list. - [Mindful Mondays - What Are Your Triggers?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-what-are-your-triggers/) - A big part of being a mindful leader is knowing your triggers. As emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman and others remind us, one of the biggest differences between human beings and other animals is our capacity to manage the gap between stimulus and response. A trigger is one form of stimulus. Quite often when we’re triggered, we react instead of respond. - [Five Reasons Why You Should Help Your Frenemies](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-reasons-to-help-your-frenemies/) - So, back in 2009, I wrote a post about how I wasn’t going to blog anymore about Tiger Woods. This post isn’t really about Tiger but he’s involved in the story behind it. Last week, Woods won the Cadillac Championship tournament at Doral. Good news for him but not the most interesting part of the story. The interesting part is that the pro Steve Stricker gave Woods a 45 minute putting lesson the night before the tournament started. - [Take a Break](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-take-a-break/) - Welcome back to the new Mindful Mondays feature on the Next Level Blog. As I explain in this brief video, my goal with this series is to offer some simple, practical ideas that you can apply immediately to be a more mindful leader. This week, I’m sharing a simple but powerful idea for gaining the perspective that will help you be more productive and effective. Take a look and let me know what you think. - [Five Rules for Leading Through Uncertainty](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-through-uncertainty/) - A lot of my clients work in Washington, DC. They’re either executives in Federal agencies or executives in companies that do a lot of business with Federal agencies. Right now, they’re all talking about sequestration – that wonderful process in which Congress mandates across the board budget cuts without any guidance about how to implement those cuts. - [Bill Ford on Leading with Compassion and Intention](https://eblingroup.com/blog/mindful-mondays-bill-ford-on-leading-with-compassion/) - This week, I’m starting a new feature on this blog called Mindful Mondays. I’ll have more to say about it in a video I’ll post soon, but the short explanation for now is to feature leaders and thinkers who have things to say about mindful leadership along with practices and tools you can use to be a more mindful leader yourself. - [Three Things Co-Presenters Need to Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-co-presenters-need/) - So, the awards season has officially ended now that we know who won Best Actor and Actress, Best Picture and all of the rest of the Oscars handed out at the Academy Awards. Apart from being a fan of the movies, I enjoy watching the show to see how professionals handle themselves when they have to present in front of a worldwide audience of millions. - [Three Ways to Get the Recognition You Deserve](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-get-the-recognition-you-deserve/) - So, my first blog post of last week would likely have been something that caught my eyes and ears during the Grammy Awards but then the Pope decided to break with 600 years of tradition and retired. That seemed like a bigger story than the Grammy Awards so I went with the Pope. Still, there was a particular moment from the Grammys that has stuck with me that, I think, provides a lesson for leaders who aren’t feeling particularly appreciated. The best new artist of the year at the Grammys was a band called Fun. When they stepped up to the mic to accept their award, the lead singer expressed their appreciation and then talked about how they had been together for twelve years and, after all that time, it was nice to be recognized for their work. Yeah, that’s right. Fun has been performing together for twelve years and they just won the Grammy for best new artist of the year. Ever feel like you’ve been bringing it night after night after night and nobody’s noticed? That’s probably how Fun felt. And now, they’re the best new artist of the year. What does it take to hang in there with no particular hope of being recognized for what you’re bringing to the table? There are probably a lot of answers to that question. With the hope that they provide some encouragement to leaders who are plugging along without much in the way of positive feedback, here are three of my answers to that question: - [What’s Love Got to Do with Leadership?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-love-got-to-do-with-leadership/) - Being the topical kind of guy that I am, on Valentine’s Day I find myself asking what does love have to do with leadership? As it turns out, quite a lot I think. In surfing the web while writing this post, I came upon this Wikipedia article which addresses the differing concepts of love from culture to culture. It was a good reminder of how limited my perspective can be. That said, having been raised as a Christian in the Western world, my understanding of love starts with the different definitions used by the ancient Greeks. Of course, there was eros which may have a lot to do with Valentine’s Day but usually shouldn’t have a lot to do with leadership. Then there’s agape which when described as a love for humanity and the divine is more relevant to the practice of leadership. And, of course, there’s philia which is the love that is concerned with the well being of friends. There are certainly leadership applications in that definition of love. - [The Pope Shows That Sometimes Leadership is Addition by Subtraction](https://eblingroup.com/blog/pope-leadership-is-addition-by-subtraction/) - As I write this, it’s the evening of the day that Pope Benedict XVI announced that he intends to resign the papacy at the end of this month. Considering that the last time a pope resigned was 600 years ago, his announcement qualifies as a pretty big story. There’s been a lot of reporting and commentary today about the impact of Benedict’s resignation. For example, The New York Times offers a nice analysis of the issues at hand in its article, Successor to Benedict Will Lead a Church at the Crossroads. My friend and colleague, John Baldoni, was very quick off the mark earlier today with a post for Forbes that offered three questions inspired by the Pope’s announcement that leaders should ask themselves. I’ve read a lot of interesting things about the Pope and the Catholic Church today, but the one that really stood out for me was a letter to the editor of the New York Times from Daniel C. Maguire, a professor of moral theology at Marquette University. He opens the letter with these two sentences: - [What Verb Tense Do You Lead In?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-verb-tense-do-you-lead-in/) - If you want to read a blogger who gives, gives, gives and never takes, check out Leadership Freak by Dan Rockwell. With his regular posts of 300 words or less, Dan has built a loyal following of tens of thousands of leaders in the past few years. As an example of his work, check out his recent post on “Ten Strategies for Starting Over.” It’s a great post with ten simple, actionable tips for overcoming something that many of us do without even recognizing we do it – getting stuck in the past. We tend to hang on to stuff that’s not doing us any good and that we need to let go of. There’s a simple way to check yourself on that. Over the course of a day or a week, notice which verb tenses you find yourself speaking in throughout the day. Your choices are past, present or future. - [Why You Should Hang Out With the Competition](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-you-should-hang-out-with-the-competition/) - Last week I wrote a post called How to Run a Staff Meeting that was based on some of the wisdom learned by participants in the Next Level Leadership® group coaching program during their executive shadow days. Today’s post is based on another lesson learned by a high potential leader during his shadow day. It’s why you need to occasionally hang out with the competition. - [What Happens When Executives Freak Out](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-happens-when-executives-freak-out/) - So, the Super Bowl this year is guaranteed to have a winning coach named Harbaugh when John of the Baltimore Ravens and Jim of the San Francisco 49ers square off against each other. It’s the first time brothers have ever faced each other in the big game. It should be a good one and is - [How to Run a Staff Meeting](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-run-a-staff-meeting-2/) - One of my favorite things in our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program is when the high potential participants come together in the fourth session to debrief each other on their Executive Shadow Days. Before they show up for a day of coaching on Organizational Presence, they spend a day shadowing a senior executive in their organization. During their shadow day, they do whatever the executive does. They go to their meetings, sit in on their calls and attend their presentations. The debriefs are always full of interesting stories and insights. - [Three Ways to Cure Your Executive ADD](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-cure-your-executive-add/) - Believe me, I don’t usually take pictures in restrooms but, in a “can’t believe what I’m seeing moment”, I had to snap the shot that accompanies this post. In case it’s not showing up as you’re reading this, it’s a sink faucet with a working video screen affixed to the top. I saw it today in the men’s room of a major conference center somewhere in America. Apparently, it’s come to this – faucets with screens for those who get bored while washing their hands. - [What Is Executive Presence?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-is-executive-presence/) - During the past couple of months, I’ve been in four or five conversations with leadership development professionals who are looking for a way to build executive presence in their organization’s high potential managers. Most of them have tried different programs and approaches and they’re not happy with the results they’ve gotten. I have a theory about why that’s the case. Executive presence is one of those terms that’s often used but rarely clearly defined. If you do a Google search on the term you’ll find articles that talk about confidence, communications, personal appearance, body language and other factors that don’t get a lot more specific than that. It’s a great case of what the French would call je ne sais quoi – something that can’t be adequately described. That, of course, makes executive presence hard to teach to people. If you can’t describe it, you can’t teach it. - [How to Get Rid of the Things That Drain You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-rid-of-the-things-that-drain-you/) - Over the weekend I had a great reminder of how much things change over time. I received an email from a coach I worked with back in 2004. She had been cleaning out some files and found a document that she asked me to write for her when we were working together. It was a list of twenty nine things that were draining my energy back then. I was in a bit of a funk in that period and the list included worries about family, health, friends, business – the works really. As I looked it over, I realized that there were only two things on the list that still bug me – a messy office and messy bookshelves. After nine years of those two, I think I’ve come to terms with the mess. - [Three Lessons Dick Clark Taught Us About Succession Planning](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-lessons-dick-clark-taught-us-about-succession-planning/) - Like millions of Americans on Monday night, I watched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve to count down to the new year as the ball dropped in Times Square. Of course, it wasn’t the same show as in decades past because Dick Clark passed away last April. But, it was still Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest. And, as the title of the show implies, among his many other accomplishments, Dick Clark left a world class lesson in leadership succession planning. - [When Being There is All You Can Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/when-being-there-is-all-you-can-do/) - Like so many other people around the world, the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut last Friday has weighed heavily on my heart and mind these past few days. In all of the coverage and conversation, I’ve yet to hear anyone, myself included, come up with the words to explain how such a thing could happen or to fully console the families and friends of those who were lost. At the same time, however, leaders from President Obama on down have done their best to offer solace to the community. - [The Traits That Make RG III a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-traits-that-make-rg-iii-a-leader/) - Given my history on this blog, I never thought I’d write anything positive about anything to do with the Washington Redskins. After all, one of the most widely read posts I’ve ever written was one back in 2009 called Learning What Not to Do from the Leadership of the Washington Redskins. Heck, I even did a television interview on the topic. There is no denying that I’m on the record as thinking that the Redskins have had some pretty bad leadership for over a decade. I swore I wasn’t going to root for them until it improved. Well, it has and it comes in the form of rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III. It’s been a strange experience to find myself rooting for the Redskins but that’s what’s been happening this year as Griffin has led his team to the verge of the playoffs. The guy is so compelling I can’t help myself. - [Three Ways to Behave Yourself to Better Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-behave-yourself-to-better-leadership/) - The late Stephen Covey was fond of saying, “You can’t talk yourself out of a problem you behaved yourself into.” He definitely had a way with a phrase. I’ve been thinking about Covey’s line lately because I’ve been teaching leadership coaching to students at Georgetown and to executives in a few different companies in the past month. One of the things we’ve been talking about is establishing behavioral practices that lead to more effective leadership. - [Leadership Lessons from Yoga: The Benefits of Staying in the Room](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-yoga-the-benefits-of-staying-in-the-room/) - Over the past couple of years, I've been in one yoga class or another five or six days a week on average. That might sound like a lot, but it's pretty much the only form of exercise I do anymore so it's a good way for me to keep the lights on. As I've written here several times, I've made a number of connections between what I learn on the yoga mat and leadership development in general. This week, I've been thinking about another one. It's the benefits of staying in the room. - [Three Ways to Keep Your Meetings From Leaking](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-keep-your-meetings-from-leaking/) - So, let me begin by explaining what I’m not talking about in the title of this post. I’m not talking about plugging leaks of confidential information. What I am talking about is the leakage of productivity that too often occurs in meetings. With 15 years of management experience and 12 years of executive coaching in my rear view mirror, I have no idea how many meetings I’ve been in. It’s definitely one of those, “wish I had a dollar for” situations. It’s been a whole lot of meetings. Unfortunately, a lot of those meetings have leaked productivity like helium out of a cheap balloon. - [How to Stay Out of the Weeds with Your Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-stay-out-of-the-weeds-with-your-boss/) - The big idea behind my book, The Next Level, is that to get different results, leaders take to different actions. That usually involves picking up some new skills and mindsets and letting go of others even if they used to work for you in the past. For instance, one of the nine pick up and let go distinctions in the book is pick up accountability for many results and let go of responsibility for a few results. It’s the difference between owning it and doing it. A lot of leaders struggle with this one because it calls for letting go of a personal mastery of all the details and focusing instead on putting the systems and processes in place that allow them to monitor progress without being deep into all the weeds themselves. - [Some Encouraging Leadership from a Marine You’ve Never Heard Of](https://eblingroup.com/blog/some-encouraging-leadership-from-a-marine-youve-never-heard-of/) - As the scandal around former CIA director General David Petraeus unfolds, it’s hard to find anyone who has covered themselves in glory. It’s all pretty discouraging. Earlier this year, I wrote a post on how leaders need to have a strategy to deal with the temptations they’ll undoubtedly encounter. It says everything I would have to say about the Petraeus story. A retired general once told me that there’s an old Army maxim that the further up the flag pole you go, the more your rear end shows. It’s sad and frustrating to see that play out in the news this week. In case you can’t tell, I’m kind of bummed out by all of this. As I was thinking about it last night, I recalled a conversation I had last weekend on a cross country flight. My seatmate turned out to be a 16 year U.S. Marine named Hector. He was a great guy and we talked off and on as we travelled from DC to LA. In the interest of offering an encouraging story from a quiet leader who’s making a difference, here’s his story. - [A Coaching Plan for Obama’s Second Term](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-coaching-plan-for-obamas-second-term/) - This post is based on a presumptuous and preposterous premise which is that I’d have the opportunity to coach the President of the United States. One of the occupational hazards of being an executive coach is that I have this habit of thinking about leaders in the public eye and asking myself, “How would I coach that person?” Naturally, in the wake of his re-election, my attention has landed on President Obama. If Mitt Romney had won, I’d most likely be thinking about how I’d coach him. Game planning how I’d coach the President is a harmless little exercise that gets my brain going and has no actual impact on national security. In the hope that some of my thoughts might be useful to leaders who charged with leading the free world but are facing some significant new challenges nonetheless, here are some questions and frameworks I’d share with the President to help put together a coaching plan: - [Three Things That "No Drama" Leaders Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-that-no-drama-leaders-do/) - As I write this, it's Election Day morning in the U.S. Looking back over the last four years, there's a lot that comes to mind. One specific thought is that in the 2008 campaign, the soon to be President's nickname was "No Drama Obama." I guess that comes to mind because there have been a number of data points about leadership and the drama factor that have hit my radar screen lately. For example, a top executive at Apple, Scott Forstall, was fired last week because, according to all of the reported accounts (here's a good summary on GigaOm), all of the drama he had created over the years finally came to a head. The Forstall story and some other data points highlight three things that "no drama" leaders do to get results over the long run. - [Five Things Leaders Can Learn from Mayor Bloomberg About Crisis Communications](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-things-leaders-can-learn-from-mayor-bloomberg-about-crisis-communications/) - While the impact of Hurricane Sandy in the U.S. spread far and wide, the New York/New Jersey area definitely took the worst hit. The scenes of flooding, fires and dangling construction cranes on Monday night and Tuesday morning were truly stunning. In the run-up to the storm, a friend of mine wrote that we were likely to see lots of examples of leadership this week. She was certainly right. Some dramatic examples that come to mind are the U.S. Coast Guard’s helicopter borne rescue of the HMS Bounty crew off North Carolina (see the video here) and New York City firefighters rescuing residents from a waterlogged inferno in Rockaway, Queens. A less dramatic but equally visible example of leadership this week has come from New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg. With multiple press conferences a day before, during and after the storm, Bloomberg has kept his citizens informed and, in the process, given a seminar on how to do leadership communications in a crisis. If you haven’t seen one of the mayor’s press conferences, it’s worth a look to see how he does it. I’ve watched excerpts from a few of them today and read through some of the transcripts. Here are five lessons I’ve learned about crisis communications from Mayor Mike: - [What the Lance Armstrong Story Teaches About Sustainable Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-the-lance-armstrong-story-teaches-about-sustainable-leadership/) - Anyone in the market for a 24” by 36” signed color portrait of Lance Armstrong leading the Tour de France? I’ve had one on my office wall for four or five years but I’ll be taking it down now. Over the past several weeks, Armstrong has experienced one of the most dramatic self induced falls from grace ever. The guy who thrilled and inspired millions of people and raised millions of dollars for cancer research has been stripped of his seven Tour titles, lost his endorsement deal with Nike and former sponsors are apparently going to sue him for claw backs because his core story wasn’t true. - [You Have to Speak for the Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-have-to-speak-for-the-work/) - Lots of us grew up believing in the idea that if you just do good work, the work will speak for itself. That’s one of those beliefs that’s true until it isn’t. When it isn’t is that when so much is going on that top management probably won’t notice good work unless you speak for it. The more senior top management is, the more likely this is to be true They simply have too many things to pay attention to to recognize or acknowledge all the things that are going right. The further up you go in any organization, the work stops speaking for itself. You have to speak for the work. - [Believe You Should Be There](https://eblingroup.com/blog/believe-you-should-be-there/) - Have you ever noticed what doing something for the first time does to your confidence level? If you’re like most folks, it gets a little shaky when you're doing something new. Especially if that something new has stakes that seem or actually are high. If you read this blog earlier this month, you might think this observation was inspired by President Obama’s performance in his first debate as an incumbent. That would be a good guess but not it. - [Leadership and Life Lessons from the Baseball Playoffs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-life-lessons-from-the-baseball-playoffs/) - If you’re a sports fan, the week just ended was one of those that makes you wish you didn’t have to work for a living. Every one of the Major League Baseball divisional championship series went to five games and many of the games went into extra innings. Given the need to sleep and to actually be coherent when I meet with clients, I couldn’t follow every single story line. There are two that stood out for me, though, because of the lessons they stir. - [The Miracle of Flight (or Just About Anything Else)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-miracle-of-flight-or-just-about-anything-else/) - Lately, I’ve been doing a lot of flying. Yesterday was Los Angeles to Washington on United. When you do something over and over again, it’s easy to take it for granted. Sometimes I hear the pre-flight safety announcements in my sleep. For some reason, though, yesterday, I pulled out of my automatic pilot mode (no pun intended) and started paying attention to what was really going on. It might be because I’ve been reading Search Inside Yourself, a book on everyday mindfulness (Recommended). In any case, as I was looking out the window of the plane before we took off, I started thinking about all of the effort required from hundreds if not thousands of people to get a commercial flight from LA to DC. - [What Leaders Can Learn from How Romney Won the Debate](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-about-how-romney-won-the-debate/) - Almost immediately after the first U.S. presidential debate on Wednesday, practically every major news outlet from Fox News to MSNBC to the Financial Times of London declared Mitt Romney the outright winner over Barack Obama. Having watched it myself, I have to agree. Romney cleaned Obama’s clock. As I was watching it, I thought of that scene in The Untouchables where Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness says to Sean Connery’s Malone, “I want to get Capone. I don’t know how to do it.” Malone gets in Ness’s grill and snarls back, “You wanna know how to get Capone? They pull a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue. That’s the Chicago way! And that’s how you get Capone.” Romney played the roll of Malone at the debate. He brought the firepower. - [An Exciting, New Next Level Partnership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-new-next-level-partnership/) - My friend and colleague Dan McCarthy recently shared this finding on his Great Leadership blog. According to a 2012 Corporate University Xchange Leadership study, 81 % of surveyed organizations have “significant” concerns about their leadership bench strength and their ability to support future growth. That’s a pretty stunning number when you think about it. Fortunately, as director of executive education programs for the University of New Hampshire’s Whittemore School of Business and Economics, Dan is in a position to do something about it. I’m excited to report that he’s asked me to assist him in that goal. Earlier this week, UNH announced the inaugural session of the Next Level Executive Development Program. Along with his colleagues at UNH, Dan and I have been working to put together a week long program designed to support rising leaders in preparing for next level leadership roles in their organizations. The program is based on many of the principles and tools in my book, The Next Level, and I’ll be leading the first day of the program on the UNH campus. Dan is a fantastic and highly experienced designer of executive education programs and with the Next Level Executive Development Program, he’s created a high impact, blended learning experience that will deliver the following takeaways to the leaders who participate: - [You Don’t Need to Solve for 100%](https://eblingroup.com/blog/dont-need-to-solve-for-100-percent/) - As I talk with leaders, I hear a lot of stories about overwhelm and the perception that there’s not much that can be done about it. Recently, for example, I found myself in a conversation with a management team that was feeling overwhelmed by all of the stuff that’s been added to their plate without anything coming off. Earlier that same day, I was talking with an executive who recognized that he needs to take more regular time to step back and define what he’s really trying to do but couldn’t imagine how he was going to fit that into his schedule. In a presentation to the Conference Board last month, I shared conclusions from analyzing the data from over 1,800 manager and executive self assessments on leadership behaviors that are important for success at the next level. (You can take the self assessment here.) My basic headline was that most leaders are so busy doing stuff that they can’t see what needs to be done. Sound like anyone you know (or seen in the mirror lately)? It does to me and applies to me. - [How to Defuse an Inbox Hand Grenade](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-defuse-an-inbox-hand-grenade/) - This post will be short and sweet but speaks to something most leaders have to deal with – sometimes multiple times a day. It’s that hand grenade that shows up in your inbox from someone (who usually doesn’t have all the facts), calling you out for something you did do, didn’t do or did wrong. And, of course, they CC the higher-ups just to ratchet up the pressure a bit. It’s at that point that you have The. Urge. To. Kill. Ignore it. Reacting to it is only going to make things worse. Your reactive response can lead to a flame war that you might regret for years to come. That urge is flowing from a primal part of your brain called the amygdala. It’s where the fight or flight response resides. Useful if you find yourself in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Not so much in the office. Instead of throwing back your own grenade and risking further damage, defuse it with a calm and clear response. Here’s how to do it: - [Seven First Year Mistakes Senior Executives Make](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seven-first-year-executive-mistakes/) - One of the comments I hear most often from rising, high potential leaders in our Next Level Leadership® group coaching program is “I’m so glad to know it’s not just me.” Being in the leadership crucible can be a lonely experience. The group coaching participants quickly learn and take comfort from the fact that they are not alone in the leadership challenges they face every day. I thought about that when I received an email last week from a reader of this blog who was promoted about a year ago to the Senior Executive Service (SES) of the U.S. federal government. We had the opportunity to meet at a conference earlier this month and he told me had some leadership lessons learned from the past year that he wanted to share with me in writing. When I read his email, I immediately wanted to share it with the leaders who read this blog if for no other reason than to let you know that you’re not alone. With my SES friend’s permission (while honoring his request to remain anonymous), I’m sharing seven mistakes he thinks he made in his first year as a senior executive. In his own words, here they are: - [What NFL Replacement Refs Show About Leadership Confidence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-replacement-refs-show-about-leadership-confidence/) - So, here’s an out-there prediction for you. The current labor dispute between the NFL and its officials is going to end soon after a melee breaks out during a game that the replacement refs failed to control. Of course, I hope things don’t actually go that way, but I wouldn’t be surprised. As anyone who has watched a game in the last week knows (Broncos at Falcons on Monday night would be an excellent example), the replacement refs are out of their depth on many fronts. (Should the NFL even stage games with replacement officials is a whole other legitimate question.) Knowing the rules and rhythms of the pro game are a couple of obvious areas of deficiency for the replacements. What’s more dangerous, though, is the lack of confidence and command presence they demonstrate during the games. The coaches and players are getting more and more abusive toward the officials and tempers appear to be approaching the boiling point. - [How to Use a Leadership Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-use-a-leadership-coach/) - One way to go is to hire an experienced leadership coach that can help you take an objective look at your performance and guide you in the process of making adjustments that will make a positive difference to you, your team and your organization. Don’t have the budget for a leadership coach? Lots of organizations have a cadre of trained internal coaches you can call on. Check out what your organization has to offer. Yet another option is to pair up with a peer from another part of your organization and agree to coach each other. (Here are some simple and straightforward ideas on how to do that.) Whatever route you choose to go, here are three suggestions to get the most out of working with a leadership coach: - [Three Ways to Lose Your Audience](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-lose-your-audience/) - A little over a year ago, I wrote a post called Three Signs Your Slide Deck Stinks. I think it got the most comments in the history of this blog as I invited readers to share their pet peeves from presentation land. The Slide Deck Stinks post comes to mind because I‘ve attended a lot of presentations lately. While I’ve heard some great good ones, I’m sorry to say that there have been some bad ones too. In an age when practically everyone has a source of endless distractions (the smart phone) at their fingertips, it’s easier than ever to lose your audience in two minutes or less. I’ve seen a lot of presenters do exactly that. You probably have your own list of things presenters do that cause you to check out. I encourage you to share them in the comments so we can all learn from each other (or at least enjoy a good rant.) If I was writing an open letter to anyone who has to present (which I guess I am actually), here are three things I would beg them to avoid if they don’t want to lose me and the rest of the audience: - [Three Ways to Increase Your Influence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-increase-your-influence/) - One of my favorite lines is that it’s important to understand the difference between what should be and what is. Stop for a few moments and think about how often that line applies in real life. You’ll hear someone say something like, “They should be doing that because…” and what comes after because is something like “it’s the right thing to do,” or “the answer’s obvious,” or “I’m in charge.” I hear a fair amount of “They should be doing’s” in my work as an executive coach. That’s because a big part of my job description is to give my clients a safe place to vent. It doesn’t take long before venting turns into a non-productive rant so before it goes too far I’ll usually ask a question about the difference between what should be and what is. - [How to Keep Your Competitive Drive From Making You Lose](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-keep-your-competitive-drive-from-making-you-lose/) - Longer time readers of this blog may have noticed that I don’t use political stories as hooks as much as I used to. There are a couple of reasons for that. One, is that I’m usually discouraged by the level of polarization and discourse. The other is that I really don’t want to contribute to it. With that said, one of my rules for this blog is that if I find myself thinking about something for a couple of days, I should probably write about it because there’s usually a leadership lesson there. Which brings me to Jodi Kantor’s recent article in the New York Times about how big a competitive streak President Obama has. It’s a well reported article with plenty of examples of how driven the President is to win at everything from elections to games of pool. Like most people at high levels in his profession (or any other profession for that matter), the guy is a competitor. I’m not arguing against leaders having and showing competitive drive. It can be a huge motivator for yourself and your team. Like any other strength, though, it’s helpful to think of competitive drive like a dial on an amplifier. You can dial it down or dial it up depending on the situation and what you’re trying to accomplish. If you dial it all the way to the right and leave it at 11 (as the guys in Spinal Tap used to do), it can become way too much of a good thing. In short, it can set you up to lose. - [Top Five Posts of the Summer](https://eblingroup.com/blog/top-five-posts-of-the-summer/) - As we head into Labor Day weekend here in the U.S., I thought I'd share a quick recap of the five most popular posts on the Next Level Blog this summer. The list includes leadership lessons from a record setting Olympian, a pathbreaking astronaut and the Queen of England. Rounding things out are signs that - [Overcoming the Temptations of a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/overcoming-the-temptations-of-a-leader/) - With a hat tip to the Harvard Business Review’s Morning Advantage newsletter for pointing it out, I read a really interesting article from the Corporate Executive Board last week on why and when employees cheat their companies. After conducting a comprehensive study, the researchers concluded that people are more likely to cheat when they’re experiencing a significant change like a reorganization, a merger, a promotion or a staff reduction at work. The study also shows that the average employee is going to experience at least two significant changes a year. So, the odds are high that people are going to be tempted to do something they shouldn’t at least a couple of times a year. - [You’ve Bought It, Don’t Break It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/youve-bought-it-dont-break-it/) - In the run up to the Iraq war, the then Secretary of State Colin Powell was quoted as invoking the “Pottery Barn rule” – You break it, you own it - in assessing the risks of an invasion. I thought about Powell and the Pottery Barn rule during a recent lunch with an executive friend of mine. He’s a business unit leader who has integrated an acquired company into his organization over the past year. His company has grown a lot through acquisitions and his CEO always says to his execs “Don’t break it,” when they’re folding the acquired company into their operations. Unfortunately, as the Harvard Business Review reports, the failure rate of mergers and acquisitions is somewhere between 70% and 90%. So, when he was charged with integrating an acquired company, he was determined to flip the Pottery Barn rule on its head. He had bought it so he didn’t want to break it. Almost a year later everything is going great. He’s done three things to beat the odds. Here they are: - [Leading Through a Loss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-through-a-loss/) - The beautiful dog in the photo is my family’s Collie, Shades. A couple of weeks ago, Shades’ hip dysplasia and a respiratory condition took a turn for the worse and, with the counsel of our wonderful vet, Dr. Thorndike, we decided to put him down last weekend. If you’ve owned a dog that’s become part of your family, I don’t have to tell you how hard the last couple of weeks have been for us. Shades came to our house as a puppy in 2001 just a week before 9/11. He was an immense source of comfort that year and, as our sons grew up, was a catalyst in strengthening my relationship with my boys through our nightly dog walks. Some of the best conversations I’ve had with my boys took place on our walks with Shades in the dark of night. - [3 Things You Can Learn from the Navy About Saying Thank You for a Job Well Done](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-things-about-saying-thank-you/) - Last week I had the honor to be present for a milestone in the life of a friend of mine. It was the retirement and change of command ceremony for the U.S. Navy’s Chief of Information (CHINFO), Rear Admiral Denny Moynihan. On a Friday afternoon at the Sail Loft in the Washington Navy Yard, several hundred uniformed and civilian friends and colleagues of Denny’s gathered to say thank you to him and his family for 27 years of service and to wish them all well on their journey. - [How to Get Over Not Letting Go](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-over-not-letting-go/) - There’s a really interesting think piece in the New York Times this week by Carl Richards titled “You Probably Have Too Much Stuff.” In it, he tells the story of a guy named Andrew Hyde who, in preparing for a trip around the world two years ago, sold everything he owned except for 15 things. (Here’s his list.) Hyde’s list of things he owns is now up to 60 items and he doesn’t expect that it will grow much beyond that. Inspired by Hyde’s example, Richards writes of getting rid of some of his own stuff and what he’s learned by doing so: - [How to Connect Your Team With the Mission](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-connect-your-team-with-the-mission/) - Yesterday I had the opportunity to work with a group of senior executives from the U.S. Department of Defense and a few other Federal agencies to engage in some “applied science” around leading at the next level. It was a great group with a lot of perspective and some fascinating stories to share. - [That’s a Good Question](https://eblingroup.com/blog/thats-a-good-question/) - Last week, I had coffee at the San Francisco airport with a new friend of mine, Ed Batista. Ed is a leadership coach who does most of his work in the MBA program at Stanford. We met each other online (no, not through Match.com but through our mutual friend, leadership blogger Wally Bock ). When I found out I was going to be in the Bay Area, I got in touch with Ed to see if we could meet up face to face. - [What Leaders Can Learn from Michael Phelps About Preparation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-from-michael-phelps-about-preparation/) - Most of the world knows by now that U.S. swimmer Michael Phelps broke the all-time record for most medals won by an Olympian in London this week. It’s a truly amazing achievement on Phelps’ part but, honestly, not one in which there are many legitimate leadership lessons. Seriously, how many of us have the gifts and abilities in our respective fields that Michael Phelps has in his? As the Brits might say, not bloody many. - [How to Handle Your First Months as the New Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-handle-your-first-months-as-the-new-boss/) - Last year, I wrote a post about how to avoid being fired in five months. It was inspired by the departure of a fellow named Jack Griffin who lasted less than six months as the CEO of Time, Inc. Today, I’m very happy to give equal time to the positive lessons that can be learned - [Are You a Meta-Leader?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-a-meta-leader/) - As I’ve written here before, I’m a big fan of retired U.S. Coast Guard Commandant, Admiral Thad Allen. I’ve been fortunate enough to hear him speak a couple of times, the most recent of which was a few weeks ago at a meeting of senior U.S. government executives. Most Americans know Admiral Allen from his roles in leading the responses to Hurricane Katrina and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. In the talk I heard most recently, the Admiral explained how the concept of meta-leadership helped him organize his thinking and plan of action in each instance. Meta-leadership calls for a thoughtful integration of five elements when developing a leadership plan of action. The factors are: - [What Leaders Can Learn from the Life of Sally Ride](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-learn-from-sally-ride/) - Sally Ride, the United States’ first woman astronaut, died too soon this week at the age of 61. In 2012, it’s perhaps easy to forget what she was up against when she rode into space on the shuttle Challenger in 1983. As the New York Times pointed out in its obituary of Ride, the comedian Johnny Carson joked on the Tonight Show that Ride would probably delay the shuttle launch while looking for a purse to match her shoes. It wasn’t funny then or now. - [What I’m Still Learning from Stephen Covey](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-im-still-learning-from-stephen-covey/) - Like many others, I was surprised and saddened to learn of the passing this week of Stephen Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Saddened but also grateful for his life and work. Since it was first released in 1989, I’ve probably read The Seven Habits all the way through at least half a dozen times. I’ve dipped in and out of it for insights and ideas countless times. There was a time in my life when I practically had the book memorized and could tell you what page specific passages were on. - [How to Remember You're a Manager and Not Royalty](https://eblingroup.com/blog/youre-a-manager-and-not-royalty/) - Last week, former FBI director Louis Freeh released the results of his investigation into what top officials of Penn State University including its then president Graham Spanier and the late head football coach Joe Paterno knew about the child sexual abuse perpetrated by convicted felon Jerry Sandusky. Sadly, the report confirmed everyone's worst fears. Everybody knew it and worked together to sweep it under the rug. We see enough aberrant behavior on the part of people in leadership positions that it seems worth asking the question – how do you stay clear about the fact that you’re a manager and not royalty? Here are three ideas: - [Three Steps to Avoid an E-Mail Disaster](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-steps-to-avoid-an-e-mail-disaster/) - We've all been there. You get an e-mail that makes you angry, disappointed or just generally torques you out. Before you even realize it, you're typing out a reply that will bring swift justice and retribution to the offending party. It's at this point that you need to cue the scene from an action movie where the hero is trying to save someone from impending disaster, waves his arms and screams, "Nooooooo!!!!!" If you ignore that guy and click send, you might be creating a disaster for yourself. - [How to Get Your Message Out](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-your-message-out/) - One of the key tasks of a leader is to make sure that everyone on the team is pulling in the same direction. Getting the message out so that everyone on the team hears it at the same time in the same way is critical to achieving that unity of purpose. I heard a great story about how to do that while working this week with a leadership team from the Department of Defense. One of the team members is retired U.S. Army Colonel Harry Scott. We got to know each other a bit over lunch and he told me how, when he was the brigade commander at Fort Lewis, he and his leadership team tested how well they were getting their message out to the 6,000 soldiers on base. I asked him for three of this most important lessons learned about getting your message out and here’s what he told me: - [Their Perception is Your Reality](https://eblingroup.com/blog/their-perception-is-your-reality-2/) - When you’re taking on the work of becoming a more effective leader, you usually will want to focus on adopting or changing one or two behaviors that will make the biggest difference. You also, though, need to focus on the perceptions that others have of your behaviors. Because you work and lead in a system full of people, your overall effectiveness will depend as much on changing their perception as on changing your behavior. Here are three things to keep in mind as you do that: - [Why Leaders Need to Go on Holiday Instead of Vacation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-leaders-need-to-go-on-holiday-instead-of-vacation/) - One of the most memorable conversations I’ve had in 12 years of leadership coaching came about six years ago this month when I was talking with a client who was a World Bank country manager in Africa. Since he was a French citizen and August was approaching, I asked him what he was planning to - [Leadership Lessons from the UVA Controversy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-the-uva-controversy/) - Early last month, I had the opportunity to be in a small group conversation with the president of one of the world’s great private universities. During the session, one of us asked the president what issue she was most concerned about and she immediately answered that it was the pressures on the pubic university system in the United States. She told us that her friends and colleagues leading those schools were facing enormous challenges such as the fiscal conditions of the states that support them and the rapidly changing nature of how learning is delivered. Just a few weeks later, a lot of what she was talking about played out in dramatic fashion at the University of Virginia. In case you missed it, here’s the quick summary. Over the course of several months, Helen Dragas, the chair of the University’s Board of Visitors, privately solicited the support of other members of the Board to force the recently hired president of UVA, Teresa Sullivan, out of her job. Dragas and others on the Board had concluded that Sullivan was not moving quickly enough to position UVA for a different future. Sullivan was apparently blindsided when Dragas told her that the Board was prepared to vote her out and gave her the opportunity to resign. It’s clear that the broader UVA community was blindsided. Faculty, students, alumni and state legislators rallied around Sullivan and two weeks after the Board forced her resignation, they voted to reinstate Sullivan as president. There are so many leadership lessons and issues in this case that it’s impossible to address them all in one blog post so I’ll just focus on how Dragas handled this situation from beginning to end. - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-7/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on fear, leadership and starting a business, among others. - [3 Things Leaders Can Learn From the New Superstar Conductors](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-things-leaders-can-learn-about-collaborative-leadership-from-superstar-conductors/) - Way back in the day, I was a part-time announcer for my college radio station, WDAV. My favorite shift was the late night show, Flipsides, but I spent many a Sunday afternoon spinning the primary staple of the station, classical music. That was when I learned the names of many of the great conductors of - [Are You Headed Toward Burnout?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-headed-toward-burnout/) - It was 7:30 on a Sunday night on the campus of one of the world’s best-known companies, and I was the guest speaker for a group of about 70 of the company’s top high potentials. They had just finished the first week of a two-week program that had wrapped up with a weekend project two - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-7-leadership-development-news/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on team building, coaching, and leadership, among others. - [Effective Delegation: One Size Does Not Fit All](https://eblingroup.com/blog/effective-delegation-one-size-does-not-fit-all/) - Last week I had the opportunity to spend a day helping new executives in a Fortune 50 company improve their delegation skills. As I’ve written here before, effective delegation is a critical skill for leaders who need to make the shift from being the go-to person to someone who creates teams of go-to people. The - [A Veterans’ Advocate Proves That Leadership Ain’t Rocket Science](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-veterans-advocate-proves-that-leadership-aint-rocket-science/) - On the way home from visiting a U.S. Department of Defense client organization today, I heard a story on NPR that I have to share with you. It’s about how a community college counselor named Catherine Morris took it upon herself to help veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan get the educational benefits they’ve earned. As - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-leadership-development-news5/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on body language, mastering meetings, and improving your elevator speech, among others. - [How to Find Out What’s Really Going On](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-find-out-whats-really-going-on-organizational-development-tips/) - I’m on the road for the rest of the week working with new executives on delegation skills today and delivering colleague feedback to a senior executive coaching client on Friday. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been conducting a lot of colleague interviews for that client and two others. Even though I’ve conducted these kinds - [3 Leadership Lessons From Queen Elizabeth II](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-leadership-lessons-from-queen-elizabeth-ii/) - The past few days in London have marked the Diamond Jubilee celebrating the 60th year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It’s been a pomp and circumstance extravaganza, and the members of the Royal Family have all had parts to play. One thing the Windsors appear to understand better than anyone is that appearances - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-leadership-development-news-5/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on productivity, women leaders, and getting your career back on track, among others. - [Breaking Down Coach Popovich's Perfect Pep Talk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/breaking-down-coach-popovichs-perfect-pep-talk/) - It’s NBA playoff time and, as I write this, the San Antonio Spurs haven’t lost a game since April 11. That streak was almost broken a few nights ago when the Spurs were down big to the Oklahoma City Thunder in game one of the Western Conference championship series. The Spurs turned it around, though, - [Leadership Lessons from Knee Surgery](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-in-customer-service-from-knee-surgery/) - For readers in the United States, I hope you had a nice Memorial Day weekend. I spent mine recuperating from some minor arthroscopic knee surgery last Thursday morning. That may come across as TMI – Too Much Information. If it does, I apologize, but I actually found some great leadership lessons from surgery that I - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-4/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on earning trust, building momentum, and improving your productivity, among others. http://storify.com/EblinGroup/the-week-in-tweets-7 - [3 Ways to Show Respect for Your People](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-ways-to-show-respect-for-your-people/) - Even if you’re trying not to pay attention to the presidential campaign right now, you might have heard about Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s comments on "Meet the Press" last weekend. When the topic of the negative messages that the Romney and Obama campaigns are both transmitting about the other side was raised, Booker said he - [That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It](https://eblingroup.com/blog/thats-my-story-and-im-sticking-to-it-leadership-development/) - So, let me say at the outset that I’m reasonably confident that this is the world’s first leadership development blog post that includes a story about roasted cauliflower. (I Googled “roasted cauliflower leadership” and the top result was this recipe from Northern Michigan’s News Leader.) Here’s my back story. One day last week I was - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-leadership-development-news-6/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on innovation, managing younger workers, and improving your listening skills, among others. - [How to Lead Massive Change: An Interview with Lockheed Martin CIO Sondra Barbour](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leading-change-next-level-podcast-lockheed-martin-cio-sondra-barbour/) - Sondra Barbour is the chief information officer and senior vice president of enterprise business services at Lockheed Martin. She's a company veteran and change leader who has taken on increasingly responsible positions over the course of her career. I spoke with her recently about what she's learned along the way. Some of the highlights from - [What I Learned About Power Last Weekend](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-collaborative-leadership-last-weekend/) - This past weekend I traveled to Cambridge, Mass., for the 25th reunion of my graduating class at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. (Just writing that makes me feel old.) I had the good fortune of graduating in a year that was the 350th anniversary of Harvard and the 50th anniversary of the Kennedy School (and - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-3/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on sustainability, collaboration, and improving your public speaking, among others. - [How to Talk With People](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-talk-with-people-communication-skills/) - This is one of those titles that when you read it, you might be saying, "Really?" Yes, really. There's a big difference between talking to people and talking with people. If you're the designated leader in your organization, that difference has a multiplier effect that can cut in either direction. In a post a few - [Show Up and Shut Up](https://eblingroup.com/blog/show-up-and-shut-up-peer-coaching/) - For the past couple of years in Next Level leadership workshops, I’ve asked the participants to do a lot of peer coaching exercises with each other. The coaching is always focused on real life issues the participants are dealing with and the conversations are intentionally brief. They’re brief because they more or less flow from - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-leadership-development-news3/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on how to build your confidence, whether trustworthiness can be taught, and tips for improving your public speaking, among others. - [Is Your Boss Unfit to Lead? Take the Rupert Murdoch Test](https://eblingroup.com/blog/is-your-boss-unfit-to-lead-take-the-rupert-murdoch-test/) - Well, you have to hand it to News Corp. Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. He knows how to generate a story. The twist on the latest Murdoch story, however, is that he’s the subject of it. This week, a British parliamentary panel investigating phone hacking, email hacking and bribery of police officers by his company’s - [3 Ways to Silence Your Inner Critic](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-ways-to-silence-your-inner-critic-build-executive-presence/) - So, here’s the scenario: You’re the newest member of a leadership or management team. Today is your first regular leadership team meeting. It’s that part of the meeting where you go around the physical or virtual table and everyone reports out for five minutes or so on the latest and greatest things happening in their - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-leadership-development-news/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on how exercise can make you smarter, the difference between competing and inventing, and the relationship between management and marriage, among others. - [Now Is the Time for Gen Y Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/now-is-the-time-for-gen-y-leaders/) - Here’s a thought experiment for you. Take a deep breath, clear your head and think for a little while about what kind of leadership the world is going to need in the future. Need a jump start? Just think about the rapidity of change in the global economy, global politics and consumer technology in the - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-tweets-2/) - Every week, I share a recap of some of the best things I’ve seen on Twitter. This week, I’m highlighting tweets and links on our stressful relationship with our smartphones, whether CEOs deserve privacy, the importance of listening, developing your leadership skills and a story of a great comeback. - [3 New Leadership Lessons from Yoga](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-new-leadership-lessons-from-yoga/) - So, for those keeping score at home, over the past year and a half I think I’ve become a yogi. Am I on the verge of releasing my own instructional yoga videos? Fortunately for you and the rest of the world, I’m not that kind of yogi. Nah, I’m just a guy who’s showing up - [3 Questions They Should Have Asked at the GSA](https://eblingroup.com/blog/prevent-the-gsa-scandal/) - Why is this man smiling? Jeff Neely, the Western Region director of the General Services Administration, is probably asking himself this question. In case you haven’t heard, Neely invoked the Fifth Amendment when he was called before Congress this week to explain why he approved $823,000 in expenses for a GSA management retreat at a - [The Week in Tweets](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-development-news-the-week-in-tweets/) - This week, I’m highlighting links on how how conductors use their whole bodies to lead their players, an exercise for being more present, the power of speaking up, and the importance of saying no, and a roundup of lessons from Peter Drucker. - [Next Level Podcast: Leadership Lessons from Blimpie's Founder Tony Conza](https://eblingroup.com/blog/next-level-podcast-blimpie-founder-tony-conza/) - As one of the founders of Blimpie Subs, Tony Conza helped build the company from a single sandwich shop in Hoboken, N.J., to a chain of over 2,000 stores nationwide. I recently spoke to him about what he learned on his leadership journey. Here are some highlights from our conversation: Overcoming the Passion Plateau: At - [The Tao of Bubba Watson](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-tao-of-bubba-watson/) - With a seemingly impossible shot off the pine straw, Bubba Watson set himself up to win the Masters on Sunday. After he sank the winning putt in a playoff, he stood on the green, hugged his caddy, hugged his mom and wept and wept. As has been widely reported, Watson and his wife just adopted - [Tweets of the Week](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tweets-of-the-week-leadership-development-news/) - This week, I'm highlighting posts on what it takes to build strong teams, the war for talent, the myth of overnight success, how Buddhist mindfulness can make you a better business leader and one company's approach to fighting burnout. Business Skills and Buddhist Mindfulness The No-Hour Workweek: Reinventing Employee Expectations For The Modern Economy The - [Kentucky’s Coach Cal: A Leadership Role Model?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/kentuckys-coach-cal-a-leadership-role-model/) - So, I got an e-mail yesterday from my brother, Steve. He’s a University of Kentucky grad and was the student manager for the basketball team during the Joe B. Hall era. These days, he’s the newly promoted CEO of a hospital in North Carolina. Being a rabid Wildcat fan, he was miffed that on the - [How Do You Assess a Candidate’s Leadership Potential?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-assess-a-candidates-leadership-potential/) - There’s an old saying that if you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there. That idea holds true when you’re trying to assess a candidate’s leadership potential. You have to start with a clear picture of what leadership means to you and, more importantly, what it means in your organization. Many - [The Week in Review](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-week-in-review/) - Beginning today, I'll be posting a roundup of leadership news that's caught my eye each Friday. This week, I'm highlighting posts on the importance of competence in building trust, the love-hate relationship we have with our smartphones, the secret behind the Disney experience and the role of charisma in a leader's effectiveness. The last link - [3 Steps to Scaling Your Leadership for Results](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-steps-to-scaling-your-leadership-for-results/) - What are you holding on to that you need to let go of? That’s a question I ask a lot when I’m working with leaders who need to get different results. These days just about every leader needs to get different results on a continuous basis. When was the last time you even heard the - [John Elway for Manager of the Year?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/john-elway-for-manager-of-the-year/) - While fans of Tim Tebow will likely vehemently disagree, I’d have to put John Elway, executive vice president of football operations for the Denver Broncos, in the running for manager of the year. And not just NFL manager of the year; anybody’s manager of the year. Let me be the first to acknowledge that I - [How to Coach Leaders to Really Change](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-coach-leaders-to-really-change/) - There was a great article in the New York Times on Sunday called "Helping Managers Find, and Fix, Their Flaws." It details the seminal work of Harvard’s Bob Kegan and Lisa Lahey and how they’ve leveraged their research to help leaders make lasting changes that make them more effective. My guess is a lot of - [Does Life Imitate Art at Goldman Sachs? Or Something Else?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/does-life-imitate-art-at-goldman-sachs-or-something-else/) - When Greg Smith quit his job running a London based line of business for Goldman Sachs -- and told the world why in an op-ed in the New York Times -- he acted out the fantasy of everyone who’s ever wanted to tell their employer what they really think of them as they walk out the - [What Kind of Weather Are You Making?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-kind-of-weather-are-you-making/) - For the past couple of years, I’ve had a lot of great conversations with my clients about the idea that leaders control the weather. You can test this idea for yourself right now. Have you ever worked in a place where the first question everyone asked when they arrived in the morning was, “What kind - [Ken Blanchard and Chick-fil-A's Mark Miller, on What It Takes to Grow as a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ken-blanchard-and-chick-fil-as-mark-miller-on-what-it-takes-to-grow-as-a-leader/) - Ken Blanchard is the co-founder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm. One of the most influential leadership gurus in the world, he is the author or co-author of dozens of books, including the international bestseller "The One Minute Manager." Mark Miller is vice president of - [What GE Aviation Knows About Inspiring Workers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-ge-aviation-and-the-atf-know-about-inspiring-workers/) - Last week, I wrote a post that asked if your organization is ready for the era of connect and collaborate. Today, I want to go a little deeper on the connection part. In particular, I want to talk about how leaders can accomplish big things by connecting their people with the higher purpose of their - [Is Your Organizational Development Plan Ready for "Connect and Collaborate"?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/is-your-organizational-development-plan-ready-for-connect-and-collaborate/) - I’m about halfway through "How" by Dov Seidman, and I find his overarching point compelling -- that in a world of radical transparency, how we do things matters as much as or more than what we do. My big takeaway so far is that organizations and society are shifting from a command-and-control model, toward one - [Does Your Team Really Know What You Want?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/does-your-team-really-know-what-you-want/) - Stephen Covey shared a lot of smart ideas when he wrote “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” I must have read that book at least five times when it first came out. One of the habits that has really stuck with me is, “Begin with the end in mind.” Turns out that’s not just - [What Leaders Can Learn From Ryan Seacrest](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-from-ryan-seacrest/) - The most interesting part of the Oscar telecast last night happened before the awards show started. E! Network red carpet host and king of all media Ryan Seacrest was in his usual position, asking the stars if they were excited and who they were wearing, when Sacha Baron Cohen arrived in a limo. You may - [3 Lessons in Leading Innovation From DARPA's Regina Dugan](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-lessons-in-leading-innovation-from-the-head-of-darpa/) - Last week, I had the opportunity to hear the director of DARPA, Regina Dugan, speak at a panel on leading innovation during a conference called American Competitiveness: What Works organized by General Electric and co-sponsored by Washington Post Live. In case you’re not familiar with DARPA, it’s the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. They’re the - [How to Coach a Future CEO](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-coach-a-future-ceo/) - If you’ve been reading this blog for awhile, you know I’m a fan of Ford CEO Alan Mulally. He started in the top job at Ford about five years ago and, he has led the company to quarter after quarter of profitable growth. He’s accomplished that through any number of ways. Probably one of the - [What a Top Chef Knows About Organizational Development – Lessons from Jose Andres](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-a-top-chef-knows-about-organizational-development-lessons-from-jose-andres/) - Foodies in Washington, D.C., know all about Jose Andres, the award-winning chef who popularized Spanish style tapas dining in America. Andres arrived in the United States from Spain in 1993 and opened his first restaurant, Jaleo, that year. Today, he is the CEO of Think Food Group and the mastermind behind eight restaurant concepts with - [3 Tips for Pacing Your Work for Lasting Success](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-tips-for-pacing-your-work-for-lasting-success/) - There was a vastly underrated road trip movie last year starring Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. called “Due Date.” Downey plays an uptight businessman and Galifianakis plays a goofy but lovable stoner. They take a cross-country trip together. Hilarity ensues. Whenever Downey’s character would explode in rage, Galifianakis’ character would say, “Hey, you better - [Wondering 'Am I a Good Leader?' Take the Sheryl Sandberg Test](https://eblingroup.com/blog/wondering-am-i-a-good-leader-take-the-sheryl-sandberg-test/) - Ever wonder if you’re a good leader? If so, I have a simple three question test that will help you answer the question. I call it the Sheryl Sandberg test. OK, I know that some of you are thinking “Is it really fair to compare myself to the COO of Facebook - the same woman - [Has Ego Trumped Your Mission? Lessons in Transparency from the Komen Foundation Fiasco](https://eblingroup.com/blog/has-ego-trumped-your-mission-lessons-in-transparency-from-the-komen-foundation-fiasco/) - As you’ve no doubt read, the Komen Foundation – the people behind the pink ribbons to fight breast cancer – found themselves at the center of controversy last week after they decided to pull funding for breast cancer screenings from Planned Parenthood. The basis for the decision, according to Komen officials: They no longer wanted - [Rypple's Nick Stein, on How to Deliver Better Feedback](https://eblingroup.com/blog/rypples-nick-stein-on-how-to-deliver-better-feedback/) - Rypple is a web-based social performance management platform that helps companies improve performance through social goals, continuous feedback and meaningful recognition. I recently spoke with Rypple's Nick Stein to learn more about the company and get his tips for giving – and getting – effective feedback. Here’s an edited version of our conversation. Scott: Is - [Is Being the “Go-To Person” Holding You Back?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/is-being-the-go-to-person-holding-you-back/) - A big part of my work as a coach involves working with high-potential leaders in workshops, keynotes and webinars. One of my favorite questions to ask these audiences is, “How many of you think of yourselves or have been referred to by others as the ‘go-to person?’ ” Usually, about every hand in the room - [3 Bad Habits of Fake Leaders -- and How to Avoid Them](https://eblingroup.com/blog/3-bad-habits-of-fake-leaders-and-how-to-avoid-them/) - There was an interesting movie that came out last year called "The Adjustment Bureau" starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. In it, Damon plays a rising young congressman named David Norris. He’s headed for a big victory in a campaign for the U.S. Senate until a picture comes out of him mooning his fraternity brothers at a college reunion. He loses big and starts giving his supporters the big, inspirational, we’ll-be-back concession speech. He says things like, “Where I grew up, it wasn’t that you got knocked down, it was about what you did when you got back up.” The crowd initially cheers loudly, but then settles down when Norris tells them what he just said was total BS. [ ... ] - [Gabrielle Giffords: The Courage and Wisdom to Step Back](https://eblingroup.com/blog/gabrielle-giffords-the-courage-and-wisdom-to-step-back/) - This past weekend, I watched one of the more moving and inspirational videos I’ve seen in awhile. It’s this two minute announcement from Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords that she is resigning from Congress this week. It’s been just over a year since a gunman shot Giffords in the head and almost killed her at a constituent meet and greet outside an Arizona supermarket. Since then, her recovery has been beyond remarkable. The video clearly shows how far she’s come. - [Early Contender for Worst Leader of 2012](https://eblingroup.com/blog/early-contender-for-worst-leader-of-2012/) - Based on the observable evidence, passenger accounts, his own statements and audio transcripts with an Italian coast guard officer, it sure looks like Captain Francesco Schettino is a very strong early contender for worst leader of 2012. By now you’ve probably seen the pictures and read the stories of the tragedy with the Costa Concordia cruise ship just off the Italian coast. The Captain ordered the early evening maritime equivalent of a fly-by just a few hundred yards from the coast to impress the citizens of a local town. The ship hit a rock which tore a gash in the hull and within an hour it was laying on its side. It took him an hour to send a Mayday signal and when the authorities called him after hearing from panicked passengers, he denied anything was wrong. Dozens of passengers either died or are still missing. - [How to Get Your Leadership Resolutions Back on Track](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-your-leadership-resolutions-back-on-track/) - A new year brings with it the promise of change, but desire quickly gets crowded out by reality. Lists of resolutions are made and then fade. Part of the problem is the length of the lists themselves. When it comes to making meaningful change in how you show up as a leader this year, less is more. You can improve your odds of success by reducing the number of items on your leadership improvement list down to the one or two things that would make the biggest difference. For now, forget about the other eight or nine things that might have been on your list. Practice what the Japanese call kaizen – continuous improvement through small steps. How do you decide what you should focus on? - [3 Things Injured Yogis and Injured Leaders Might Have in Common](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-injured-yogis-and-injured-leaders-might-have-in-common/) - For the last two weeks, an article called How Yoga Can Wreck Your Body has been one of the top 10 most emailed articles on the New York Times website. When I checked this morning there were 734 comments on the article on the Times’ website. With approximately 20 million yogis in the United States, the article has definitely struck a nerve (pun somewhat intended). As many of the commenters point out, there are flaws in the way the article was reported. At the same time, as the article illustrates, you can get injured doing yoga. - [3 Ways to Avoid Taking the Wrong Job -- and What to Do About It When You Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-avoid-taking-the-wrong-job-and-what-to-do-about-it-when-you-do/) - You may have missed the story with all of the coverage on the New Hampshire primary, but White House chief of staff, Bill Daley, resigned this week after just about a year on the job. Daley is a high profile example of the oft cited statistic that anywhere between 25% and 40% of newly hired - [What Do People Want From Work?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-do-people-want-from-work/) - Other than the basic requirements - food, shelter, healthcare - on the hierarchy of needs, what do people really want from their jobs? Last week I attended a presentation from Peter Cappelli, a Wharton professor and thought leader on talent management, where he addressed that question. Based on a study he cited, these are the top five things that a large group of people say they want from their work: - [10 Resolutions That Will Improve Your Presentations This Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-resolutions-that-will-improve-your-presentations-this-year/) - A senior executive friend of mine spends a lot of time listening to presentations. A few weeks ago, he sent me an e-mail from a two-day conference he was attending. After 10 or 12 hours of bad presentations, he began to take out his frustration by using his iPad to write a set of rules - [3 Questions to Guide Your Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-questions-to-guide-your-year/) - I was away for a few weeks over the holidays. It was a nice break and it’s good to be back. One of the good things about being back is reconnecting with friends I haven’t seen in awhile. One of those is a friend from yoga. We gave each other a hug hello at class the other night and she said, “Well, here we are.” My response was, “Yeah, 2012, it’s the only year we’ve got.” (Unless, of course, the physicists at CERN figure out time travel this year.) So, for now, this is the only year you’ve got. What do you want to do with it? I don’t have any idea what your answer is or should be. Only you do. - [Leadership Lessons from 2011](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-2011/) - Wow, what a year this has been for good, bad, maddening and inspiring examples of leadership. In his column today, the Washington Post’s David Ignatius makes the case that historians will look back on 2011 as a “hinge” – a year in which momentous events set the stage for major changes in the future.The challenge in writing an end of year recap on the leadership lessons to be learned for a year like this is deciding what not to write about. - [You Can’t Lead Through Text Messages](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-cant-lead-through-text-messages/) - Last Thursday night, I had the opportunity to moderate a panel discussion on leadership at a celebratory dinner for Eagle Scouts past and present. The panelists were all accomplished people and had a lot of interesting reflections and insights to share. One comment from the dinner that I’ve kept thinking about came from retired Rear Admiral John Butler who’s now an executive with Lockheed Martin. The last question I asked the panel was, “What do you think has changed in the practice of leadership over the past 10 years? What changes do you predict in how leadership will be practiced in the next ten years?” - [Leaders, Throw Your Lines in the Water](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-throw-your-lines-in-the-water/) - Today, I want to share a quick story with you that is a different way to think about the challenges, conundrums and problems you bump up against as a leader. It comes from Tim Hurlebaus, who’s a Vice President with CGI, a leading IT services provider in the U.S. and around the world. Tim has been with CGI in the U.S. and Europe in lots of different leadership roles in different parts of the business over the past twenty years. He’s a problem solver and knows how to lead a team to accomplish things. - [5 Steps To Infuse “Magic” in Your Leadership Style](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-steps-to-infuse-magic-in-your-leadership-style/) - This guest post was written by Jason Monaghan with University of Notre Dame Executive Online Education: As any seasoned business leader can tell you, creating an exemplary team takes knowledge, perseverance, and a little leadership magic. The “magic” of a great leader is developed over time and through years of professional awareness. The qualities that make a good team a great one depend largely on the leader’s ability to create an environment of complete engagement. When you are in the presence of a team that functions extraordinarily well, you can feel the difference. Here are five tips that go beyond the curriculum of management training; tips you can use to unleash a little magic in your own leadership style. - [Tim Tebow: A Leader Who Inspires, Puzzles and Scares People](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tim-tebow-a-leader-who-inspires-puzzles-and-scares-people/) - It’s not often that I write about the same subject twice in less than a month on this blog. Even though I wrote How to Set Your Tebow’s Up For Success just three weeks ago, I’m making a brief exception this afternoon. After the Denver Broncos made yet another comeback yesterday in the last two minutes of regulation and then overtime against the Chicago Bears, Tim Tebow has moved from a national sports story to just a flat out national news story. For as many people who are inspired by Tebow’s leadership, story and faith, there may be as many who are puzzled by him or are scared of him. I say that for two reasons. - [What to Do When Your Boss Says Something You Regret](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-to-do-when-your-boss-says-something-you-regret/) - There’s an interesting article in the New York Times today for anyone who has ever had to improvise madly when their boss makes an unexpected public commitment. The subject is Dan Akerson, who’s been the CEO of General Motors for 15 months. Akerson is not a “car guy.” He made his bones in telecommunications and came to GM from the world of private equity investments. He’s had a lot of successes in his career and is fond of speaking his mind. That’s not what they’ve been used to at GM the last couple of decades and he’s shaking up the company’s culture. - [5 Ways to Deal with the First No](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-deal-with-the-first-no/) - Leaders who are trying to do something unprecedented are invariably going to hear the word, no, a lot. It may not be as direct as that. It might be softened as, “We don’t do things that way,” or “Sorry, that’s impossible.” My friend heard a lot of responses like that as he and his team worked to turn their big event idea into a reality. Looking back on a successful outcome, he realizes that the critical element in making it happen was how they dealt with the first no. - [There’s an App for That](https://eblingroup.com/blog/theres-an-app-for-that/) - We’re approaching the time of year where you might be receiving a gift card for the iTunes store or some other online outlet where you can buy apps for a smartphone. So, if you’re lucky enough to receive an app store gift card, what can you download that will at least make your life a little easier if not totally and radically change it? I’m an iPhone 4 user and here are five apps that I find myself using all the time (Which of these are favorites of yours? What’s not on my list that absolutely should be?) - [Their Perception is Your Reality](https://eblingroup.com/blog/their-perception-is-your-reality/) - As an executive coach, a big part of my job is helping my clients adjust their behaviors so that they get different results. Since my clients are executives, they are, by definition, dealing with other people. Since that's the case, it's not enough for my clients to adjust their behaviors when it would make a difference to do so. They also have to manage the perception others have of their behaviors. Here's a simple plan for doing that that works for my clients: - [Leadership Lessons from the Eurozone Crisis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-the-eurozone-crisis/) - All eyes are turning to Germany as the only European economy big enough and sound enough to provide the financial assistance that could stop the bleeding. As New York Times columnist Joe Nocera eloquently explains, the Germans don’t want to do that because they feel like they’ve been prudent with their economy and should not have to bail out the countries who were partying on their credit cards. That’s understandable but will lead to a terrible outcome for everyone including Germany. Its economy is driven by exports and if its primary markets collapse, it’s going to get squeezed hard too. In a sign of how nervous people are about all of this, the Polish foreign minister said this week that for the first time in his life he was more worried about Germany not taking action than taking action. - [4 Ways to Build Your Willpower](https://eblingroup.com/blog/four-ways-to-build-your-willpower/) - It’s Monday morning, so it’s time for me to write a blog post. If you’re a regular reader, you may have noticed that I typically post on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Unless I’m on vacation, it’s three days a week most of the time. That’s been the schedule for about three years now. This is my 574th post. Since the average post is about 500 words, that’s about 287,000 words. The typical business book is around 50,000 words long. If you do the math, all of those posts add up to five or six books. - [Take the Thanks Giving Leadership Challenge](https://eblingroup.com/blog/take-the-thanks-giving-leadership-challenge/) - As Thanksgiving Day approaches in the United States, here’s a personal leadership challenge that could have an impact long after the turkey leftovers are gobbled up. If you’re a leader (at work, in the community, at home – it doesn’t matter where), take up the challenge to give your true and sincere thanks to someone who deserves it at least once a week for the next year. Here’s how it works: - [What Crabs in a Pot Have to Do with Leadership Presence](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-crabs-in-a-pot-have-to-do-with-leadership-presence/) - Last week, I spent an afternoon sparking a conversation on leadership presence with a group of rising leaders in a well known organization. The conversation turned to how difficult it can be to lead change because there are often a lot of structures and norms in place that create massive barriers to change. That’s where leadership presence becomes so critical. Leaders recognize the resistance and figure out ways to move past it. The first step in doing so is not getting pulled back into the churn. - [How to Set Your Tebows Up for Success](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-set-your-tebows-up-for-success/) - Week by week, Fox and his staff have made adjustments in the game plan to take advantage of Tebow's strengths. You have to give them credit for that because a lot of coaches wouldn't. There are a few things that executives and managers can learn from the Denver coaches about how to leverage the strengths of talented players who don't fit the mold. Here are three ways to set your own Tebows up for success. - [Lessons in Winning Gracefully from Coach K](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-in-winning-gracefully-from-coach-k/) - In what ended up being a pretty close game, Duke beat Michigan State at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. In the process, Coach Mike Krzyzewski set a record by winning his 903 division I basketball game. With the win, he passed his former coach, boss and mentor Bob Knight who was sitting court side calling the game for ESPN. It was a pretty compelling moment made more so by the way Coach K conducted himself in the minutes after the game. - [Put Your Own Mask on First](https://eblingroup.com/blog/put-your-own-mask-on-first/) - If you’ve flown on a commercial airliner, you’ve heard the flight attendants say something along the lines of, “In the unlikely event of a loss of cabin pressure, yellow oxygen masks will deploy. Put the strap of the mask over your head and breathe normally. If you’re travelling with passengers who need assistance, put your own mask on first before assisting other passengers.” - [Leadership Lessons from Veterans](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-veterans/) - Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the good fortune to spend time with members of our armed services in leadership training sessions and on board the aircraft carrier, The USS Harry S Truman and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Venturous. I’ve learned a lot from the service members I’ve talked to about - [What Did He Know and When Did He Know It?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-did-he-know-and-when-did-he-know-it/) - In the days of the Watergate hearings, Senator Howard Baker became famous for asking the question, “What did the President know and when did he know it?” Today, the same question is being asked about Penn State football coach Joe Paterno and administrative officers at the University. It’s easy enough to find the details about the horrific sexual abuse allegations and indictment against a former top assistant to Paterno so there’s no need to recap them here. It is stunning, however, to consider the damage that was done after top officials including Paterno were made aware of eye witness accounts and decided to not turn the case over to law enforcement. - [How to Do Less with Less](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-do-less-with-less/) - As I’ve spoken with groups of leaders over the last year, I’ve often begun the conversation by asking how many of them would say that the results that are expected of them today are significantly different than those that were expected a year ago. Usually, every hand in the room goes up. Then I’ll ask the question about future expectations. How many of you think that the results that will be expected of you a year from now will be a whole lot different than the results that are expected today? Again, just about every hand goes up. I’m not suggesting that there are a few easy steps to doing less with less, but here are some thoughts that might help frame the challenge. - [One More Leadership Lesson from a Chilean Miner](https://eblingroup.com/blog/one-more-leadership-lesson-from-a-chilean-miner/) - One of the greatest leadership feel good stories in recent memory ended just over a year ago when 33 Chilean copper miners were rescued from their mine 70 days after they were trapped inside. Their survival and rescue were triumphs of leadership, courage and ingenuity. While they were still underground, I wrote a post called What We Can Learn About Leadership from the Chilean Miners. It was one of the most read and commented upon posts I’ve written. - [Lessons in Integrity from Madoff?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-in-integrity-from-madoff/) - This is one of those “learn by doing the opposite” kinds of posts. It’s inspired by a few New York Times stories earlier this week on a new book that the surviving son of Ponzi schemer Bernie Madoff has released. I don’t intend to read the book but I noted with interest that the son had - [Parenthood, Leadership and Being On Stage](https://eblingroup.com/blog/parenthood-leadership-and-being-on-stage/) - Leaders – whether they’re leading at home or in the workplace – are always on stage. Whether they know it or not; whether they like it or not, people are watching and taking their cues from what they see their leaders do. Through what they do and how they do it, leaders shape the future. If you’re reading this, you’re likely in a leadership role of some kind. It could be formal or informal. It could be paid or unpaid. The chances are good that someone is watching you and that they’re taking their cues from you. - [Nuggets of Wisdom from Leadership Caffeine](https://eblingroup.com/blog/nuggets-of-wisdom-from-leadership-caffeine/) - My leadership blogging friend Art Petty has a new book out called Leadership Caffeine. It’s a series of essays organized by common challenges and opportunities leaders face. The caffeine metaphor comes into play because, as Art writes, the book is made up of “ideas to energize your professional development. Art is an executive coach and author who has been there and done that. He knows what it’s like to lead in large organizations and approaches the topic with a refreshing mix of realism and humanism. - [3 Leadership Lessons from the Netflix Slide](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-leadership-lessons-from-the-netflix-slide/) - Netflix CEO Reed Hastings must be feeling a little bit like a team that ended up on the cover of Sports Illustrated and then started losing games. Last year, Hastings was on the cover of Fortune as its Business Person of the Year. This year, he’s getting slammed for what he acknowledges are a series of poor decisions and mishandled customer communications. It’s kind of like the dreaded SI cover jinx. - [“I Wouldn’t Want to Be You”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/i-wouldnt-want-to-be-you/) - Several months ago, I was in a coaching conversation with a “go to person" leader about the results of her 360 degree feedback from colleagues. Her highest rated behaviors were a strong mix of items that focus on getting results and items that focus on building relationships. In my experience, leaders who have high scores in both of those broad areas – results and relationships – are the ones who are very effective over the long run. They get stuff done without leaving a lot of damaged people in their wake. - [How to Be a Really Useful Coach in 5 Minutes or Less](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-be-a-really-useful-coach-in-five-minutes-or-less/) - One of the jokes I sometimes make when I’m leading a workshop or giving a presentation is that being a coach is one of the greatest gigs in the world because you don’t have to know anything. All you have to do is ask questions and let the other person talk. Like most jokes there’s some truth behind the joke. Here’s why. - [How to Steer Clear of a Workplace Smackdown -- Even If You’re Not an NFL Coach)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-steer-clear-of-a-workplace-smackdown-even-if-youre-not-an-nfl-coach/) - You don’t have to be an NFL coach to lose your temper at work. It’s even possible that you could get so ticked, you feel like running after someone and throttling them. Not a good idea. That sudden rush of anger is the “fight” part of the fight or flight response that comes from a little part of your brain called the amygdala. When you have a sudden urge to throttle someone, you’re experiencing what emotional intelligence pioneer Daniel Goleman calls an amygdala hijack. The fight or flight response was actually pretty useful when our ancestors never knew if a saber tooth tiger was the next thing coming around the corner. It’s not so useful in a professional setting. - [A Self-Exam on One Piece of Paper](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-self-exam-on-one-piece-of-paper/) - One of the many intelligent things that Socrates said is “An unexamined life is not worth living.” In an era when many professionals are running flat out until they crash, taking time for self examination usually ends up falling into the category of important but not urgent. The downside of that, of course, is that the urgent things end up overwhelming the important things that a little bit of self examination might have identified. Fortunately, Mike Figliuolo has come up with a simple yet powerful approach to self examination in his new book, One Piece of Paper. The big idea is to boil your personal philosophy on four basic aspects of leadership down to one piece of paper. Mike offers a series of questions and exercises to help you do that. One of his core tools is what he calls the maxim. The maxim is a simple idea that you hold in your head to remind yourself of how to act. An example that Mike offers is “What would my grandmother say?” (As I wrote earlier this year, that question also worked for Tim Sanders.) To give you an idea of how Mike’s approach works in real life, I’ve considered a few of his questions in the aspect of Leading Yourself and will share my one piece of paper (less than that actually) answers with you: - [What Do You Make of This?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-do-you-make-of-this/) - It’s amazing how much the Lloyd Bridges question, “What do you make of this?” comes up in day to day life. For instance, when an organization is going through a big change, “What do you make of this?” is a pretty germane question. People’s answers will depend on the framework and context they have. That’s where leadership plays a critical role. Change usually involves the end of something which usually means that at least some people are losing something that matters to them. The leader’s job is to start some conversations that focus on “What else can we make of this?” - [Occupy Wall Street and Post Heroic Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/occupy-wall-street-and-post-heroic-leadership/) - What’s fascinating to me as a student of leadership is that there is no single person who’s leading this. There’s no Lech Walesa exhorting the shipyard workers in Gdansk. Instead, there’s this participatory, radical consensus model of leadership organized online, through public events and often long and frustrating group conversations. There’s no manifesto (yet) or daily talking points that everyone is repeating verbatim. There are leaders and coordinators in the movement but it looks like they’re letting the group do the work. It looks like post heroic leadership. - [What We Should and Shouldn’t Learn from the Life of Steve Jobs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-we-should-and-shouldnt-learn-from-the-life-of-steve-jobs/) - Even though it was sadly expected, the news of Steve Jobs' passing this week hit me like a punch in the gut. Clearly, I was not alone. The outpouring of tributes and remembrances tell us something. He was an especially gifted human being who, in his own ways, helped change the world. Whether it's explicitly articulated or not, it seems we recognize when we lose someone who was truly an original and feel that loss more acutely. - [Why All the Leaders Are Above Average](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-all-the-leaders-are-above-average/) - My friends at SmartBrief on Leadership run a weekly poll on a question of interest to their 165,000 readers. A great guy named Mike Figliuolo, author of the just released One Piece of Paper, comes up with the questions and offers his analysis on the results. This week’s write up was a doozy. Last week, Mike asked, “How do you think people would rate you as a leader?” with the choices being average, above average, below average, best leader they’ve ever had or they think I’m a terrible leader. It turns out that 74% of the respondents think they’re either above average or the best leader their people have ever had. How is this possible? - [An Admiral’s Take On Admiral Mike Mullen’s Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/an-admirals-take-on-admiral-mike-mullens-leadership/) - Oct. 1, 2011 marks the retirement of Adm. Mike Mullen from the U.S. Navy and from his role as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Washington Post’s David Ignatius offers a nice recap of the Mullen years in an exit interview column with the Chairman. I’m an admirer of Mullen and his leadership - [Are You Accountable or Responsible?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-accountable-or-responsible/) - Are you accountable or responsible? What’s the difference and why does it matter? The first time I heard this distinction was years ago in one of my first coaching engagements. I was interviewing colleagues of my client and a senior executive said, “He needs to be more accountable and less responsible.” That made a lot - [How to Quit Kicking the Can Down the Road](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-quit-kicking-the-can-down-the-road/) - CNN’s Fareed Zakaria is one of the smartest people I don’t know. His GPS (Global Public Square) show on Sunday afternoon is an oasis of civil and intelligent discussion on world events in a desert of babble and blather. He opened this week’s show with a commentary on the burgeoning economic crisis in the Eurozone. - [How to Get Fired in Less Than a Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-fired-in-less-than-a-year/) - There are a lot of things you could say about the board of directors at Hewlett Packard but being afraid to pull the trigger is not one of them. With its dismissal of Leo Apotheker, the HP board has fired three CEOs in the past six years. Apotheker lasted 11 months at HP. He came - [How to Save Your Change Management Program From Cancellation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-save-your-change-management-program-from-cancellation/) - Earlier this week, I was leading a workshop for a group of leaders in a company that’s been around for a long time. They’re at the beginning of an enterprise wide, top to bottom reimagining of the business. There’s a mix of excitement, ambiguity and uncertainty in the air. Everyone knows that big changes are - [Being Busy Makes You Stupid](https://eblingroup.com/blog/being-busy-makes-you-stupid/) - Being busy makes you stupid. And when I say, "you", I mean me. Heck, I'll just say it out loud. Being busy makes me stupid. I realized this in a conversation with my wife on Friday night. We were out for a long, relaxed “just the two of us” dinner. Of course, we had scheduled - [Picking Up and Letting Go at Sea](https://eblingroup.com/blog/picking-up-and-letting-go-at-sea/) - About a month ago today, I was a guest on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Venturous leaving their station in St. Petersburg, Fla., and getting under way for a patrol in the Florida Straits. In this last of the videos from the trip that I’ll be posting on this blog, you can see what it - [A 5 Step Plan for Speaking Truth to Power](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-five-step-plan-for-speaking-truth-to-power/) - Let’s hear it for Doug Elmendorf! It’s possible that, as was the case with me until yesterday afternoon, you don’t know who Doug Elmendorf is. He runs the Congressional Budget Office and was the star witness at a hearing yesterday of the Congressional Super Committee charged with reducing the federal deficit by $1.5 trillion. I - [3 Things Resilient Leaders Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-resilient-leaders-do/) - Watching the ceremonies on TV yesterday, I was struck by the beauty of the 9/11 memorial in New York. It’s a park built around the footprints of the World Trade Center towers and waterfalls flow into the footprints. Looking at the memorial, I was reminded of the first time I saw Ground Zero after the - [What It Takes to Be Ready](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-it-takes-to-be-ready/) - There are a lot of memories coming to the surface as the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches. Of course, some of the most vivid memories are of the first responders who showed so much courage and skill in the minutes, hours and days after the attacks. Even though they had never dealt with - [The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-five-languages-of-appreciation-in-the-workplace/) - Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post called Can This Marriage (Customer, Team, Leader) Be Saved? in which I referenced a book called The 5 Love Languages and riffed a bit on how those might be applied at work. A couple of days later, I got a nice email from Dr. Paul White letting - [The Strategic Viewer’s Guide to the President’s Jobs Speech](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-strategic-viewers-guide-to-the-presidents-job-speech/) - There’s lots of speculation about what President Obama will say in his jobs creation strategy speech to Congress on Thursday night. Will he be bold? Will he be meek? Will he seek compromise? Will he draw a line in the sand?Perhaps the most important question is will he offer a viable strategy for creating jobs - [What Our Leaders Didn't Learn on Their Summer Vacations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-our-leaders-didnt-learn-on-their-summer-vacations/) - Long term readers of this blog may have noticed that I don't write nearly as many posts as I used to that are based on politics. There are a couple of reasons for that. First, I try to keep this blog in the ballpark of leadership news you can use and there just aren't that - [3 Things The Coast Guard Does to Prepare for Emergencies](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-the-coast-guard-does-to-prepare-for-emergencies/) - The turmoil and damage caused in the Northeast last weekend by Hurricane Irene is just the latest reminder of how much we rely on first responders like the U.S. Coast Guard in times of emergencies and natural disasters. There was some dramatic video released yesterday of a Coast Guard helicopter rescue of a boater in - [What Happens After a Legend Leaves?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-happens-after-a-legend-leaves/) - There’s been so much written about Steve Jobs stepping down as Apple CEO this week. As an Apple fan and a student of business leaders, it’s hard to disagree with the many, many tribute articles that have sung the praises of Jobs. Anyone who changes multiple industries – computing with the Apple II, Lisa (remember - [Sneak Peek Opportunity](https://eblingroup.com/blog/sneak-peek-opportunity/) - September will see the launch of a new Eblin Group website and Next Level Blog with some cool new features and resources. One of the ones I’m most excited about is an online self assessment based on the Next Level model of leadership presence. There will be a complimentary version and an expanded version which - [How Will You Feel When the Big One Hits?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-will-you-feel-when-the-big-one-hits/) - So, the big question on the East Coast yesterday evening was where were you when the earthquake hit? I was in a large conference room in Baltimore leading a group coaching session for rising leaders at a client company. They were working in small groups when I noticed the image on the screen jiggling crazily - [What I Learned on a Coast Guard Cutter](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-on-a-coast-guard-cutter/) - For the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity each Fall to talk leadership with the newly promoted admirals of the U.S. Coast Guard and their Senior Executive Service counterparts from the Department of Homeland Security. I’ll be joining the group again this October and will be bringing a new perspective to the conversation. That - [To Coach or Not to Coach? The August Leadership Development Challenge](https://eblingroup.com/blog/to-coach-or-not-to-coach-the-august-leadership-development-challenge/) - It’s time for this month’s Leadership Development Roundtable Challenge. Executive coach and blogger Mary Jo Asmus has written up a “ripped from today’s headlines,” case involving a manager who says he wants coaching but doesn’t follow through. The question is, if you’re the coach, what do you do to get this client back on track? - [The Lost Art of Killing Time](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-lost-art-of-killing-time/) - This past weekend, I had the great opportunity to spend a couple of days with the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Venturous on patrol in the Florida Straits. I’m organizing my thoughts, pictures and videos from the trip and will have more to share on that in the days and weeks to come. - [3 Signs It’s Time to Shut Up](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-signs-its-time-to-shut-up/) - If you’re a sports fan (guilty as charged), you’ve likely heard by now about golf caddie Stevie Williams’ interview after his new boss, Adam Scott, won the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational last weekend. It’s the talk of the sports world this week. Williams, in case you don’t know, was Tiger Woods’ caddie for 13 years and carried - [A Strength When Overused](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-strength-when-overused/) - One of the great truisms in leadership coaching is that a strength when overused becomes a weakness. For example, the strength of confidence, when overused, looks like arrogance. The overconfident leader is so convinced of his or her world view that they quit questioning, listening or observing anything that might challenge it.This idea is on - [Micromanagement and Curing The Curse of the V-Bobs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/micromanagement-and-curing-the-curse-of-the-v-bobs/) - One of the things I enjoy the most in my work as a coach is helping my clients come up with regular practices that will make them better leaders. One of my guiding principles as a coach is the line from Aristotle, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but - [5 Signs That Your HR Chief Is Trouble](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-signs-that-your-hr-chief-is-trouble/) - With a shout out to the folks at SmartBrief on Leadership for pointing it out, I recommend to you a deeply reported article in Fortune magazine about how and why Pfizer CEO Jeff Kindler was pushed out of his job last year. It’s an excellent, real life case study in the “Why Smart Leaders Fail,” - [The Leadership Theory Lack](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-leadership-theory-lack/) - Today’s post is a guest post by David Burkus, the force behind the LeaderLab blog where he focuses on how to put leadership theory into practice. If you like what David shares in this post, you’ll love his new book, The Portable Guide to Leading Organizations. Airport bookstores are crowded with books on leadership, and - [Are You an Apple or a Google?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-an-apple-or-a-google/) - A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post titled "Are You an IBM or a Dell?" Today's post continues with the tech ID theme and is inspired by an article in the New York Times by Randall Stross. In it, he makes the point that the big decisions at Apple are made by one - [One More Question](https://eblingroup.com/blog/one-more-question/) - Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest difference. I see this all the time in coaching leaders. In fact, it's usually the simplest things that make the biggest difference. Here's an example from my executive coaching files.One of my clients was a senior executive I'll call Sam. He was brilliant in his technical domain, not - [3 Communication Lessons from Carmegeddon](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-communication-lessons-from-carmegeddon/) - Even if you don't live in Los Angeles you've probably heard of Carmegeddon. This past weekend, a 10 mile stretch of interstate 405 was closed for a bridge demolition. As Reuters reports, there was a full-on, flood the zone PR campaign mounted by local municipal leaders to encourage residents of the LA area to stay - [Harry Potter as Servant Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/harry-potter-as-servant-leader/) - This past Monday night, my wife Diane and I had a once a lifetime experience. We got to attend the red carpet premiere of the last Harry Potter movie at Lincoln Center in New York. Diane has to be in the top 1% of Harry Potter fans in the world and she won the trip - [The July Leadership Development Round Table Challenge](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-july-leadership-development-round-table-challenge/) - You may recall from last month’s inaugural event, this is where we put forth a vexing real world leadership challenge and a number of regular contributors (including yours truly) plus one guest share their best advice on how to handle it… in 200 words or less. You vote with your comments and with your actual - [What I Learned About Leadership from the Dalai Lama](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-about-leadership-from-the-dalai-lama/) - This month, the Dalai Lama is in Washington, D.C. for a couple of weeks to lead a series of Buddhist teachings called a Kalachakra. This past Saturday morning, he came out to the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol to talk about world peace with about 20,000 people. I was one of them. You can - [You Get the Culture You Pay For](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-get-the-culture-you-pay-for/) - For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been ignoring articles in the Financial Times about a cell phone hacking scandal in England. This morning, the New York Times picked up the story in a big way and I started paying attention. Here’s the very quick recap. It’s been determined that, for a number of years, - [3 Signs That Your Slide Deck Stinks](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-signs-that-your-slide-deck-stinks/) - Earlier this year, I was with an executive who was proudly showing me the Power Point presentation he had prepared for an upcoming strategic offsite. We got through three slides and he turned to me and asked me what I thought so far. I asked if he really wanted to know and he said yes. - [New Leadership Lessons from Yoga](https://eblingroup.com/blog/new-leadership-lessons-from-yoga/) - So, let me first assure you that the picture that comes with this post has not been Photoshopped. That is me in my business clothes standing on my head alongside Melissa, one of my good buddies from yoga. The back story is that yesterday I went straight from a meeting with clients to the Down - [3 Things to Consider Before You Quit Your Job in a Huff](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-to-consider-before-you-quit-your-job-in-a-huff/) - The big buzz in baseball last week was the sudden resignation of Washington Nationals manager, Jim Riggleman. As Dave Sheinin reported in the Washington Post, the Nats had just beaten the Seattle Mariners to go over .500 in June for the first time in six years. It was then that the team’s general manager walked - [Leadership in Action at the CDC](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-in-action-at-the-cdc/) - Yesterday, I had the good fortune to follow Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control, as a speaker to the leadership fellows of his agency. His remarks were so fascinating that I was honestly a little disappointed when he wrapped up and it was time for me to speak. On the other - [What Can You Do with a 10 Minute Break?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-can-you-do-with-a-ten-minute-break/) - Today's post is short and sweet as I have about 10 minutes before they shut the door on my plane. Which raises the question, "What can you do with a 10 minute break?" That question is on my mind because I spent a good part of yesterday talking with rising executives in our group coaching - [What I’ve Learned About Leadership From My Wife](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-ive-learned-about-leadership-from-my-wife/) - Today is my 24th wedding anniversary. You can accuse me of bias (and you might be right), but my wife, Diane, is one of the best leaders I know. She may not be famous (although she’s increasingly becoming so to the people who follow her food blog and presence on social media) and is not - [Are You an IBM or a Dell?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-you-an-ibm-or-a-dell/) - The title of this post reminds me of the “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC” TV commercials from a couple of years ago. The question, “Are you an IBM or a Dell?” was inspired by an article I read this week in The Economist.As it happens, this year is the 100th anniversary of the founding - [Introducing the Leadership Development Roundtable Challenge!](https://eblingroup.com/blog/introducing-the-leadership-development-roundtable-challenge/) - My always innovative blogging buddy, Dan McCarthy of Great Leadership, has assembled a group of leadership bloggers (including yours truly) to participate in a monthly Leadership Development Roundtable Challenge. Welcome to the first edition of the Challenge. Each month, a core member of The Roundtable will introduce a leadership challenge and a solicit a 200 word - [Conan O’Brien Explains How to Make Lemonade Out of Lemons](https://eblingroup.com/blog/conan-obrien-explains-how-to-make-lemonade-out-of-lemons/) - This is the time of year when commencement addresses are given at high schools and colleges across the country. The speech that’s getting a lot of buzz this year is the one that late night TV comic Conan O’Brien gave at Dartmouth College.You may remember that last year O’Brien was more or less squeezed out - [5 Signs That You’re So Busy Doing That You Don’t See What Needs To Be Done](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-signs-that-youre-so-busy-doing-that-you-dont-see-what-needs-to-be-done/) - One of the things I do on a regular basis is speak to groups of new and high potential executives about what they can do to succeed in bigger jobs. In the run-up to those sessions, I often ask them to complete a short self-assessment on how they think they stack up on some of - [Is Your Risk-to-Reward Ratio Out of Whack?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/is-your-risk-to-reward-ratio-out-of-whack/) - Yesterday, I was in Pittsburgh talking with a group of executives from different companies headquartered there about what they had taken away from my book, "The Next Level." It was a really interesting conversation as everyone shared their lessons learned and ongoing challenges with taking on bigger leadership roles. One of the things we talked - [There’s No Me In Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/theres-no-me-in-leadership/) - Am I the only one who’s gotten tired of all the stories we’ve had lately about self absorbed “leaders” behaving badly? Just in the last couple of weeks I’ve written about four of them in the posts, Four Dogs, One Hero and Three Danger Signals That Your Integrity Is At Risk. Now, we have Congressman - [Leadership Is Not An End In Itself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-is-not-an-end-in-itself/) - As is often the case, The New York Times’ Corner Office feature offered an interesting interview with a business leader last week. The subject this time was Bing Gordon, a partner with the Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins. Gordon said something about leadership that might sound counter intuitive: “Early on, I learned that - [Video Book Club: You Are Not Your Brain](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-you-are-not-your-brain/) - It’s conference season which means free books and authors talking about their books. Heard and started to read a good one this week. It’s You Are Not Your Brain by Jeffrey Schwartz and Rebecca Gladding. Schwartz was a keynoter this week at the annual conference of the DC Metro Chapter of the International Coach Federation. - [3 Danger Signals That Your Integrity Is at Risk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-danger-signals-that-your-integrity-is-at-risk/) - Some recent news stories, one in particular, have caused me to pull out my dictionary to look up the word "integrity." (I like to use the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language because it offers the roots of the words all to the way back to the Indo-European roots.) The primary definition of integrity - [Memorial Day Weekend Reprise](https://eblingroup.com/blog/memorial-day-weekend-reprise/) - As we move into the unofficial beginning of Summer in the United States with the start of Memorial Day weekend, I want to give a reprise to a post I ran at the beginning of last year, What I Learned on an Aircraft Carrier. As is often noted, only two percent of the U.S. population - [Five Steps to Stay on TRACK With Your Delegation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-steps-to-stay-on-track-with-your-delegation/) - Yesterday marked the beginning of another Next Level Leadership® group coaching program with a cohort of high potential leaders at one of our client companies. One of the big events in the first day of the program is to review the results of 360 degree surveys we run for the participants prior to session one. - [Lead As If You're Still Going To Be Here](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lead-as-if-youre-still-going-to-be-here/) - As I write this, it is Sunday afternoon and I'm happy to report that, contrary to a firm prediction from the founder of Family Radio, we're all still here. The world didn't end. I have to say that I wasn't really that worried because I've had direct experience with people who were convinced the end - [What's Love Got to Do with It? (i.e. Love, Leadership and Profits)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it-ie-love-leadership-and-profits/) - Today I'm at the annual alumni conference for the Georgetown Leadership Coaching Program. The first session I attended was on Love and the Bottom Line led by two fabulous coaches, Sandy Mobley of The Learning Advantage and Lori Zukin of Booz Allen Hamilton. We began the hour by talking in small conversations about remembering a - [Four Dogs, One Hero](https://eblingroup.com/blog/four-dogs-one-hero/) - This has been quite a week for high profile people in leadership positions behaving like dogs. First, we have the head of the IMF, Dominique Strauss Kahn, charged with sexually assaulting a housekeeper in his $3,000 a night hotel room. And, with that, what I would suspect is the only recorded episode of someone staying - [The Fine Art of GSD: How to Get Stuff Done in a Large Organization](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-fine-art-of-gsd-how-to-get-stuff-done-in-a-large-organization/) - One of the highest compliments that can be paid in our house is that someone "GSDs." While we have a somewhat colorful definition of what GSD means, the polite way to explain it is that it stands for Gets Stuff Done. When you think about it, getting stuff done is a big part of life. - [Look Me in the Eyes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/look-me-in-the-eyes/) - Earlier this week I gave a speech to a couple of hundred managers about how to stay on track with delegation. As part of the talk, I introduced a step by step approach to effective and worry free delegation and then had the audience split up into groups of three to practice a real life - [Three Ways to Deal with a Smart Aleck (and other rude people in your organization)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-ways-to-deal-with-a-smart-aleck-and-other-rude-people-in-your-organization/) - Wow, I had no idea what kind of nerve I was striking when I wrote a post last week on taming your inner smart aleck. Lots of leader readers left fantastic mea culpa comments that shared stories of the moments of truth that helped cure them of entertaining themselves with caustic comments. In spite of - [James Levine’s Servant Leadership: “I Want to Always Be There for the Players”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/james-levines-servant-leadership-i-want-to-always-be-there-for-the-players/) - It’s often said that effective leadership is a lot like conducting an orchestra. Last week, I heard an interview on NPR’s Fresh Air with an actual leader who conducts an actual orchestra. The conductor is James Levine and he’s led the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for forty years. In his conversation with Terry Gross, I was - [Let Me Entertain Me: Three Ways To Tame Your Inner Smart Aleck](https://eblingroup.com/blog/let-me-entertain-me/) - As the reporting on the operation against Osama bin Laden unfolds, a good bit has been made of the poker face aspect of President Obama artfully delivering one liners at the White House Correspondents Dinner the night before the raid. You can watch Obama’s routine here. (Be sure to look for his crack about how - [Leadership and the Demise of Osama bin Laden](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-the-demise-of-osama-bin-laden/) - When I went to bed on Sunday night at 10:30 pm, the last thing I expected to read when I woke up on Monday morning was that U.S. special forces have killed Osama bin Laden. As I write this, the details of the operation and the decision process that preceded it are still being reported. - [Five Ways to Survive a Clueless Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-survive-a-clueless-boss/) - Well, after many years in the job, Michael Scott has left the office at Dunder Mifflin to pursue other dreams. It remains to be seen how things are going to go for the team with the new boss.You may or may not be surprised how often I hear in my coaching work about senior level - [Bossypants: Leadership Lessons from Tina Fey](https://eblingroup.com/blog/bossypants-leadership-lessons-from-tina-fey/) - I did something this past weekend that I rarely do. I read a business book all the way through. (You see, the dirty little secret about most business books is you can get the meat from them with a heavy skim in an hour or less.)Of course, having read the title of this post, you - [What Leaders Need to Learn from American Idol](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-need-to-learn-from-american-idol/) - If you been reading this blog for awhile, you know that this is the time of year when my corporate friend, Jennifer, and I handicap and kibitz about American Idol in emails we send each other. We both agree that the show is way better than we expected it to be in the post Simon - [The Math of Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-math-of-leadership/) - I have a confession to make. I’m not that great at math. Don’t get me wrong, I can do the basics, but I’m not going to be writing any Google or Facebook style algorithms anytime soon. My math challenges literally go back to first grade when the concept of subtraction just rocked my little six - [You Like Me, You Really Like Me](https://eblingroup.com/blog/you-like-me-you-really-like-me/) - One of the most e-mailed articles on the New York Times website the past couple of days has been an article by David Carr on how it seems to be acceptable behavior to text someone else while you’re in a conversation with an actual live person who is in the room with you. Carr, the - [Five Ways to Get Your Calendar Under Control](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-get-your-calendar-under-control/) - It seems like I talk with clients about the challenge of taming their calendars at least two or three times a week. In the age of interconnected scheduling systems like Outlook and the continuous push to get more done with less in any given day, more and more leaders feel like Sisyphus rolling that big - [Video Book Club: Onward by Howard Schultz](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-onward-by-howard-schultz/) - After an extended hiatus, I’m back today with a new installment of the Video Book Club. If you’ve ever been to a Starbucks and if you’re a student of leadership, you’ll likely be interested in Onward, the new book by Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz.In this edition of the Video Book Club, I talk - [Leadership and Getting 900 College Students to Show Up on a Saturday Morning](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-getting-900-college-students-to-show-up-on-a-saturday-morning/) - OK, this post is going to sound like a dad who’s proud of his son. Well, it is, but there are some serious leadership lessons in it as well.As I’ve written here before, my son, Andy, is a senior at James Madison University. This past Saturday morning was probably the highlight of his college career. - [Start with the Deliverables, Then Work on the Do-Ables](https://eblingroup.com/blog/start-with-the-deliverables-then-work-on-the-do-ables/) - Back in the days when I was a corporate executive myself, I had the good fortune to work on several occasions with Professor Dave Ulrich of the University of Michigan. Dave is one of the all time great thinkers on how lead and organize people to get results. I learned a lot from Dave in - [How to Get the CEO to Listen to You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-the-ceo-to-listen-to-you/) - Last month, I did a customized webinar for about 70 managers in a client company on “How to Build Executive Presence.” To prep the content for the session, we asked about a dozen C suite and direct reports to C suite executives to give us their bullet point answers to the question, “How do you - [A List of Things It Took Me Fifty Years to Learn](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-list-of-things-it-took-me-fifty-years-to-learn/) - Today is my 50th birthday. It’s a little strange to write that down. When I think of 50th birthdays, I think of those films you see sometimes about the 50th birthday of Disneyland. You know the ones with all the ecstatic little kids with crew cuts and pig tails and how quaint Tomorrowland looked fifty - [April Fool’s Day Hall of Fame Nominee](https://eblingroup.com/blog/april-fools-day-hall-of-fame-nominee/) - I live in fear of April Fool’s day because I am married to one of the all time great April Fool’s joke perpetrators. Early in our marriage, I worked at a bank about 50 miles from our house. Every day, I parked my Ford Tempo (You don’t see many of those on the road anymore. - [Tim Sanders Shares Leadership Wisdom From His Grandma](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tim-sanders-shares-leadership-wisdom-from-his-grandma/) - Tim Sanders and I haven’t met but the more I learn about him, the more I learn we have in common. We were both corporate executives. We’re both authors and speakers. We work with some of the same people. And, we both had grandmothers who played a big role in shaping who we became as - [Can This Marriage (Customer, Team, Leader) Be Saved?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/can-this-marriage-customer-team-leader-be-saved/) - Last week, I got a call from an executive in a client organization. He had just had a conversation with an important customer who said his team wasn't showing up like they used to and didn't have that can-do spirit anymore. As we were talking, he said he felt like the relationship with the customer - [The Upside of Troughs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-upside-of-troughs/) - This week I attended a conference where one of the keynoters was an interesting guy named Clark Aldrich. Clark is a designer of business learning simulations and knows a lot about how people solve problems. It turns out that one of the keys is you have to go through a lot of troughs to make - [Not as Easy as Advertised](https://eblingroup.com/blog/not-as-easy-as-advertised/) - A few weeks ago, New York Times Columnist Nick Kristof was arguing for the imposition of a no fly zone over Libya and cited a quote from retired Air Force Chief of Staff General Merrill McPeak to make his case."I can't imagine an easier military problem," McPeak told Kristof.As we know now, it's not as - [Do You Get It or Not? Does It Matter?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/do-you-get-it-or-not-does-it-matter/) - One of the most e-mailed articles on the New York Times website for the past several days has been one titled, “Don’t Call Me, I Won’t Call You.” My guess is a lot of grown up kids are sending it to their parents to prove that they’re not the only ones who don’t always answer - [Shadow Weeks? A Jolly Good Idea](https://eblingroup.com/blog/shadow-weeks-a-jolly-good-idea/) - A brief article in the Financial Times of London recently reported that Mark Prisk, England’s enterprise minister is drawing up a plan in which government ministers and senior civil servants would have to complete a week’s work assignment in a small business. Prisk’s own staff has taken up the plan. One of his directors, for - [Why Google is Teaching Its Managers to Wash the Dishes](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-google-is-teaching-its-managers-to-wash-the-dishes/) - The New York Times recently ran an article about what Google has done lately to share the practices of its best managers throughout the company. Being Google, a bunch of statisticians started looking for correlations in the words and phrases that came up again and again in performance reviews, feedback surveys and recognition nominations. The - [Japan: What You Can Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/japan-what-you-can-do/) - Like many other people around the world this past weekend, I was transfixed by the news of the epic disaster that hit Japan on March 11. I’ve noticed that almost all of the coverage so far has been straight news and very little commentary. In my own case, I find that I can’t get my - [Twelve Steps to a Great Networking Conversation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/twelve-steps-to-a-great-networking-conversation/) - A couple of years ago, I wrote a post called Five Principles for Building a Strong Network. It proved to be pretty popular and I've been practicing and coaching on those principles ever since. Today, I want to share twelve steps to having a good networking conversation. With the idea in mind that experience is - [The Questions Leaders Need to Ask About “No-Fly Zones”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-questions-leaders-need-to-ask-about-no-fly-zones/) - Every so often, a word or phrase will pick up so much buzz that everyone starts talking about it at once. This week, the catch phrase “no fly zone” has achieved that status. As the Libyan dictator Gaddafi and the forces rallying against him continue to battle, more and more commentators and legislators are calling - [A Senior Executive Shares His Leadership Rules of the Road](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-senior-executive-shares-his-leadership-rules-of-the-road/) - One of the most popular aspects of my company’s group coaching program, Next Level Leadership® for high potential leaders is the senior executive guest speakers who come in for a lunch time “what I’ve learned” conversation. They talk about what they’ve learned over the course of their career and what they’ve had to pick up - [The Big Reasons New Executives Fail and What To Do About Them](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-big-reasons-new-executives-fail-and-what-to-do-about-them/) - If you've been around organizations for any length of time, you don't need a research study to tell you that newly hired or promoted executives often struggle in their new roles. You've likely seen it with your own eyes. A recent survey of 320 executives and talent management professionals conducted by the Alexcel Group and - [How to Get a Quick Win](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-get-a-quick-win/) - As the author of The Next Level, the coaching engagements that I’m asked to take on often involve supporting an executive who’s taking on a bigger job, leading after a reorganization or some other situation where the stakes are high and the expectations are different. As the old saying goes, you never get a second - [6 Leadership Do’s and Don’ts From Oscar Night](https://eblingroup.com/blog/six-leadership-dos-and-donts-from-oscar-night/) - There’s an old joke that my adopted hometown of Washington, DC is Hollywood for, well, um, not so attractive people. So, of course, to see all the beautiful people in one place one watches the Academy Awards. I’m a big movie buff (Witness my post from a few months ago on The King’s Speech. You - [Five Lessons in Leadership Communications from Governor Chris Christie](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-lessons-in-leadership-communications-from-governor-chris-christie/) - If you’re looking for a brilliant piece of analysis and reporting on a leader who’s making waves, check out Matt Bai’s feature article in The New York Times Magazine on New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. No doubt, you’ve seen Christie on TV over the last year delivering “can’t believe he said that” zingers about what - [Five Ways to Avoid Being Fired in Five Months](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-avoid-being-fired-in-five-months/) - The New York media world was abuzz last week with news of the termination of veteran publishing executive, Jack Griffin, from his job of CEO of Time, Inc. a little more than five months after he got there. Just to make sure the situation was clear to all involved, Time-Warner CEO, Jeff Bewkes released a - [Would You Want to Work for You?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/would-you-want-to-work-for-you/) - One of the regular features in the Financial Times is an interview with a business leader called Twenty Questions. The hook is that most of the twenty questions are asked in every interview so if you’re a regular reader of the FT (if you’re not, I recommend becoming one), you can see how different CEOs - [An Army Colonel’s Three Simple Rules of Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/an-army-colonels-three-simple-rules-of-leadership/) - Last week, I had the opportunity to join a small group of leadership coaches for dinner with retired US Army Colonel Steve Dwyer. Colonel Dwyer is enjoying a second career in the private sector after spending thirty years as a soldier, most of it in Army Aviation. He shared a lot of interesting stories and - [New Leader? Check Out From Bud to Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/new-leader-check-out-from-bud-to-boss/) - One of the more on target book titles I’ve heard lately is From Bud to Boss by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris. Kevin and Guy have put their finger on and bring their considerable expertise to bear on a very common challenge – how to go from being the buddy of your peers to being - [First World Problems](https://eblingroup.com/blog/first-world-problems/) - My college senior son and his friends have a phrase they use with each other when one of them starts griping about something that is really inconsequential. After one of them rants for a while, another one will call a stop by reminding the one who’s ranting, “First world problems.” It’s a perspective reset. The - [Presenting with Passion](https://eblingroup.com/blog/presenting-with-passion/) - On my way to Atlanta this week for a series of meetings, I read a new book by presentation expert, Garr Reynolds called The Naked Presenter (Reynolds lives in Japan and uses the public baths where everyone gets equal by getting naked as the main metaphor for his book. Definitely an attention grabber!)Reynolds mentions lots - [Leaders and Readers, What Are You Highlighting?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-and-readers-what-are-you-highlighting/) - Yesterday, I found out that the Kindle version of The Next Level is in the top 2% of the most highlighted books on Amazon’s Kindle. In case you’re not familiar with the technology, you can highlight passages in a Kindle book just like you can in a physical book. The only difference is the Kindle - [A Super Bowl Servant Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-super-bowl-servant-leader/) - It’s Monday morning and time to break down the Super Bowl. My main goal in this post is to share some Steelers coach Mike Tomlin-inspired thoughts on servant leadership. Have to spend a little time first, though, on a few observations about this national holiday. (After all, is there anything else in America that draws - [How To Keep Them Talking About You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-keep-them-talking-about-you/) - My oldest son, Andy, is a senior at James Madison University. A couple of weeks ago, he told me a story about Ron Carrier who was president of JMU from 1971 to 1998. In other words, Carrier retired as president of JMU nine years before Andy arrived as a freshman. More than a decade after - [Denial, It’s Not Just a River in Egypt](https://eblingroup.com/blog/denial-its-not-just-a-river-in-egypt/) - It looks like the end game for Hosni Mubarak may be nigh. At the end of the day when a million countrymen flooded the streets of Cairo to call for his immediate resignation, the Egyptian president went on television to say he intended to stay on the job for eight more months to ensure an - [Battle Hymn of the Tiger Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/battle-hymn-of-the-tiger-boss/) - By now, you’ve no doubt heard the buzz about Amy Chua’s book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother . It’s her memoir about raising her two daughters in the strict and demanding way that her Chinese immigrant parents raised her. The buzz machine on Chua’s book went into overdrive when the Wall Street Journal ran - [What Middle East Protestors and The Best Companies for Leaders Have in Common](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-middle-east-protestors-and-the-best-companies-for-leaders-have-in-common/) - My guess is you weren’t expecting to see the two topics in the title of this post strung together. Here’s the back story. As I was scanning the headlines this morning, I read the New York Times report about tens of thousands of Egyptians flooding into the streets to protest their government. This follows similar - [Leadership and the Human Connection: Lessons from the State of the Union](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-the-human-connection-lessons-from-the-state-of-the-union/) - If you’re looking for an example of how much things can change in one year, play back a recording of last night’s State of the Union address and compare it with a recording of last year’s. Last night, of course, moved by the tragedy of the shootings in Tucson this month and the grave wounding - [Three Tips for Managing an Olbermann](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-tips-for-managing-an-olbermann/) - It was probably inevitable that Keith Olbermann and his managers at MSNBC would have a stressful parting of the ways. The career history of the talented, iconoclastic, maddening, entertaining (even if he’s the guy you love to hate) Olbermann has been one of resigning from or getting fired by every network he’s worked for. As - [Found in Translation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/found-in-translation/) - One of the big stories in Washington this week was the state visit of Chinese President Hu to the White House. Most of the early analysis and reporting suggests that, all things considered, the meetings between the Chinese and the Americans were worthwhile. There are probably a lot of leadership lessons to be gained from - [What You Can Learn from Ted Leonsis’ Life List](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-you-can-learn-from-ted-leonsis-life-list/) - Last week, thinks to the vision and initiative of Laura Mendelow and Kevin Keegan, two friends at Booz Allen Hamilton, I and about 90 other people had the gift of listening to and speaking with Ted Leonsis for about 90 minutes. The event was the book club of the local ASTD chapter and he was - [What Leaders Can Learn About Speaking from Martin Luther King](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-about-speaking-from-martin-luther-king/) - As we celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr., I thought you might appreciate this post I ran last year on six qualities that made MLK such a great speaker. Whether you’re looking for speaking tips, want to remember one of history’s most important leaders or both, I hope you enjoy the post and - [Four Steps for Making Better Decisions](https://eblingroup.com/blog/four-steps-for-making-better-decisions/) - A friend recently gave me a copy of a new book that’s out now, The Price of Everything by Eduardo Porter. As someone who loved taking economics in college (Thank you Dr. Nelson.), I found Porter’s book to be a fun and thought provoking read. He basically takes some of the principles you learn in - [How Are Those Resolutions Working Out for You?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-are-those-resolutions-working-out-for-you/) - As I wrote in a post, Leadership Lessons from Yoga, a few weeks ago, I’ve been a regular at my local studio since last October. On January 2, I realized that if I wanted to get a space for my mat in class, I needed to get there earlier. The studio was packed to the - [Sorry, You’ve Used Up All of Your Meeting Budget](https://eblingroup.com/blog/sorry-youve-used-up-all-of-your-meeting-budget/) - Recently, I spoke about leadership to a group of newly promoted senior managers. Like just about every other leadership group I speak to everyone in the room agreed that one of their biggest challenges is getting any work done other than going to meetings. One fellow diplomatically noted that his company’s culture is very collaborative - [Leaders, Your Words Matter](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-your-words-matter/) - In response to the horrific wounding of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others and the killing in Arizona this weekend of a nine year old girl, a Federal judge, a Congressional staffer and three citizens who came to the local shopping plaza to talk with their member of Congress, President Obama has asked for a - [Next Level Tips for Women Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/next-level-tips-for-women-leaders/) - Last month, I was interviewed by Kristi Hedges, executive coach and columnist for WomenEntrepeneur.com, on how women leading their own businesses can develop themselves for next level performance. The article came out this week and Kristi did a great job putting it together. It's a perfect time of year for it as lots of folks - [Leaders, What’s Your Vocation?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-whats-your-vocation/) - Hopefully, I’m catching you with this post at a time when you still have a bit of that post-holiday season reflective, what am I trying to do with my life thing going on. My research with leaders shows that increasingly many have very little time to think about what’s most important and what they’re really - [What Coaches (and that means you) Can Learn from “The King’s Speech”](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-coaches-and-that-means-you-can-learn-from-the-kings-speech/) - There are a lot of great things about the holidays. One is that email traffic slows to a trickle. Another is taking in some of the new movies that are released at the end of the year. My viewing card this season included a Jeff Bridges double feature, Tron (visually compelling and fun) and True - [Chart Your Course for 2011 with a Life GPS®](https://eblingroup.com/blog/chart-your-course-for-2011-with-a-life-gps/) - For each of the past 15 years, my wife, Diane, and I have taken some time in January to map out our course for the upcoming year. We use a planning tool we created together early in our marriage that we call the Life GPS®. While it takes its inspiration from the Global Positioning System, - [Holiday Lessons Learned from Charlie Brown and Company](https://eblingroup.com/blog/holiday-lessons-learned-from-charlie-brown-and-company/) - True to my intention of unplugging during the holidays, I'm offering this simple post to say thanks to you, my readers, for your support, engagement and ideas. I've gotten to know many of you though your comments and tweets this year and am really grateful for that. I'm looking forward to continuing the conversations and - [All the Best Leadership Posts in One Link](https://eblingroup.com/blog/all-the-best-leadership-posts-in-one-link/) - Looking for a lot of leadership perspective without a lot of looking? Check out DDI's list of the Top 20 Leadership Blog Posts of 2010. Compiled by Dan McCarthy, author of the widely read Great Leadership blog, the list includes my take on the leadership lessons we can learn from how the Chilean miners organized - [Leadership Lessons from Yoga](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-yoga/) - If you'd wandered into one of my group coaching sessions after lunch yesterday, you would have seen 16 people stretching their hands toward the ceiling, taking three deep breaths in and out through their noses and bending from their waists and letting their heads hang loose for a minute or so. It just felt like - [How to Push Back on Your Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-push-back-on-your-boss/) - Anyone who's worked in organizations for any length of time has had the experience of being told to do something by the boss that seems like a bad idea. A recent example might be the experience of White House press secretary Robert Gibbs who looked outside his office last week to find Barack Obama and - [2010 Has Been A Pretty Good Year for Elon Musk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/2010-has-been-a-pretty-good-year-for-elon-musk/) - This is the time of year when leaders tend to look back on the past 12 months and ask, "How's it gone this year?" If you're Elon Musk, you'll probably need a little more time to answer than the average leader to answer that question. In case you haven't heard of Elon Musk, he's a - [Requirements for Earning Your Leadership Merit Badge](https://eblingroup.com/blog/requirements-for-earning-your-leadership-merit-badge/) - Last week, while teaching at Georgetown’s leadership coaching program, I was reminded of something that shaped me as a kid and a leader that I haven’t thought of in a long time. In a segment where the students share their favorite coaching tools, Graham Segroves from the Leadership Education and Development department of the CIA, - [Apply Now to be Recognized as a 2011 Top Small Company Workplace in Inc. Magazine](https://eblingroup.com/blog/apply-now-to-be-recognized-as-a-2011-top-small-company-workplace-in-inc-magazine/) - Winning Workplaces is collaborating with Inc. to recognize "Top Small Company Workplaces" that have built corporate cultures that foster a productive work environment and satisfied employees. The winners will be featured in the June 2011 issue of Inc. Magazine, the premier publication for entrepreneurs and business owners. In addition winners will be featured on Inc.'s - [How to Drive Change with a Leadership Point of View](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-drive-change-with-a-leadership-point-of-view/) - Every so often, The New York Times will run a long feature on the CEO of a large business. I love those articles because they’re great opportunities for data mining on leadership. One of my favorites was one they ran a few years ago on Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer. This weekend, they ran a feature on - [The Leader’s Pocket Checklist for Holiday Office Parties](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-leaders-pocket-checklist-for-holiday-office-parties/) - It’s that time of the year. The holiday office party season has begun. As my friend Dan McCarthy highlights on his Great Leadership blog, office parties are making a bit of a comeback this year. They can be fun. They can also be dangerous. It’s amazing what a casual setting, rich food and alcohol can - [Ten Years On: Semi-random Reflections from a Decade of Coaching](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-years-on-semi-random-reflections-from-a-decade-of-coaching/) - Ten years ago today, December 1, 2000, my wife and I started our business, The Eblin Group. In a commencement speech at Stanford a few years ago, Steve Jobs made the point that you can never connect the dots prospectively. You can only connect them retrospectively. It's only by looking back that we see how - [Video Book Club: Difficult Conversations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-difficult-conversations/) - The Video Book Club is back from a brief hiatus with one of my favorite books, Difficult Conversations. It’s full of practical and proven ideas for moving from talking past each other to talking with each other to solve problems. It’s also a book that can help you learn more about yourself and your unconscious - [How to Apologize When Your Candid Comments Show Up on WikiLeaks (or Somewhere Else You Didn’t Intend)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-apologize-when-your-candid-comments-show-up-on-wikileaks-or-somewhere-else-you-didnt-intend/) - A good piece of conventional wisdom for leaders used to be to never do, say or write anything down that you wouldn’t want to read on the front page of The Wall Street Journal. Times have changed though. As this week’s WikiLeaks release of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department documents shows, there’s a pretty - [Lessons from the TSA on Communicating Change](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-from-the-tsa-on-communicating-change/) - So, yesterday, I went through airport security for the first time since the full body scanning machines and enhanced pat down procedures were put into effect. Honestly, it was no different than it was the other twenty or so times I’ve gone through security at Dulles this year. If anything, it was faster. (That might - [Seven First Steps for New Members of Congress (That Apply to New Leaders in Any Field)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seven-first-steps-for-new-members-of-congress-that-apply-to-new-leaders-in-any-field/) - The orientation process of newly elected Members of Congress started this past week. A long time ago, in a more bipartisan age, I helped organize a week long orientation program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for the freshman congressional class of 1986. If I remember correctly they had spent an orientation week in Washington - [It’s Not Just You: Three Ways to Get Your Confident Self Into the Game](https://eblingroup.com/blog/its-not-just-you-three-ways-to-get-your-confident-self-into-the-game/) - Last week I spent an afternoon talking with about 60 newly promoted executives of a well known global company. The group had flown in from around the world and the topic was how to lead at the next level. The framing question for my work with executives is what do you pick up and what - [Leadership and Your Long Term Legacy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-your-long-term-legacy/) - Perhaps you've heard the story about the Renaissance era traveler who came upon a group of three men smashing rocks by the side of the road. He asked the first man what he was doing and the man said, "I am engaged in the daily drudgery of smashing large rocks into smaller rocks." The traveller - [The Power of Courtesy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-power-of-courtesy/) - I travel a lot. Mainly domestic in the US, two or three round trip flights a month for business. In an average year, I'll travel internationally once or twice. This week, I'm in Florence, Italy to speak to a group of newly promoted executives.If you fly in the US very often, you know that you - [The Heroes of Walter Reed](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-heroes-of-walter-reed/) - Yesterday, on a rainy afternoon in Washington, DC, I had the privilege of doing something that I wish every American had the opportunity to experience. Through her company, Hooks Book Events, my friend Perry Hooks arranged to give 200 copies of a new book about women combat veterans called When Janey Comes Marching Home to - [It Never Ends. Even More Leadership Lessons from the Washington Redskins](https://eblingroup.com/blog/it-never-ends-even-more-leadership-lessons-from-the-washington-redskins/) - So, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you might have expected me to have some sort of leadership lessons post on yesterday’s mid-term elections. I’m waiting to see how the various players respond in the next couple of days before I get to that topic. One that I’m very clear on, however, is - [Listen In On the Weekly Leader Conversation](https://eblingroup.com/blog/listen-in-on-the-weekly-leader-conversation/) - Last week, I had a thoroughly enjoyable conversation with Peter Mello. In addition to being an executive coach and the founder of the Weekly Leader blog, Peter is a fantastic interviewer (Watch out Charlie Rose!) Along with his colleague Pam Fox Rollin, Peter produces a weekly podcast in which they discuss what’s going on in - [Join Me for the Leadership & Influence Summit](https://eblingroup.com/blog/join-me-for-the-leadership-influence-summit/) - In case you haven’t heard, I want to let you know about a terrific free online leadership event this week. On November 3 & 4, I’m very excited to be joining 30 leadership experts including Marshall Goldsmith, Jim Kouzes, Nancy Duarte (who’s written one of my new favorite books, Resonate), Keith Ferrazzi and Charlene Li - [Three Things I Learned About Leadership From Admiral Allen Today](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-i-learned-about-leadership-from-admiral-allen-today/) - This morning I had the opportunity to meet and learn from someone I’ve admired for the last five years – former U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Thad Allen. Admiral Allen was the opening keynote speaker at Government Executive’s Excellence in Government Conference. (I had the opportunity to speak and work with a terrific group of - [Lead Like a Mom](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lead-like-a-mom/) - With the beginning of a new group coaching cohort, I’ve been spending some time this week in one on one calls with high potential leaders to review their 360 degree feedback data. One of the calls was with a leader who I’ll call Nancy. She’s a long term high performer with her company and the - [Why and How Leaders Need to Say Thank You](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-and-how-leaders-need-to-say-thank-you/) - With a shout out to the folks at the Compensation Café blog, I just read an interesting post on research that demonstrates the positive results that come from saying thank you. So, as you read that last sentence you may have thought, “They needed a study to demonstrate that? I learned that as a kid.” - [A Key Question for Executive Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-key-question-for-executive-leaders/) - Thanks go out to my friend Dan McCarthy of the Great Leadership blog for featuring my post, “What Is It That Only You Can Do?” In ten years of executive coaching, I’ve found that’s a really important question for leaders to consider. There are some caveats in answering the question, however. For starters, it’s not - [Leadership Lessons from a Three Ring Circus](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-from-a-three-ring-circus/) - With everything that leaders have to juggle, it's easy to feel like the ringmaster of a three ring circus. For Kenneth Feld, CEO of Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, it must be hard to resist that feeling. In it's almost always interesting Corner Office series, the New York Times ran an interview with - [How To Tick Off Your Peers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-tick-off-your-peers/) - Want to give a big shout out to fellow blogger Mary Jo Asmus who's featuring my post, "Why Your Peers Can't Stand Working With You," on her Aspire-CS blog. Here are three reasons why you should head on over to Mary Jo's blog and check out the post and what else is there: Mary Jo - [Five Changes Go To People HAVE To Make](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-changes-go-to-people-have-to-make/) - My guest blogger tour continues today with a post on the thoughtLeaders blog. If you're looking for practical, straight talk on leadership, the blog written by Mike Figliuolo is for you. In conjunction with the launch of the second edition of The Next Level, Mike is graciously running a post from me on one of - [Avoiding Common Mistakes That Leaders Make](https://eblingroup.com/blog/avoiding-common-mistakes-that-leaders-make/) - If you're looking for new content from me today, head on over to www.michaelhyatt.com where I'm guest posting today on Three Common Mistakes That Leaders Make (and How to Avoid Them). Michael is the CEO and President of Thomas Nelson Publishing and has a fantastic following as one of the best leadership bloggers around. I'm - [Video Book Club: The Next Level, 2nd Edition](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-next-level-2nd-edition/) - This week’s installment of the Video Book Club can’t hit any closer to home for me. Today, October 19, is the official publication date of the second edition of my book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success. With thanks for indulging me for three minutes, in this video clip I want to - [Coachable Moment: The 20/80 Analysis](https://eblingroup.com/blog/coachable-moment-the-2080-analysis/) - One of the new features in the second edition of The Next Level is a series of sidebars called Coachable Moments. Each of these Moments offers a context specific, road tested coaching tip that you can use to increase your leadership effectiveness or that of leaders you’re coaching.One of my favorite Coachable Moments from the - [Catch the Next Level Call](https://eblingroup.com/blog/catch-the-next-level-call/) - Last week, I hosted a live leadership tele-seminar with several hundred participants. It was a fast paced 30 minutes and a lot of fun for me to share what I’ve learned about leading at the next level, getting into some road-tested Coachable Moments and some of the vital behaviors that leaders need to pick up - [Viva Chile: Leadership and the Rescue of the Miners](https://eblingroup.com/blog/viva-chile-leadership-and-the-rescue-of-the-miners/) - When I was a kid, my mom let me stay home from school the day that the astronauts of Apollo 13 came back to Earth after their spacecraft suffered an explosion on the way to the moon. Like millions of others around the world, we anxiously watched the TV waiting to see if the capsule - [Video Book Club: The Leadership Pipeline](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-leadership-pipeline/) - In this week’s installment of the Video Book Club, I’m sharing what I like about The Leadership Pipeline. The book has been around for about ten years and it’s become a go to resource for anyone charged with developing senior leaders.In the video review, I walk through the simple yet resonant model of career path - [Five Tips for Leaders Who Are Betwixt and Between](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-tips-for-leaders-who-are-betwixt-and-between/) - Every so often, one of my clients will get a promotion to a job where the expectations are so different that it’s not clear to them how they fit in anymore. It’s usually a case where they’re moving from a pretty hands-on, directive leadership role and into a role in which they’re coordinating the work - [Courage and Diving Board Moments](https://eblingroup.com/blog/courage-and-diving-board-moments/) - One day last week, I took the rest of the afternoon off and drove into the District of Columbia to see the exhibition of Norman Rockwell paintings on loan to the Smithsonian American Art Museum from the collections of filmmakers Steven Spielberg and George Lucas. Like a lot of Americans over 40, I have a - [How to Lead Like a Pig](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-lead-like-a-pig/) - If you’ve been looking for a great case study of how quickly leadership can change the culture of an organization, look no further than David Carr’s front page piece in today’s New York Times. In it, he describes how real estate investor Sam Zell and his minions destroyed the culture of the Chicago Tribune and - [What Presenters Need to Learn from Luke Skywalker and Yoda](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-presenters-need-to-learn-from-luke-skywalker-and-yoda/) - This week’s installment of the Video Book Club features a new favorite of mine, Resonate by Nancy Duarte. The subtitle of the book sums up what it’s about: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences. If you’ve watched some of the speaker videos from the TED conference, you’re familiar with Nancy’s work. She and her company - [The Joy of Facts](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-joy-of-facts/) - George F. Will ran a nice column over the weekend that highlighted some of the gems from a collection of writings by the late U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. My favorite Moynihan quote is my favorite because it so aptly describes the root cause of the failure of leadership that so much of the American - [Join Me for a Conversation on Leading at the Next Level](https://eblingroup.com/blog/join-me-for-a-conversation-on-leading-at-the-next-level/) - I hope you and your colleagues will join me for a complimentary tele-seminar on Leading at the Next Level on Thursday, October 14 at 2:00 pm ET. It’s co-sponsored by the good folks at SmartBrief on Leadership. You can sign up for the conversation here. Here’s the scoop on what we’ll cover. About the Leading - [What Don Draper and Gordon Gekko Have to Teach Us](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-don-draper-and-gordon-gekko-have-to-teach-us/) - Don Draper and Gordon Gekko are two guys who are making a lot of money. While that statement may be true in the fictional realm, it’s definitely true in the literal realm. Over the past four years, Mad Men, with its lead character, advertising exec Don Draper, has become more and more popular as evidenced - [Special Opportunities for Fans of The Next Level](https://eblingroup.com/blog/special-opportunities-for-fans-of-the-next-level/) - The 2nd edition of my book, The Next Level: What Insiders Know About Executive Success, 2nd Edition, will be released in late October. To celebrate the launch, my publisher is enabling us to extend, for the next week, a range of complementary Next Level leadership development opportunities for those who can pre-order copies of the - [Video Book Club: Anytime Coaching](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-anytime-coaching/) - Let me acknowledge a deeply held personal bias. Any leader who manages people needs to know how to coach for performance. In their book, Anytime Coaching, my colleagues Teresa Kloster and Wendy Swire provide the framework, tools, exercises and tips that you need to build or improve your coaching skills. In addition to talking about - [Leaders Need to Work the Diagonals](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-need-to-work-the-diagonals/) - As I discuss in The Next Level, one of the key shifts that leaders have to make as they move into bigger roles is to pick up looking left and right as they lead and to let go of just looking up and down as they lead. What I mean by the picking up part - [How to Not Be a Blockbuster](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-not-be-a-blockbuster/) - The New York Times reports that Blockbuster Video, with a billion dollars in debts it can't pay, is filing for bankruptcy. What a great case study in how an organization can go from king of the mountain to yesterday's news. It doesn't take long these days.When my family moved to the DC area in 1999, - [A Simple Way to Avoid Group Think](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-simple-way-to-avoid-group-think/) - Have you ever been in a group problem solving session that ended too soon? Your immediate response to that question may be, “How could any meeting end too soon? I spend too much time in meetings as it is, so the shorter the better.” I’m with you. In most organizations, there are so many meetings - [Video Book Club: One Page Talent Management](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-one-page-talent-management/) - Talent management is one of those areas where the best intentions can quickly turn into a complicated mess that everybody hates. Fortunately, Marc Effron and Miriam Ort are here to save us from ourselves with their book, One Page Talent Management. In this week’s book club video, I share three simple (and whack up the - [New Ideas for Picking Up the Outside-In Perspective](https://eblingroup.com/blog/new-ideas-for-picking-up-the-outside-in-perspective/) - The second edition of my book, The Next Level, is going to be released in October. Over the next month, I’ll be sharing some highlights of what’s different in the new edition. One of the goals I had in writing the new edition was to bring more global leadership perspective to the book. In the - [Wally’s Advice for New Bosses](https://eblingroup.com/blog/wallys-advice-for-new-bosses/) - Sometimes as a leadership blogger, you just need to tip your hat to a colleague and say, “Well done, sir (or ma’am).” That’s the case today with Wally Bock’s post, So, now you’re the boss. Wally succinctly ticks off the points that any new boss needs to remember. Here’s a taste, but you owe it - [Three Things Every Leadership Offsite Needs](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-every-leadership-offsite-needs/) - Between now and April of 2011, thousands (maybe hundreds of thousands) of leadership teams around the world will be going “offsite” to review their progress, plan for the future and bond with each other. It’s that time of the year. The fourth and first quarters of the year is when the planning happens which I - [Video Book Club: Good Boss, Bad Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-good-boss-bad-boss/) - This week’s Video Book Club installment features the new release from one of my favorite authors, bloggers and thinkers on leadership – Bob Sutton. Following up on the success of his previous book, The No Asshole Rule, Bob is back with Good Boss, Bad Boss.It’s a great read with more tips, stories and advice than - [How to Coach a Boss Who Doesn’t Want to Be Coached](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-coach-a-boss-who-doesnt-want-to-be-coached/) - Maybe you’ve heard this joke about leadership coaching: Q: How many coaches does it take to change a light bulb? A: Just one, but the light bulb has to really want to change. Humor is always funnier when there’s an element of truth in it. Over the weekend, I received an email from a reader - [A Letter from Chile](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-letter-from-chile/) - Last week, I wrote a post on the lessons in leadership we’re receiving from the Chilean miners trapped in their copper mine. Thanks to the editors at SmartBrief on Leadership, the post received a lot of attention and generated a lot of thoughtful comments. In addition to the comments, I received a moving email from - [Ten Proven and Simple Ways to Pace Yourself](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-proven-and-simple-ways-to-pace-yourself/) - Here in the United States, the week following Labor Day tends to feel like the beginning of a new year. Kids are back in school, conferences and special events fill the schedule and the final push towards the end of the calendar year kicks into high gear in just about every organization. If you’re a - [Video Book Club: The Power of Pull](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-power-of-pull/) - Happy end of summer everyone. Probably like a lot of you, I spent some time in August catching up on my reading. So, I’m back with the Video Book Club series and this week’s installment features The Power of Pull by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown and Lang Davison.If you’ve been trying to figure - [In Praise of What You Can Do](https://eblingroup.com/blog/in-praise-of-what-you-can-do/) - Most people who know my wife, Diane, find her to be rather amazing. And, no, I’m not just saying that because I’m her husband. People tell me on a regular basis without any prompting from me that they find her amazing. This has gone on for years, but the latest reason why is Diane and - [What We Can Learn About Leadership from the Chilean Miners](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-we-can-learn-about-leadership-from-the-chilean-miners/) - Some days it seems like you have to look long and hard to find examples of inspirational leadership lessons in the news. Today was not one of those days. If you haven’t already done so, you must read the front page article by Alexei Barrionuevo in the New York Times on how the 33 Chilean - [Three Warning Signs That You’re Setting Yourself Up For A Leadership FAIL](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-warning-signs-that-youre-setting-yourself-up-for-a-leadership-fail/) - There’s a long-standing piece of advice to leaders that goes like this. They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I’m thinking about that this morning having read an article in the Washington Post over the weekend about polling that shows DC mayor Adrian Fenty’s previously overwhelming lead in - [Three Tips for Beating the Jitters](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-tips-for-beating-the-jitters/) - It doesn’t matter how far you go as a leader, you’ll occasionally face situations that make you nervous. The reasons for the jitters can vary. It might be the first time you’ve led the senior staff meeting; it could be your first congressional hearing; it could be a crucial conversation with a key customer. No - [A British Friend’s Take on BP](https://eblingroup.com/blog/a-british-friends-take-on-bp/) - By the end of the day last Friday, I was ready to spend the rest of the afternoon talking with friends. One of them was my buddy Steve Bowling. Steve’s a coach and former HR exec based in New Jersey. He’s also a Brit who has lived in the States for the past ten years - [Are They Stepping on Your Toes? Grow Bigger Feet.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/are-they-stepping-on-your-toes-grow-bigger-feet/) - One of the common things that keeps managers from becoming leaders is spending too much time and attention protecting their turf. Over time, their attention gets really internally focused on protecting and keeping order in their own little world. If you’ve seen the Lord of the Rings movies, it’s a little like Gollum maniacally coveting - [How to Perform When the Room Doesn’t Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-perform-when-the-room-doesnt-work/) - Not to get all prophetic or Inception on you, but today’s post is inspired by a dream I had last night. (Don’t worry, it’s nothing really weird or creepy.) So, I’m downtown somewhere and Kiss is supposed to be doing a concert (yes, I was a big fan in junior high). Turns out, though, that - [Leadership and the Ground Zero Mosque](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-and-the-ground-zero-mosque/) - It looks like an emerging campaign issue this Fall will be President Obama’s position on building a mosque close to Ground Zero. At a Ramadan dinner at the White House last week, Obama said that Muslims have the right to build a worship and community center in lower Manhattan near the site of the World - [Leadership Lessons Podcast: Do More Great Work](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-podcast-do-more-great-work/) - After a bit of a hiatus, the Leadership Lessons Podcast series returns this week with my interview with author and 2006 Canadian coach of the year, Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael is the author of the bestseller, Do More Great Work, and is the guy to talk to if you want to figure out how to - [What a Week for Departures: HP’s Hurd, Jet Blue’s Slater and “Jenny” the Office Worker](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-a-week-for-departures-hps-hurd-jet-blues-slater-and-jenny-the-office-worker/) - The past five days or so have been chock a block full of spectacular high-profile flameouts from jobs. A multi-million dollar CEO was forced to resign; a flight attendant chose not to wait for the jetway to depart and an office worker named “Jenny” shared her white board based resignation letter with millions when it - [Driving School for Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/driving-school-for-leaders/) - This past Sunday afternoon, I took my teenage son out for a driving lesson. Brad is the second driver my wife and I have trained after teaching his older brother a few years ago. Like most things in life, it gets a little easier with practice At least I wasn’t tensing up and freaking out - [Take Your Foot Off the Gas in August](https://eblingroup.com/blog/take-your-foot-off-the-gas-in-august/) - The current issue of Fortune magazine offers a cautionary tale in its cover story. It’s about a former IBM senior executive named Robert Moffat whose long and successful career with the company ended when he was arrested by the FBI for conspiracy related to insider trading. The arrest was a complete surprise to Moffat and - [Three Reminders from the Arlington Cemetery Mess](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reminders-from-the-arlington-cemetery-mess/) - One of the stories that registered with me while I was on vacation last week was an extended video clip I saw of Senator Claire McCaskill grilling the former superintendent and deputy superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery at a congressional hearing. Since I was out of town, I had missed the investigative piece in the - [Seven Simple Rules to Create a Fear Based Culture](https://eblingroup.com/blog/seven-simple-rules-to-create-a-fear-based-culture/) - Thanks to the readers of this blog, I've collected a really excellent list of things to do if you're a leader who wants to create a culture of fear in your organization. Not that the readers and commenters are suggesting that you actually do these things. Unfortunately, though, a lot of them have been on - [Business Travel Divas Turn Themselves In](https://eblingroup.com/blog/business-travel-divas-turn-themselves-in/) - Regular readers of this blog know that I'm on a reduced writing schedule while I'm on vacation with my family. And those who read my post, The Business Travel Diva's Guide to Family Vacations a few weeks ago also know that I'm working hard to not be a travel diva jerk on this trip. So - [Fear Kills](https://eblingroup.com/blog/fear-kills/) - In case you didn't see it, a report in the New York Times earlier this week offers a stark example of what can happen when the culture of an organization discourages open and honest dialogue. The article reports that in a study conducted earlier this year by the insurer, Lloyds, the crew of the Deepwater - [Thrown Under the Bus. That's Not Leadership.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/thrown-under-the-bus-thats-not-leadership/) - I haven't followed the news much over the past couple of days since I've been on vacation and have unplugged from much of the stuff I usually pay attention to. That includes cable news. This morning, while I was packing for the next leg, I turned on the TV and heard the story of the - [Video Book Club: Made to Stick](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-made-to-stick/) - If you been to a book store in the past three years, you've no doubt seen Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath. You likely remember the bright orange cover and the big strip of silver duct tape across the front. Those guys practice what they preach which is all about how to make - [Two Bobs Show It's Not All About Them](https://eblingroup.com/blog/two-bobs-show-its-not-all-about-them/) - Don't you hate it when a point you've been making to others on a regular basis is made by someone else and you realize you still have a long way to go yourself on the point you've been making?If you're still with me after that long sentence, I'll fess up that that has happened to - [Thank You for Not Giving Me Cash](https://eblingroup.com/blog/thank-you-for-not-giving-me-cash/) - There were some interesting reader poll results in the daily SmartBrief on Leadership newsletter this week. The question was, "What's the most satisfying reward you can receive for a job well done?" The number one answer, with 30% of the responses, was "cold hard cash." The interesting part was the answers that came in a - [Video Book Club – Beach Read Edition: Operation Mincemeat](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-beach-read-edition-operation-mincemeat/) - In this week’s VBC, I’m offering a summer beach read suggestion for those who like mystery, intrigue and spy craft thrown in with their leadership insights. Operation Mincemeat is a true story that reads like a novel. It’s the World War II story of how some ingenious British intelligence officers came up with a complicated - [Leadership Lessons in Classlessness and Class](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-lessons-in-classlessness-and-class/) - Last week, in my post, Five Signs You Might Be a Tool, I made a passing reference to the way that LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers. During the televised LeBron-a-thon, I lost count of how many times he used the words, me, my, mine and I to say nothing of referring to himself in - [Five Signs That You Might Be a Tool](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-signs-that-you-might-be-a-tool/) - If you’re a sports fan and hang around with teenagers and college students on a regular basis, you might be suspecting that today’s post is inspired by LeBron James. Actually, it’s not although anyone who doesn’t bother to call his hometown employer of seven years before announcing on a prime time special dedicated to his - [How to Kiss and Make Up](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-kiss-and-make-up/) - It's pretty likely that if you're a leader you will, from time to time, have public disagreements or falling outs with other leaders. It's just the nature of things. Some of their goals conflict with yours even though you share common interests on other fronts. When you get cross ways with each other, one of - [Video Book Club: Leading Minds](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-leading-minds/) - So, as you’ll see from the three day stubble, I took a few minutes at the end of the July 4th weekend to talk a bit about one of my favorite books, Leading Minds. It’s by Harvard education professor Howard Gardner and it’s captivating and thought provoking. Gardner shares a number of case studies of - [Fourth of July Memories - circa 1970](https://eblingroup.com/blog/fourth-of-july-memories-circa-1970/) - The 4th of July has always been one of my favorite holidays. The root of that goes back to my childhood on Midvale Drive. Fireworks weren't legal in West Virginia but they were in South Carolina. When we went to Myrtle Beach on vacation my dad would buy what seemed like a ginormous amount of - [How to Run a Staff Meeting](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-run-a-staff-meeting/) - There’s an interesting video on the New York Times web site that offers a peek inside the daily staff meeting of the team responsible for cleaning up the Gulf oil spill. It’s about three minutes long and is worth a look if you want to see how an efficient staff meeting is run. I’ve watched - [Video Book Club: A Sense of Urgency](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-a-sense-of-urgency/) - If you’re moving too fast to read this post, then you probably need to take a minute and a half to watch this week’s Video Book Club clip on John Kotter’s A Sense of Urgency. In the clip, I mention his distinction between real urgency and false urgency. I also share my big take away - [Three Lessons from the Longest Serving Senator](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-lessons-from-the-longest-serving-senator/) - Senator Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia died in the early morning hours of Monday. As reported by Adam Clymer in the New York Times, he was 92 and served 51 years in the U.S. Senate following six years in the House of Representatives. That made him the longest serving member of Congress ever.I grew - [Who’s The Boss?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whos-the-boss/) - If you haven’t read the full Rolling Stone article on General Stanley McChrystal, it’s worth 15 minutes of your time to do so. The RS reporter, Michael Hastings, had pretty much unfettered access to McChrystal and his top aides over the course of a month in Paris and Afghanistan. The result of that is an - [Video Book Club: The Discipline of Market Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-discipline-of-market-leaders/) - One of the things that makes a strategy book really useful is when it introduces a model that you can use to organize your thinking for years to come. This week’s VBC feature did that for me. It’s The Discipline of Market Leaders. In this video clip, I share and show my big take away - [What Am I Supposed To Be Learning From This?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-am-i-supposed-to-be-learning-from-this/) - A long time ago in a land far away, I worked for a year as a first year associate in a now defunct Wall Street investment bank. It was a stressful, but educational experience. What did I learn? Lots of things. Things like the recruiting process is not necessarily the best indicator of what it - [Crummy Boss? Sneaky Peers? Let It Go.](https://eblingroup.com/blog/crummy-boss-sneaky-peers-let-it-go/) - Every so often, I’ll have a conversation with a client who is really frustrated with someone at work. It could be a really difficult boss or a peer who is only focused on his own agenda. What I frequently see with clients in these situations is a lot of pent up negative energy about the - [What’s Your Intention?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/whats-your-intention/) - A s I often do, I spent yesterday with a group of high potential executives in an orientation program. The point of the program was to give these newly promoted leaders an inside look at what’s expected of them and to give them some opportunities to learn and think about what’s going to be different - [Video Book Club The Gluten-Free Diner](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-glutenfree-diner/) - I know what you’re thinking. The Gluten-Free Diner? I thought this was a leadership blog. Well, it is but as a leader you still have to eat. As a matter of fact, it’s really important that you eat well so you have the energy and wherewithal to show up as a focused and engaged leader.So, - [Could You Get Reelected?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/could-you-get-reelected/) - Here’s a question that might make you uncomfortable or maybe even angry. If you had to run a campaign to keep your leadership job, could you get reelected? In this era of anti-incumbent fever, my guess is that there are a lot of non-political leaders who would be voted out of office if their followers - [The Answer to Any Question](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-answer-to-any-question/) - I'm in Florida on a business trip this morning and was watching the crew from Morning Joe broadcast live from Pensacola Beach as I was getting dressed and packing up in my hotel room. It's beyond sad watching the people there stay brave in the face of what they know is coming - millions of - [BP’s Tony Hayward: Worst Leader of the Year](https://eblingroup.com/blog/bps-tony-hayward-worst-leader-of-the-year/) - I’ll acknowledge that it’s just too easy to nominate BP CEO Tony Hayward as the worst leader of the year. Granted, he’s got some stiff competition, but he deserves every inch of the big target on his back. Like a lot of people, I’ve got a crick in my neck from shaking my head after - [Video Book Club: Brag](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-brag/) - If you’ve ever said something along the lines of “If I do good work, it will speak for itself,” then you need to watch this week’s Video Book Club segment to learn why that can be a dangerous way to go. Inspired by Peggy Klaus’ book, Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without - [What Would Wooden Say?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-would-wooden-say/) - It's easy to conclude that they just don't make them like John Wooden anymore. Like my grandfather, who passed away at age 93 a couple of years ago, Wooden was literally a man from another century. As so many tributes over the weekend recalled, he was the winningest coach in college basketball history leading UCLA - [Leadership Moments of Truth as Presented by Baseball](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leadership-moments-of-truth-as-presented-by-baseball/) - Who would have thought that the feel good story of the week would be one of the biggest blown calls in the history of baseball? By now, you’ve probably heard the story of how Detroit Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga had a perfect game plucked from his grasp when first base umpire Jim Joyce called the - [Who In The Hell Are “They”?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/who-in-the-hell-are-they/) - I don’t mean to be rude with the title question of this post, but I’ve learned over the last four or five years of coaching that it’s a great question to ask yourself. Here’s why. How many times have you been in a conversation with a group of colleagues that goes something like this? Wow, - [Video Book Club: The Corporate Culture Survival Guide](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-corporate-culture-survival-guide/) - If you’ve ever been a part of two organizations coming together as one, you know how challenging that can be. More mergers fail than succeed and a big reason why is a mismatch between the cultures. If you’re a leader responsible for shaping a culture that works (and what leader isn’t?), then you need to - [Feeling the Listening Love](https://eblingroup.com/blog/feeling-the-listening-love/) - One of the highlights of the week for me came yesterday when I led a day long workshop on leadership coaching for a group of candidates for the Federal Senior Executive Service. We talked a lot about how important it is for leaders to know how to coach and worked on different skills and models - [Five Ways to Survive an Impossible Job](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-survive-an-impossible-job/) - Late last week, the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis Blair, resigned from his job after a little more than a year in the job. As reporting in the Washington Post points out, Blair’s replacement will be the fourth person to hold the DNI job in just over five years. In legislation passed after 9/11, the - [Video Book Club: FYI - For Your Improvement](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-fyi-for-your-improvement/) - In this week’s installment of the VBC, I’m featuring what I think is an indispensable part of a leadership coach’s (and most leaders for that matter) tool kit. It’s a book called FYI - For Your Improvement by Mike Lombardo and Bob Eichinger. FYI is the fruit of years and years of research by Lombardo - [Predicting the Future by Reading the Present](https://eblingroup.com/blog/predicting-the-future-by-reading-the-present/) - Thirty years ago, John Naisbitt took the publishing world by storm with his book, Megatrends. It was a best seller for two years and sold nine million copies. Naisbitt identified ten big trends for the future by doing a deep analysis of current news stories and looking for the patterns within them. It was a - [Why We Need An MBA Oath](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-we-need-an-mba-oath/) - You may have heard about The MBA Oath. It was created by a couple of Harvard Business School students last year and has spread to business school campuses around the world and led to a book on the topic. As the Financial Times reports, it’s supported by the new dean of Harvard Business School but - [Lessons in Confidence from American Idol](https://eblingroup.com/blog/lessons-in-confidence-from-american-idol/) - About this time last year, I wrote a post called “Feedback Do’s and Don’ts from American Idol.” In the belief that everything you need to learn about leadership you can learn from American Idol, I thought I’d do another Idol post this year. (Before you fire off an angry comment, that was irony at work.) - [Video Book Club (iPad Edition): Open](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-ipad-edition-open/) - I’m taking a couple of different directions in this week’s Video Book Club. One is that the book is a sports biography, Andre Agassi’s Open. The other is that I read the book on an iPad. That was a first for me and I think I’m a convert.You might be wondering what a book by - [Three Things You Should and Shouldn’t Expect From Your Coach](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-things-you-should-and-shouldnt-expect-from-your-coach/) - The Sports section of this morning’s New York Times featured an article titled, “To Top Golfers, A Trusted Coach Is Invaluable, But Expendable.” Prompted by Tiger Woods’ breakup with Hank Haney, his swing coach for the past six years, the article shared the perspectives of a number of top golfers and coaches about what they - [Asking, Guessing and Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/asking-guessing-and-leadership/) - I don’t remember who it was that first told me this, but somewhere along the way when I was growing up someone gave me some pretty powerful advice. They said, “If you want something, ask for it. After all, what’s the worst that can happen? They just say no. You’re no worse off than you - [Your Leadership Role Will End](https://eblingroup.com/blog/your-leadership-role-will-end/) - One thing you can count on if you’re in a leadership role is that it’s going to end someday. If you’re lucky, you’ll leave the role with tributes and parties in your honor. If you’re not so lucky, you may not have much time to make the transition from leader to follower. Such was the - [Video Book Club: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-five-dysfunctions-of-a-team/) - This week’s VBC features a modern day classic, Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team . In this video clip, I give a quick overview of each of the five dysfunctions and share my secret theory about why Pat’s book has been so darned successful. - [How to Share Power](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-share-power/) - The most interesting political story this week is the negotiation among David Cameron of the U.K.'s Conservative Party and Nick Clegg of the Liberal Democrats to reach a power sharing agreement to establish a coalition government following last week's elections in the U.K. Of course, the current prime minister, Gordon Brown is in the mix - [Quote of the Week Award Winner](https://eblingroup.com/blog/quote-of-the-week-award-winner-1/) - There was an interesting article in the Washington Post this week about an invention developed by a United Methodist pastor in Salem, VA named Ken Dupin. After thinking about the dilemma of seniors who need extended care but don’t want to move to a nursing home, Dupin has come up with a prototype for a - [Pavlov Didn’t Train Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/pavlov-didnt-train-leaders/) - Anyone who had Intro to Psychology in school knows the story of Pavlov’s dog. The Russian psychologist is best known today for his research in conditioned response. In his most famous experiment, he would ring a bell every time he gave his dog a tasty treat. The dog learned to associate the sound of the - [Video Book Club: The Trusted Advisor](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-trusted-advisor/) - This week’s Video Book Club is a flat out recommendation for the classic book, The Trusted Advisor by David Maister, Charles Green and Robert Galford. This book is one I frequently recommend to clients because it does such a great job of combining wisdom with common sense advice. It’s written with consultants and other professional - [Perfect or Good Enough?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/perfect-or-good-enough/) - One of the issues that a lot of my high potential leader clients find challenging is summed up in this item from the list of leadership behaviors in our Next Level 360 degree survey: Effectively differentiates between efforts that require perfection and those for which “good enough” is sufficient. It’s easy to understand why that - [True Insincerity is Hard to Find](https://eblingroup.com/blog/true-insincerity-is-hard-to-find/) - One of my mentors in high school was fond of saying, “True insincerity is hard to find.” Running for reelection in Britain this week, prime minister Gordon Brown demonstrated what that line is all about. In case you haven’t heard, Brown was out in the neighborhoods talking to the “real people” about their concerns when - [3 Dozen Predictable Situations That Executives Will Face in Their Careers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-dozen-predictable-situations-that-executives-will-face-in-their-careers/) - There probably aren’t many kids who grow up thinking, “Someday I want to be a Wall Street executive and testify in front of a Senate committee that’s loaded for bear.” Yet, that’s what happened this week for eight or nine executives from Goldman Sachs. Who would have predicted that a few years ago? Probably about - [Video Book Club: Game Change](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-game-change/) - It’s not often when I knock off a 400 page plus book in a week, but that was the case with Game Change by John Heileman and Mark Halpern. If you enjoyed the drama and story arc of the 2008 presidential campaign, you’ll love this book. If you’re interested in how people in leadership roles - [Taking the Long Term Perspective](https://eblingroup.com/blog/taking-the-long-term-perspective/) - I read a couple of articles yesterday that provided clear explanations of some complex topics – the Securities and Exchange Commission’s fraud charge against Goldman Sachs and the Obama administration’s efforts on nuclear non-proliferation. Before you click away from this post, hang in there with me because there’s a quick leadership point the long term - [Five Traits of the Most Admired Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-traits-of-the-most-admired-leaders/) - Among the many things I like about our group coaching program, Next Level Leadership™, one of my favorites is when the high potential leader participants share with each other what they learned in their senior executive shadow days. Here’s how the shadow day works. To broaden their perspective on the organizational presence aspect of leadership, - [Video Book Club: Orbiting the Giant Hairball](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-orbiting-the-giant-hairball/) - In this week’s VBC, I address two compelling questions. What is a giant hairball and why should you consider orbiting one? The answers are contained in the gently subversive classic, Orbiting the Giant Hairball by the late Gordon MacKenzie. As the self-appointed Creative Paradox at Hallmark Cards, MacKenzie figured out how to work successfully in - [Ten Things to Look for in Your Mental Kitchen](https://eblingroup.com/blog/ten-things-to-look-for-in-your-mental-kitchen/) - Where do you go when you really need to think and get some serious work done? If the result of that work is some first rate food for thought, you might think of the place that enables you to create it as your mental kitchen. It’s that place where you can get out of the - [Leaders, You’re Being Watched (and Recorded)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/leaders-youre-being-watched-and-recorded/) - OK, I’ll admit it. Sometimes when I’m sitting in my office cranking through e-mail responses, I listen to sports talk radio. Dan Patrick’s show is my favorite. Of course, one of the challenges with hosting a three hour radio show is you have to come up with enough stuff to talk about to fill the - [I and It or I and Thou?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/i-and-it-or-i-and-thou/) - This is one of those posts where I have to get some things off my chest. As someone who grew up in West Virginia, the coal mine explosion in Montcoal that killed 29 miners last week has been on my mind and heart. Over the weekend, the New York Times ran brief obituaries on most - [Video Book Club: Wherever You Go There You Are](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-wherever-you-go-there-you-are/) - One of the things I try to do is be mindful and present in the moment. I’m not saying I’m great at it. I just try to do it. I read somewhere once that your mind is kind of like a puppy. You can tell it to stay and pay attention, but pretty soon it’s - [5 Ways to Close the Line Leader–Staff Leader Gap](https://eblingroup.com/blog/five-ways-to-close-the-line-leader-staff-leader-gap/) - My post from last week on Why Staff Leaders and Line Leaders Have Disconnects generated a lot of thoughtful and provocative comments from readers both on the Next Level blog and on the Executive Coach column at Government Executive magazine’s web site. In case you missed it, the gist of the original post was that - [What Doesn’t Get Said, Doesn’t Get Heard](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-doesnt-get-said-doesnt-get-heard/) - My amazing wife Diane and I were talking last night about a post she wrote yesterday on her gluten-free, dairy free cooking blog. She’s really into British chef Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution show on ABC because Oliver has gone to my childhood hometown, Huntington, WV, to help the community learn to eat healthier. In her - [Making the Top 150](https://eblingroup.com/blog/making-the-top-150/) - It was kind of a kick to learn yesterday that the Next Level blog is on the list of the Top 150 Management and Leadership Blogs as determined by Jurgen Appelo at www.noop.nl. Jurgen is a blogger and executive with an e-commerce solutions company based in the Netherlands. Using objective web rankings and algorithms that - [Why Staff Leaders and Line Leaders Have Disconnects](https://eblingroup.com/blog/why-staff-leaders-and-line-leaders-have-disconnects/) - In my work as an executive coach, I regularly work with the executive leaders of “staff” functions such as IT, finance, human resources, legal and the like. When I interview the colleagues of these clients to learn what others think about what makes them effective and what they could do to be even more effective, - [Video Book Club: The Checklist Manifesto](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-checklist-manifesto/) - You may not think that an entire book about checklists could possibly be interesting, but surgeon Atul Gawande pulls it off in The Checklist Manifesto. A skilled and engaging story teller, Gawande uses examples from medicine, aviation, finance, cooking, construction and other industries to explain how checklists raise performance in complex situations. Since so much - [Cooking Up Your Leadership Legacy](https://eblingroup.com/blog/cooking-up-your-leadership-legacy/) - Food is a big deal in my house. My wife, Diane, is an accomplished cook and food blogger and, lucky for me, I get to eat her great meals. So, we were both interested in an article that ran in the Financial Times over the weekend about how one of the best chefs in the - [What Does It Take to Be a Global Executive?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-does-it-take-to-be-a-global-executive/) - Earlier this week, I received a study on Developing the Global Executive from Jeff Del Rossa a new friend of mine at Development Dimensions International (DDI). The study was authored by some colleagues of Jeff’s at DDI along with two other good friends, Scott Saslow and Nancy Thomas of the Institute of Executive Development (IED).I - [Truman Thursdays: The Final Installment](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-the-final-installment/) - This week, I present the last of ten videos from my overnight visit earlier this year to the USS Harry S Truman. This final installment is an overview clip which includes some parting words from the Truman’s commander, Captain Joe Clarkson, a ship to ship refueling at sea, flight deck activity, a look at how - [What Fashionable Leaders Are Wearing](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-fashionable-leaders-are-wearing/) - If your house is like ours, there are certain movies that you watch again and again. The test of a movie like that is if you’re flipping through the channels on TV and you see a favorite movie and you start watching it all the way through from that point forward. I have to confess - [Video Book Club: Managing Transitions](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-managing-transitions/) - If you’re a leader, you have to deal with change on a regular basis. If you’re a leader, you need to get your own copy of William Bridges’ book, Managing Transitions. It’s a classic and an invaluable resource in helping you think through and develop a plan for productively getting your organization through change. It’s - [Talent Management Lessons from the Road to the Final Four](https://eblingroup.com/blog/talent-management-lessons-from-the-road-to-the-final-four/) - This was a bit of a rough weekend for my brother, Steve. His beloved, number one seeded Kentucky Wildcats lost their bid for the Final Four. Since Steve was a student manager for the UK basketball team during one of their Final Four runs in the 1980’s, he maybe took this weekend’s loss a little - [My Favorite 9.62% of the Rules of Thumb](https://eblingroup.com/blog/my-favorite-962-of-the-rules-of-thumb/) - Earlier this week, I was with a group of business owners in the training and performance industry. As you might imagine, it was a pretty energetic and creative group of people. Someone at the meeting shared with us a list of rules that comes from a book called Rules of Thumb. The author is Alan - [Truman Thursdays: How to Launch a Fighter Jet](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-how-to-launch-a-fighter-jet/) - It’s been almost two months since my overnight visit to the USS Harry S Truman. Since then, I’ve posted video clips on Thursdays that feature some of the leaders of the ship and offer a look at life on board an aircraft carrier. Based on the stats from You Tube, the three most popular posts - [How to Give a Pep Talk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-give-a-pep-talk/) - Whether you’re for or against the health care bill, it’s pretty clear that the passage of the bill by the House will be one of the bigger stories of 2010. In all of the coverage of the debate, one clip I saw made a broader impression on me. It was President Obama’s speech to the - [Video Book Club: Leaders Make the Future](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-leaders-make-the-future/) - OK, I’m doing something different with VBC this week. I’m recommending a book I haven’t read yet. It’s called Leaders Make the Future. I feel pretty confident pitching it because I just spent the better part of two days listening to its author, Bob Johansen, talking about what’s in it. Bob is a futurist and - [How Leaders Can Prevent “Sudden” Fractures](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-leaders-can-prevent-sudden-fractures/) - I’m in Phoenix this week for a meeting of companies that provide leadership and organizational development consulting and coaching. It’s a nice opportunity to learn from colleagues and I want to share with you a useful analogy I picked up today. Our opening speaker was Dennis Bonilla, a managing director with General Physics Corporation. In - [Truman Thursdays: A Look at Night Flight Operations](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-a-look-at-night-flight-operations/) - At this risk of reading like the opening line of a really bad novel, this post begins with the phrase, “It was a dark and stormy night.” The thing is, it actually was. On my January trip to the USS Harry S Truman, we had the opportunity to observe nighttime flight operations from the flag - [They Can Handle the Truth](https://eblingroup.com/blog/they-can-handle-the-truth/) - When I’m conducting feedback for a client one of the things I really like to hear from the direct reports is something like, “My manager shares information with us that other managers don’t share with their teams. That helps us make better decisions and do better work.” The flip side of what makes me happy - [Video Book Club: Primal Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-primal-leadership/) - Coming to you semi-live from the Courtyard Marriott at BWI airport is this week’s Video Book Club installment on Primal Leadership by Dan Goleman, Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. It’s a classic in the field of emotional intelligence and one of my favorites.In this clip, I explain how I use the authors’ model of resonant - [Hanging Tough with Your Boss](https://eblingroup.com/blog/hanging-tough-with-your-boss/) - The Washington Post ran an interesting article by Lois Romano last week on how Hillary Clinton is organizing her staff and leading at the State Department. For me, the kicker came at the very end in this passage:Shamila Chaudary -- a self-described "backbencher" -- had toiled for years as a faceless expert on the Pakistan - [Listen and They Will Talk](https://eblingroup.com/blog/listen-and-they-will-talk/) - Yesterday, I had a wrap up session with an executive I’ve enjoyed coaching for the past seven months. He was one of those clients who was great to work with because he took his colleague feedback to heart and really dedicated himself to following through on developing a few key skills that have made him - [Truman Thursdays: Enlisted Personnel on What Makes a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-enlisted-personnel-on-what-makes-a-leader/) - There are just a few more weeks left of video blogs from my visit to the USS Harry S Truman earlier this year. This week’s installment was shot during a breakfast that the Command Master Chief arranged for our group to have with some of the enlisted sailors on board. We were able to have - [Is This Your Best Work?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/is-this-your-best-work/) - Yesterday, I was talking with a client who is frustrated with the amount of errors he’s receiving in financial reports provided to him by members of his team. When he reviews the reports, he regularly finds obvious errors that anyone with experience in the field should have caught on a simple review themselves. It’s difficult - [Video Book Club – Talent is Overrated](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-talent-is-overrated/) - Have you ever watched a great musician or athlete or speaker and say, “Wow, they must have been born with so much talent, I could never do that.” Well, don’t be so sure about that. As Geoff Colvin explains in his book, Talent Is Overrated, the difference between you and that person you admire basically - [The Questions Leaders Ask at DARPA](https://eblingroup.com/blog/the-questions-leaders-ask-at-darpa/) - You may not have heard of DARPA, but if you’re reading this article, you use at least one of the things they invented. DARPA is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and back in the 1960’s and ‘70’s, they came up with a communications network called ARPANET. Today, it’s a little thing we call the - [What Are We Incenting?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-are-we-incenting/) - There was an interesting interview this week on NPR’s Morning Edition with a former assistant secretary of education, Diane Ravitch. Ravitch was a vocal supporter of the No Child Left Behind program that put performance standards in place for school districts across the country. Based on her research and observation over the past several years, - [Truman Thursdays: The Air Boss on How It All Works](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-the-air-boss-on-how-it-all-works/) - During my group’s trip to the USS Harry S Truman earlier this year, we got to spend about 20 minutes on the flight bridge with the Air Boss. Along with his teammate, the Mini-Boss, he’s the guy who leads everyone involved in flight operations on the ship.In this clip, he talks about how they sequence - [Sometimes It’s Better Not to Win](https://eblingroup.com/blog/sometimes-its-better-not-to-win/) - It’s Wednesday and I still find myself drifting back to the gold medal hockey showdown between Canada and the U.S. on Sunday’s closing day of the Vancouver Olympics. Like a lot of other casual hockey fans, I found myself utterly swept away by the excitement of the U.S. comeback to tie the game in the - [Video Book Club: Authentic Happiness](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-authentic-happiness/) - The latest installment of the Video Book Club features Martin Seligman’s Authentic Happiness. Seligman is the father of the positive psychology movement and Authentic Happiness sums up a lot of his research. The book goes beyond research to offer practical ways to apply his work to becoming more effective and satisfied in your life and - [Happiness and the Ego Monster](https://eblingroup.com/blog/happiness-and-the-ego-monster/) - Every so often, I’ll read something that makes an impression on me and then a day or two later read something entirely different that somehow connects to the first thing I read. This morning was one of those times.Last night, I was skimming the Sunday New York Times (after watching a thrilling gold medal hockey - [Three Quick Leadership Lessons from Toyota](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-quick-leadership-lessons-from-toyota/) - With the ongoing spate of stories about Toyota’s safety recall and this week’s congressional testimony by Mr. Toyoda himself, it’s easy to forget that it was just a few years ago that the company was enjoying a twenty plus year run as a quality leader in the automotive industry. During that time, they expanded their - [Truman Thursdays: The Handler Explains It All](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-the-handler-explains-it-all/) - In this week’s video installment of life on the USS Harry S Truman, Lt. Cmdr. Rodney Mullins explains how he and his team use the “Ouija board” to keep track of everything going on on the flight deck. Lt. Cmdr. Mullins is the aircraft handling officer, otherwise known as the handler. If you liked my - [How Do You Handle It When You’re the Boss and Not the Peer?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-do-you-handle-it-when-youre-the-boss-and-not-the-peer/) - In case you missed it, there was a terrific profile in the Sunday New York Times on the new CEO of Xerox, Ursula Burns. The article, and her quotes within it, focused on one of my favorite topics, leadership transitions. There’s a lot of valuable perspective and advice in the article. I want to pick - [Video Book Club: The Good Soldiers](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-good-soldiers/) - I’m pulling the lens back this week away from a focus on books about leadership skills and towards a focus on a real life story of leadership in practice. David Finkel’s book, The Good Soldiers, is the story of what he saw in the eight months he spent embedded with US Army battalion 2-16 during - [What It Takes to Build Leaders](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-it-takes-to-build-leaders/) - Last Friday, I heard a presentation on a study that anyone concerned with building leadership as a competitive advantage should take a look at. It was from Richmond Fourney, a senior consultant with Hewitt Associates working on their biannual study of the Best Companies for Leaders. Joining him was Suzanne Danielle, the director of talent - [Want to Think Outside Your Box? Get Inside Someone Else’s](https://eblingroup.com/blog/want-to-think-outside-your-box-get-inside-someone-elses/) - This has been a perspective stretching week for a number of my clients and me. Earlier in the week, I had the opportunity to sit in on a briefing between a client organization and a strategic partner they use for innovation inspiration. The two organizations really couldn’t be much more different. One is large, the - [Truman Thursdays: How to Launch and Land Planes on an Aircraft Carrier](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-how-to-launch-and-land-planes-on-an-aircraft-carrier/) - Regular readers of the Next Level Blog know that I’ve been sharing some videos from the trip I made last month to the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman.I’ve been running the clips on Thursdays (here’s the first overview video and interviews with the Commanding Officer and Executive Officer of the Truman) and have focused - [How to Delegate to Your Team and Manage Risk at the Same Time](https://eblingroup.com/blog/how-to-delegate-to-your-team-and-manage-risk-at-the-same-time/) - In a group coaching session with a group of corporate directors yesterday, we were talking about the challenge of delegating actions and decisions to your team while still keeping yourself informed of things that could put either your organization or career at risk. In the course of the conversation, someone brought up a recent interview - [Video Book Club: Choosing Civility](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-choosing-civility/) - This week’s Video Book Club selection is Choosing Civility by P.M. Forni. Have to say that it’s the most fun I’ve had in taping a VBC selection since I had the opportunity to shoot it poolside in Woodland Hills, CA on an all too brief respite from the East Coast snows.But, to the main point, - [Three Reasons Why Superstars Run Off the Rails](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reasons-why-superstars-run-off-the-rails/) - In scanning the headlines this morning, I read in the Financial Times that the CEO of MySpace (remember when it was bigger than Facebook?), Owen Van Natta, has been forced out of his job by a competitor in the parent company, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Not having paid a ton of attention to MySpace lately, - [Truman Thursdays: Leaders at All Levels Speak on Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-leaders-at-all-levels-speak-on-leadership/) - For this week’s Truman Thursday video, I asked three leaders at different levels to talk about what they’re looking for in a leader. First up is the senior non-commissioned officer on the USS Harry S Truman, Chief Master Chief Walker. The group I was in spent some time at breakfast and lunch with the Chief. - [What to Do on a Snow Day (or whatever your version of one is)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-to-do-on-a-snow-day-or-whatever-your-version-of-one-is/) - As I write this in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, it is snowing steadily and the winds are blowing. We’re on our way to another 20 inches on top of the two feet or so of crusty five day old snow that we already have. Federal government offices in the region are shut - [Video Book Club – Drive](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-drive/) - This week’s Video Book Club selection is Drive, the newest offering from author Daniel Pink. In what is becoming his trademark style, Pink engagingly summarizes the best in class research on what motivates people. What he comes up with are three important motivational factors and what to do to strengthen them.It’s an important topic for - [Who Are You Playing For?](https://eblingroup.com/blog/who-are-you-playing-for/) - In retrospect, it wasn’t really a fair fight. The Indianapolis Colts were only allowed 11 men on the field while the New Orleans Saints had 12 throughout the Super Bowl. It’s rare when a team and its fans bond in the way that the Saints did with the people of the Gulf Coast. The result - [Truman Thursdays: Executive Officer John Meier on What He Looks for in a Leader](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-executive-officer-john-meier-on-what-he-looks-for-in-a-leader/) - Here's the latest installment of interviews I did with leaders on my recent visit to the USS Harry S Truman. The featured officer this week is Captain John Meier, the XO of the Truman. As the number two leader on the ship, Meier is looking for three things in his leaders and they may not - [Tips for Younger Leaders (that apply to leaders of any age)](https://eblingroup.com/blog/tips-for-younger-leaders-that-apply-to-leaders-of-any-age/) - Lately, I’ve been working on a second edition of my book, The Next Level, to be released this Fall. It will still focus on what you need to pick up and let go of as you move into or up in executive leadership. The new edition will include situation-specific coaching tips, additional perspective from global - [Video Book Club: Slowing Down to the Speed of Life](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-slowing-down-to-the-speed-of-life/) - If the title of this week's selection resonates with you (and I find it does with most people), then you need to spend a couple of hours reading it. Slowing Down to the Speed of Life is a simple, practical guide to productive, stress-free thinking and living in a speeded-up world. I'm offering a brief - [What Leaders Can Learn from Obama and the GOP](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-leaders-can-learn-from-obama-and-the-gop/) - Early last week, my 10th grade son asked my wife and me for ideas on a speech he has to write for his composition class. The assignment is to write a speech that fills in the blank on, “I have a dream that…” After thinking about it for a few moments, my suggestion was “I - [Three Mantras to Keep Your Ego in Check](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-mantras-to-keep-your-ego-in-check/) - Leaders have to walk a fine line. On the one hand, it’s important to leverage the footprint of the role that you’re in. As I said in a webinar on leading at the next level for Government Executive magazine yesterday, there are certain things that only you can do given the leadership role that you’re - [Truman Thursdays - Commanding Officer Joe Clarkson on Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/blog/truman-thursdays-commanding-officer-joe-clarkson-on-leadership/) - As promised, over the next several Thursdays I’ll be sharing interviews with some of the commissioned and enlisted personnel I met on my recent trip to the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman. The basic question I asked everyone was, “What are you looking for in a leader?” First up with his answer to that - [Three Reasons You Should Fire the Prima Donna](https://eblingroup.com/blog/three-reasons-you-should-fire-the-prima-donna/) - Over my ten years as an executive coach, I’ve come across situations where one of my clients feels like they’re between a rock and a hard place because they have someone on their team who produces great results but alienates everyone around them. You know the type. It’s what we’ve come to call the prima - [Video Book Club: The Power of Full Engagement](https://eblingroup.com/blog/video-book-club-the-power-of-full-engagement/) - Do you find yourself running faster and faster to keep up with all of your commitments? If you do, you’re not alone. As I’ve noted here before, the lowest rated item among the hundreds of leaders that have received feedback through our Next Level 360 degree survey is “Paces himself/herself by building in regular breaks - [What I Learned on an Aircraft Carrier](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-i-learned-on-an-aircraft-carrier/) - Last October, I had the opportunity to speak on leadership to newly promoted admirals and senior executives of the US Navy in their annual symposium. That led to an invitation to join a group of civilians to visit the aircraft carrier, USS Harry S Truman, on a training cruise off the coast of North Carolina - [What You Can Learn About Negotiating From Conan O’Brien](https://eblingroup.com/blog/what-you-can-learn-about-negotiating-from-conan-obrien/) - As I’m writing this a few days before publication, by the time you read this Conan O’Brien will have probably left The Tonight Show on NBC with a hefty severance package in the neighborhood of $30 million. (See this article from the Financial Times for details.) I’d leave for that amount and I’m guessing you ## Podcasts - [Best Ever Podcast with Scott Eblin](https://eblingroup.com/podcast/at-your-best-with-scott-eblin/) - We're excited to announce a new podcast, Best Ever with Scott Eblin will launch this year. Stay tuned for more details! ## Services - [Programs](https://eblingroup.com/services/programs/) - Words go here. - [Executive Coaching](https://eblingroup.com/services/coaching/) - [Speaking](https://eblingroup.com/services/speaking/) ## Products - [Overworked and Overwhelmed](https://eblingroup.com/products/ootma/) - test test test - [The Next Level](https://eblingroup.com/products/the-next-level/) - [Life GPS®](https://eblingroup.com/products/life-gps/) - [How To Get And Be A Great Peer Coach](https://eblingroup.com/products/how-to-get-and-be-a-great-peer-coach/) ## Events - [September 25, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/september-25-2018/) - [September 18, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/september-18-2018/) - [August 2, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/august-2-2018/) - [July 26, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/july-26-2018/) - [June 14, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/june-14-2018/) - [June 8, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/june-8-2018/) - [May 31, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/may-31-2018/) - 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[January 31, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/january-31-2018/) - [January 16, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/january-16-2018/) - [January 15, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/january-15-2018/) - [January 9 & 10, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/january-9-10-2018/) - [April 17, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/april-17-2018/) - [April 3, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/april-3-2018/) - [March 2, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/march-2-2018/) - [January 5, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/january-5-2018/) - [September 19, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/september-19-2018/) - [September 13, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/september-13-2018/) - [August 7, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/august-7-2018/) - [July 19, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/july-19-2018/) - [July 13, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/july-13-2018/) - [June 27, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/june-27-2018/) - [June 12, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/june-12-2018/) - [June 6, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/june-6-2018/) - [May 30, 2018](https://eblingroup.com/events/may-30-2018/) - [December 14](https://eblingroup.com/events/december-14/) - [December 12 - Vienna, VA](https://eblingroup.com/events/december-14-vienna-va/) - [November 7, 2017 - Cyberspace](https://eblingroup.com/events/november-7-2017/) - [December 7, 2017](https://eblingroup.com/events/december-7-2017/) - [October 26: Cyberspace](https://eblingroup.com/events/october-26-cyberspace/) - [November 9 - Vienna, VA](https://eblingroup.com/events/november-9-vienna-va/) - [October 24: Hawthorne, CA](https://eblingroup.com/events/october-24-hawthorne-ca/) - [October 19: Charlotte, NC](https://eblingroup.com/events/october-19-charlotte-nc/) - [October 16-17 - Vancouver](https://eblingroup.com/events/october-16-17-vancouver/) - [Oct 12: Cyberspace - WBECS](https://eblingroup.com/events/oct-12-cyberspace-wbecs/) - [October 10: Vienna, VA - NLL](https://eblingroup.com/events/october-10-vienna-va-nll/) - [September 29: Cyberspace](https://eblingroup.com/events/september-29-cyberspace/) - [Sep 26 - Northrop Grumman](https://eblingroup.com/events/8106/) - [Aug 17 - BoA](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa-2/) - [Aug 30 - Orchard](https://eblingroup.com/events/orchard/) - [Sep 5 - ICF](https://eblingroup.com/events/icf/) - [Sep 12 - TRP](https://eblingroup.com/events/trp/) - [Sep 13 - SA](https://eblingroup.com/events/sa-2/) - [Sep 20 - CFCU](https://eblingroup.com/events/cfcu/) - [Sep 21 - CFCU](https://eblingroup.com/events/cfcu-2/) - [Aug 29 - MSP](https://eblingroup.com/events/msp/) - [Sep 7 - Virtual Program](https://eblingroup.com/events/sep-7-virtual-program/) - [virtual 8-11-17](https://eblingroup.com/events/virtual-8-11-17/) - [Omaha](https://eblingroup.com/events/omaha/) - [SA](https://eblingroup.com/events/sa/) - [Amgen](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-3/) - [Amgen](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-2/) - [60th Wedding Anniversary](https://eblingroup.com/events/60th-wedding-anniversary/) - [NC](https://eblingroup.com/events/nc-2/) - [GT](https://eblingroup.com/events/gt/) - [LA](https://eblingroup.com/events/la/) - [Thousand Oaks](https://eblingroup.com/events/thousand-oaks-2/) - [Santa Monica](https://eblingroup.com/events/santa-monica/) - [Bloomington](https://eblingroup.com/events/bloomington/) - [Thousand Oaks](https://eblingroup.com/events/thousand-oaks/) - [NC](https://eblingroup.com/events/nc/) - [MN](https://eblingroup.com/events/mn/) - [VA](https://eblingroup.com/events/va/) - [Amgen Webinar](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-webinar/) - [Negotiate](https://eblingroup.com/events/negotiate/) - [San Jose](https://eblingroup.com/events/san-jose/) - [Chicago](https://eblingroup.com/events/chicago/) - [](https://eblingroup.com/events/7862/) - [Chartway](https://eblingroup.com/events/chartway-3/) - [Chartway](https://eblingroup.com/events/chartway-2/) - [Palm Springs](https://eblingroup.com/events/palm-springs/) - [FLT Closing Webinar](https://eblingroup.com/events/flt-closing-webinar/) - [Manhattan Beach](https://eblingroup.com/events/manhattan-beach/) - [Christmas Holiday](https://eblingroup.com/events/christmas-holiday/) - [NSA](https://eblingroup.com/events/nsa/) - [BoA Webinar](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa-webinar/) - [Diane](https://eblingroup.com/events/diane/) - [Novo day 2](https://eblingroup.com/events/7745/) - [Novo Day 1](https://eblingroup.com/events/novo-day-1/) - [Georgetown](https://eblingroup.com/events/georgetown-3/) - [Georgetown](https://eblingroup.com/events/georgetown-2/) - [Georgetown](https://eblingroup.com/events/georgetown/) - [Amgen Closing](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-closing/) - [Amgen - Norma](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-norma/) - [Alexcel](https://eblingroup.com/events/alexcel/) - [Chartway](https://eblingroup.com/events/chartway/) - [](https://eblingroup.com/events/7682/) - [xcel](https://eblingroup.com/events/xcel/) - [BOA](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa/) - [](https://eblingroup.com/events/7654/) - [Novo](https://eblingroup.com/events/novo/) - [BOA LDF](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa-ldf/) - [TRowe Aug 2016](https://eblingroup.com/events/trowe-aug-2016/) - [Novo RBD](https://eblingroup.com/events/novo-rbd-2/) - [Amgen GPGM Day 2](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-gpgm-day-2/) - [Amgen GPGM](https://eblingroup.com/events/amgen-gpgm/) - [NOVO RBD](https://eblingroup.com/events/novo-rbd/) - [Conduit July](https://eblingroup.com/events/conduit-july/) - [BOA July 2016](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa-july-2016/) - [TRowe](https://eblingroup.com/events/trowe/) - [GAP](https://eblingroup.com/events/gap/) - [Conduit June](https://eblingroup.com/events/conduit-june/) - [DesMoines](https://eblingroup.com/events/desmoines/) - [LGPS June](https://eblingroup.com/events/lgps-june/) - [Medtronics](https://eblingroup.com/events/medtronics/) - [Developing Leadership Presence](https://eblingroup.com/events/developing-leadership-presence/) - [ELWP](https://eblingroup.com/events/elwp/) - [Leading at the Next Level](https://eblingroup.com/events/7504/) - [ICF Ohio Valley](https://eblingroup.com/events/icf-ohio-valley/) - [SEC Webinar](https://eblingroup.com/events/sec-webinar/) - [YPO](https://eblingroup.com/events/ypo/) - [Conduit May](https://eblingroup.com/events/conduit-may/) - [TROWE Leadership Wellness](https://eblingroup.com/events/trowe-leadership-wellness/) - [Umass 2 day program](https://eblingroup.com/events/umass-2-day-program/) - [ICF Webinar](https://eblingroup.com/events/icf-webinar/) - [Medtronic MN 4-1-16](https://eblingroup.com/events/medtronic-mn-4-1-16/) - [Georgetown Teaching](https://eblingroup.com/events/georgetown-teaching/) - [Developing Leadership Presence Check in Gap](https://eblingroup.com/events/developing-leadership-presence-check-in-gap/) - [Quarterly 1 Meeting LGPSL](https://eblingroup.com/events/quarterly-1-meeting-lgpsl/) - [The Conduit February](https://eblingroup.com/events/the-conduit-february/) - [The Conduit](https://eblingroup.com/events/the-conduit/) - [TROWE Executive Leadership Wellness session 1](https://eblingroup.com/events/trowe-executive-leadership-wellness-session-1/) - [Mindful Leadership Webinar Anne Herrmann](https://eblingroup.com/events/mindful-leadership-webinar-anne-herrmann/) - [GAP DLP Session 1](https://eblingroup.com/events/gap-dlp-session-1/) - [GE Exp Software Architect Leadership Program](https://eblingroup.com/events/ge-exp-software-architect-leadership-program/) - [Life GPS® Certification and Licensing Program #1](https://eblingroup.com/events/life-gps-certification-and-licensing-program-1/) - [Life GPS® Certification and Licensing Program #2](https://eblingroup.com/events/life-gps-certification-and-licensing-program-2/) - [Life GPS® Certification and Licensing Program #3](https://eblingroup.com/events/life-gps-certification-and-licensing-program/) - [Life GPS® Certification and Licensing Program #4](https://eblingroup.com/events/life-gps-certification-and-licensing-program-4/) - [Chartway January 27, 2016](https://eblingroup.com/events/chartway-january-27-2016/) - [Skillsoft 12-3-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/skillsoft-12-3-15/) - [Lockheed Martin 12-17-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/lockheed-martin-12-17-15-2/) - [HopeLab 12-1-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/hopelab-12-1-15-2/) - [Chartway 11-18-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/chartway-11-18-15/) - [Marriott Cancun Mexico 10-13-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/marriott-cancun-mexico-10-13-15/) - [Meet executive coaching clients in Baltimore, MD](https://eblingroup.com/events/meet-executive-coaching-clients-in-baltimore-md/) - [BOA LDF Charlotte 10-8-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/boa-ldf-charlotte/) - [Get Abstract Dallas 10-14-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/get-abstract-dallas/) - [Scott's Miracle Gro](https://eblingroup.com/events/scotts-miracle-gro/) - [State Farm NLI Closing Webinar 10-20-15](https://eblingroup.com/events/state-farm-nli-closing-webinar-10-20-15/) - [The Conduit Nov 2015](https://eblingroup.com/events/the-conduit-nov-2015/) ## Courses - [How To Get and Be a Great Peer Coach](https://eblingroup.com/courses/how-to-get-and-be-a-great-peer-coach/) ## Categories - 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[Overcommitted leaders](https://eblingroup.com/tag/overcommitted-leaders/) - [Leader as coach](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leader-as-coach/) - [Mindful decision making; self assessment; actions; results](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mindful-decision-making-self-assessment-actions-results/) - [Mindful leadership; productive routines](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mindful-leadership-productive-routines/) - [Out Think](https://eblingroup.com/tag/out-think/) - [Perception](https://eblingroup.com/tag/perception/) - [Shawn Hunter](https://eblingroup.com/tag/shawn-hunter/) - [Impostor Syndrome](https://eblingroup.com/tag/impostor-syndrome/) - [Joyce Roche](https://eblingroup.com/tag/joyce-roche/) - [The Empress Has No Clothes](https://eblingroup.com/tag/the-empress-has-no-clothes/) - [fight or flight response](https://eblingroup.com/tag/fight-or-flight-response/) - [parasympathetic nervous system](https://eblingroup.com/tag/parasympathetic-nervous-system/) - [getting out of a rut](https://eblingroup.com/tag/getting-out-of-a-rut/) - [Staying fresh](https://eblingroup.com/tag/staying-fresh/) - [taking a break](https://eblingroup.com/tag/taking-a-break/) - [Breaking Bad; Bryan Cranston](https://eblingroup.com/tag/breaking-bad-bryan-cranston/) - [George W. 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Kennedy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/john-f-kennedy/) - [leadership lessons](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leadership-lessons-2/) - [Bruce Rosenstein](https://eblingroup.com/tag/bruce-rosenstein/) - [Create Your Future the Peter Drucker Way](https://eblingroup.com/tag/create-your-future-the-peter-drucker-way/) - [expressing thanks](https://eblingroup.com/tag/expressing-thanks/) - [gratitude](https://eblingroup.com/tag/gratitude/) - [Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jon-kabat-zinn/) - [Archbishop Desmond Tutu](https://eblingroup.com/tag/archbishop-desmond-tutu/) - [Nelson Mandela](https://eblingroup.com/tag/nelson-mandela/) - [Griffith Observatory; perspective](https://eblingroup.com/tag/griffith-observatory-perspective/) - [leadership principles](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leadership-principles/) - [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://eblingroup.com/tag/niccolo-machiavelli/) - [Performance reviews](https://eblingroup.com/tag/performance-reviews/) - [August Turak](https://eblingroup.com/tag/august-turak/) - [Business Secrets of the Trappist Monks](https://eblingroup.com/tag/business-secrets-of-the-trappist-monks/) - [gratitude inventory](https://eblingroup.com/tag/gratitude-inventory/) - [bullying](https://eblingroup.com/tag/bullying/) - [Chris Christie](https://eblingroup.com/tag/chris-christie/) - [performance](https://eblingroup.com/tag/performance/) - [Colin Kapernick](https://eblingroup.com/tag/colin-kapernick/) - [Goal setting](https://eblingroup.com/tag/goal-setting/) - [Jennifer Lawrence](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jennifer-lawrence/) - [Hilton Anatole](https://eblingroup.com/tag/hilton-anatole/) - [Trammell Crow](https://eblingroup.com/tag/trammell-crow/) - [weenie leaders](https://eblingroup.com/tag/weenie-leaders/) - [Life](https://eblingroup.com/tag/life/) - [Paul Kalanthini](https://eblingroup.com/tag/paul-kalanthini/) - [Sam Berns](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sam-berns/) - [keeping it real](https://eblingroup.com/tag/keeping-it-real/) - [conference call hell; Tripp and Tyler; Seth Godin](https://eblingroup.com/tag/conference-call-hell-tripp-and-tyler-seth-godin/) - [meditation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/meditation/) - [Russell Okung](https://eblingroup.com/tag/russell-okung/) - [Super Bowl](https://eblingroup.com/tag/super-bowl/) - [Joy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/joy/) - [Leader](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leader/) - [Thich Nhat Hanh](https://eblingroup.com/tag/thich-nhat-hanh/) - [Make a Stand](https://eblingroup.com/tag/make-a-stand/) - [Vivienne Harr](https://eblingroup.com/tag/vivienne-harr/) - [Danae Ringelman](https://eblingroup.com/tag/danae-ringelman/) - [Kaye Foster-Cheek](https://eblingroup.com/tag/kaye-foster-cheek/) - [mental acuity](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mental-acuity/) - [awareness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/awareness/) - [intention](https://eblingroup.com/tag/intention/) - [Audrey Lee](https://eblingroup.com/tag/audrey-lee/) - [managing differences](https://eblingroup.com/tag/managing-differences/) - [discursive thinking](https://eblingroup.com/tag/discursive-thinking/) - [mental chatter](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mental-chatter/) - [monkey mind](https://eblingroup.com/tag/monkey-mind/) - [Happy life](https://eblingroup.com/tag/happy-life/) - [Mindful Mondays](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mindful-mondays/) - [positive outcomes](https://eblingroup.com/tag/positive-outcomes/) - [Scott Saslow](https://eblingroup.com/tag/scott-saslow/) - [talent development](https://eblingroup.com/tag/talent-development/) - [Dr. Kathy Cramer](https://eblingroup.com/tag/dr-kathy-cramer/) - [Lead Positive](https://eblingroup.com/tag/lead-positive/) - [operating rhythm](https://eblingroup.com/tag/operating-rhythm/) - [Jim Collins](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jim-collins/) - [Laura Vanderkam](https://eblingroup.com/tag/laura-vanderkam/) - [mindful choices](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mindful-choices/) - [Personal time management](https://eblingroup.com/tag/personal-time-management/) - [happiness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/happiness/) - [mood](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mood/) - [smiling](https://eblingroup.com/tag/smiling/) - [book cover](https://eblingroup.com/tag/book-cover/) - [OOTMA](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ootma/) - [perfection](https://eblingroup.com/tag/perfection/) - [workload](https://eblingroup.com/tag/workload/) - [Mike Robbins](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mike-robbins/) - [personal change](https://eblingroup.com/tag/personal-change/) - [Henry Evans](https://eblingroup.com/tag/henry-evans/) - [Step Up](https://eblingroup.com/tag/step-up/) - [silent retreat; silence](https://eblingroup.com/tag/silent-retreat-silence/) - [Steve Arneson](https://eblingroup.com/tag/steve-arneson/) - [change management](https://eblingroup.com/tag/change-management/) - [World Bank](https://eblingroup.com/tag/world-bank/) - [brevity](https://eblingroup.com/tag/brevity/) - [Joseph McCormack](https://eblingroup.com/tag/joseph-mccormack/) - [Blog schedule](https://eblingroup.com/tag/blog-schedule/) - [Diane Eblin](https://eblingroup.com/tag/diane-eblin/) - [Laszlo Bock](https://eblingroup.com/tag/laszlo-bock/) - [overworked and overwhelmed](https://eblingroup.com/tag/overworked-and-overwhelmed/) - [diet](https://eblingroup.com/tag/diet/) - [healthy eating](https://eblingroup.com/tag/healthy-eating/) - [travel food](https://eblingroup.com/tag/travel-food/) - [connection](https://eblingroup.com/tag/connection/) - [conversation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/conversation/) - [Miles O’Brien](https://eblingroup.com/tag/miles-obrien/) - [support](https://eblingroup.com/tag/support/) - [Daniel Snyder](https://eblingroup.com/tag/daniel-snyder/) - [fight or flight](https://eblingroup.com/tag/fight-or-flight/) - [relaxation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/relaxation/) - [rest and digest](https://eblingroup.com/tag/rest-and-digest/) - [waves](https://eblingroup.com/tag/waves/) - [acceptance](https://eblingroup.com/tag/acceptance/) - [attitude](https://eblingroup.com/tag/attitude/) - [effort](https://eblingroup.com/tag/effort/) - [choose your mood](https://eblingroup.com/tag/choose-your-mood/) - [taking breaks](https://eblingroup.com/tag/taking-breaks/) - [vacation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/vacation/) - [executive decision making](https://eblingroup.com/tag/executive-decision-making/) - [productivity hacks](https://eblingroup.com/tag/productivity-hacks/) - [Growth](https://eblingroup.com/tag/growth/) - [LeBron James](https://eblingroup.com/tag/lebron-james/) - [ESPYS](https://eblingroup.com/tag/espys/) - [Jimmy V Foundation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jimmy-v-foundation/) - [Stuart Scott](https://eblingroup.com/tag/stuart-scott/) - [rest and renewal](https://eblingroup.com/tag/rest-and-renewal/) - [anxiety](https://eblingroup.com/tag/anxiety/) - [thinking](https://eblingroup.com/tag/thinking/) - [thoughts](https://eblingroup.com/tag/thoughts/) - [buzz word abuse](https://eblingroup.com/tag/buzz-word-abuse/) - [Weird Al Yankovic](https://eblingroup.com/tag/weird-al-yankovic/) - [routines](https://eblingroup.com/tag/routines/) - [optimal performance](https://eblingroup.com/tag/optimal-performance/) - [Putin](https://eblingroup.com/tag/putin/) - [Jeffrey A. Krames](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jeffrey-a-krames/) - [Lead With Humility](https://eblingroup.com/tag/lead-with-humility/) - [refresh](https://eblingroup.com/tag/refresh/) - [relax](https://eblingroup.com/tag/relax/) - [Book Launch](https://eblingroup.com/tag/book-launch/) - [kindness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/kindness/) - [Pay it forward](https://eblingroup.com/tag/pay-it-forward/) - [effective delegation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/effective-delegation/) - [personal effectiveness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/personal-effectiveness/) - [personal productivity](https://eblingroup.com/tag/personal-productivity/) - [smart phone](https://eblingroup.com/tag/smart-phone/) - [OOTMA Launch Team](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ootma-launch-team/) - [culture change](https://eblingroup.com/tag/culture-change/) - [Ray Rice](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ray-rice/) - [Roger Goodell](https://eblingroup.com/tag/roger-goodell/) - [physical routines](https://eblingroup.com/tag/physical-routines/) - [road warrior](https://eblingroup.com/tag/road-warrior/) - [consistency](https://eblingroup.com/tag/consistency/) - [mental focus](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mental-focus/) - [Chris Edmonds](https://eblingroup.com/tag/chris-edmonds/) - [The Culture Engine](https://eblingroup.com/tag/the-culture-engine/) - [health and wellness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/health-and-wellness/) - [relationships](https://eblingroup.com/tag/relationships/) - [difficult conversations](https://eblingroup.com/tag/difficult-conversations/) - [Marcia Reynolds](https://eblingroup.com/tag/marcia-reynolds/) - [The Discomfort Zone](https://eblingroup.com/tag/the-discomfort-zone/) - [spiritual](https://eblingroup.com/tag/spiritual/) - [Overworked and Overwhelmed: The Mindfulness Alternative](https://eblingroup.com/tag/overworked-and-overwhelmed-the-mindfulness-alternative/) - [Mark Babbitt](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mark-babbitt/) - [Ted Coine](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ted-coine/) - [Carol Himelhoch](https://eblingroup.com/tag/carol-himelhoch/) - [CrossFit](https://eblingroup.com/tag/crossfit/) - [high intensity interval training](https://eblingroup.com/tag/high-intensity-interval-training/) - [Transformational Leadership](https://eblingroup.com/tag/transformational-leadership/) - [take the time](https://eblingroup.com/tag/take-the-time/) - [AMA](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ama/) - [AMA Three Questions](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ama-three-questions/) - [Dave Summers](https://eblingroup.com/tag/dave-summers/) - [Madison Bumgarner](https://eblingroup.com/tag/madison-bumgarner/) - [San Francisco Giants](https://eblingroup.com/tag/san-francisco-giants/) - [World Series](https://eblingroup.com/tag/world-series/) - [body scan meditation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/body-scan-meditation/) - [Mimi Sommers](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mimi-sommers/) - [Relax a-bye Baby](https://eblingroup.com/tag/relax-a-bye-baby/) - [leadership effectiveness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leadership-effectiveness/) - [family time](https://eblingroup.com/tag/family-time/) - [wellness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/wellness/) - [ambition](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ambition/) - [success](https://eblingroup.com/tag/success/) - [talent](https://eblingroup.com/tag/talent/) - [mentors](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mentors/) - [Mentor](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mentor/) - [protégé](https://eblingroup.com/tag/protege/) - [lessons learned](https://eblingroup.com/tag/lessons-learned/) - [year in review](https://eblingroup.com/tag/year-in-review/) - [empathy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/empathy/) - [Leadership Vertigo](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leadership-vertigo/) - [Tanveer Naseer](https://eblingroup.com/tag/tanveer-naseer/) - [happy holidays](https://eblingroup.com/tag/happy-holidays/) - [new year](https://eblingroup.com/tag/new-year/) - [reading list](https://eblingroup.com/tag/reading-list/) - [2015](https://eblingroup.com/tag/2015/) - [improvement](https://eblingroup.com/tag/improvement/) - [personal planning](https://eblingroup.com/tag/personal-planning/) - [emotions](https://eblingroup.com/tag/emotions/) - [Goals](https://eblingroup.com/tag/goals/) - [Happy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/happy/) - [logic](https://eblingroup.com/tag/logic/) - [Pharrell Williams](https://eblingroup.com/tag/pharrell-williams/) - [Abbas](https://eblingroup.com/tag/abbas/) - [Je Suis Charlie](https://eblingroup.com/tag/je-suis-charlie/) - [Netanyahu](https://eblingroup.com/tag/netanyahu/) - [Paris](https://eblingroup.com/tag/paris/) - [game changing](https://eblingroup.com/tag/game-changing/) - [high performance](https://eblingroup.com/tag/high-performance/) - [Elisha Goldstein](https://eblingroup.com/tag/elisha-goldstein/) - [self-compassion](https://eblingroup.com/tag/self-compassion/) - [well-being](https://eblingroup.com/tag/well-being/) - [unconscious thought](https://eblingroup.com/tag/unconscious-thought/) - [being](https://eblingroup.com/tag/being/) - [doing](https://eblingroup.com/tag/doing/) - [resolutions](https://eblingroup.com/tag/resolutions/) - [Andrew Sullivan](https://eblingroup.com/tag/andrew-sullivan/) - [Ben Casnocha](https://eblingroup.com/tag/ben-casnocha/) - [Bitcoin](https://eblingroup.com/tag/bitcoin/) - [change](https://eblingroup.com/tag/change/) - [resistance](https://eblingroup.com/tag/resistance/) - [Angela Merkel](https://eblingroup.com/tag/angela-merkel/) - [role model](https://eblingroup.com/tag/role-model/) - [managing expectations](https://eblingroup.com/tag/managing-expectations/) - [Academy Awards](https://eblingroup.com/tag/academy-awards/) - [Oscars](https://eblingroup.com/tag/oscars/) - [Speaking](https://eblingroup.com/tag/speaking/) - [whole person](https://eblingroup.com/tag/whole-person/) - [attention](https://eblingroup.com/tag/attention/) - [legacy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/legacy/) - [Leonard Nimoy](https://eblingroup.com/tag/leonard-nimoy/) - [Mr. Spock](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mr-spock/) - [Hillary Clinton](https://eblingroup.com/tag/hillary-clinton/) - [rules](https://eblingroup.com/tag/rules/) - [honesty](https://eblingroup.com/tag/honesty/) - [Franklin-Covey](https://eblingroup.com/tag/franklin-covey/) - [Kory Kogan](https://eblingroup.com/tag/kory-kogan/) - [follow your heart](https://eblingroup.com/tag/follow-your-heart/) - [Robbie Vorhaus](https://eblingroup.com/tag/robbie-vorhaus/) - [bigger game](https://eblingroup.com/tag/bigger-game/) - [Amy Wilkinson](https://eblingroup.com/tag/amy-wilkinson/) - [Creators Code](https://eblingroup.com/tag/creators-code/) - [The Creator’s Code](https://eblingroup.com/tag/the-creators-code/) - [mindful communications](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mindful-communications/) - [mental clutter](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mental-clutter/) - [organization](https://eblingroup.com/tag/organization/) - [fitness](https://eblingroup.com/tag/fitness/) - [health and well being](https://eblingroup.com/tag/health-and-well-being/) - [performing at your best](https://eblingroup.com/tag/performing-at-your-best/) - [work](https://eblingroup.com/tag/work/) - [Dean Williams](https://eblingroup.com/tag/dean-williams/) - [work-life rhythm](https://eblingroup.com/tag/work-life-rhythm/) - [cross-cultural leadership](https://eblingroup.com/tag/cross-cultural-leadership/) - [Nepal](https://eblingroup.com/tag/nepal/) - [relational routines](https://eblingroup.com/tag/relational-routines/) - [sharing](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sharing/) - [conscious capitalism](https://eblingroup.com/tag/conscious-capitalism/) - [human business](https://eblingroup.com/tag/human-business/) - [start-up](https://eblingroup.com/tag/start-up/) - [strong start](https://eblingroup.com/tag/strong-start/) - [team leadership](https://eblingroup.com/tag/team-leadership/) - [creative thinking](https://eblingroup.com/tag/creative-thinking/) - [problem solving](https://eblingroup.com/tag/problem-solving/) - [self-appreciation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/self-appreciation/) - [self-criticism](https://eblingroup.com/tag/self-criticism/) - [fear](https://eblingroup.com/tag/fear/) - [letting go](https://eblingroup.com/tag/letting-go/) - [best friends](https://eblingroup.com/tag/best-friends/) - [Michael Cerveris](https://eblingroup.com/tag/michael-cerveris/) - [Coaching skills](https://eblingroup.com/tag/coaching-skills/) - [mentoring skills](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mentoring-skills/) - [behaviors](https://eblingroup.com/tag/behaviors/) - [choice](https://eblingroup.com/tag/choice/) - [results](https://eblingroup.com/tag/results/) - [delegation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/delegation/) - [Inside Out](https://eblingroup.com/tag/inside-out/) - [insight](https://eblingroup.com/tag/insight/) - [Failure](https://eblingroup.com/tag/failure/) - [Craig Mullaney](https://eblingroup.com/tag/craig-mullaney/) - [beginner's mind](https://eblingroup.com/tag/beginners-mind/) - [citizenship](https://eblingroup.com/tag/citizenship/) - [first principles](https://eblingroup.com/tag/first-principles/) - [living treasures](https://eblingroup.com/tag/living-treasures/) - [Fast Company](https://eblingroup.com/tag/fast-company/) - [year end](https://eblingroup.com/tag/year-end/) - [Health and well being; civil society](https://eblingroup.com/tag/health-and-well-being-civil-society/) - [holiday travel](https://eblingroup.com/tag/holiday-travel/) - [business travel](https://eblingroup.com/tag/business-travel/) - [Jeff Smith](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jeff-smith/) - [sugar](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sugar/) - [Dr. Mark Hyman](https://eblingroup.com/tag/dr-mark-hyman/) - [David Bowie](https://eblingroup.com/tag/david-bowie/) - [Huffington Post](https://eblingroup.com/tag/huffington-post/) - [Sydney Finkelstein](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sydney-finkelstein/) - [Christopher Kai](https://eblingroup.com/tag/christopher-kai/) - [nutrition](https://eblingroup.com/tag/nutrition/) - [Eat Fat](https://eblingroup.com/tag/eat-fat/) - [Get Thin](https://eblingroup.com/tag/get-thin/) - [Michael Bungay Stanier](https://eblingroup.com/tag/michael-bungay-stanier/) - [The Coaching Habit](https://eblingroup.com/tag/the-coaching-habit/) - [transformational listening](https://eblingroup.com/tag/transformational-listening/) - [Art Ulene](https://eblingroup.com/tag/art-ulene/) - [wisdom](https://eblingroup.com/tag/wisdom/) - [At Your Best](https://eblingroup.com/tag/at-your-best/) - [birthdays](https://eblingroup.com/tag/birthdays/) - [stress](https://eblingroup.com/tag/stress/) - [burnout](https://eblingroup.com/tag/burnout/) - [mobile](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mobile/) - [Tom Hanks](https://eblingroup.com/tag/tom-hanks/) - [Sully Sullenberger](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sully-sullenberger/) - [Jim Lovell](https://eblingroup.com/tag/jim-lovell/) - [Captain Phillips](https://eblingroup.com/tag/captain-phillips/) - [wellbeing](https://eblingroup.com/tag/wellbeing/) - [Stanley Turkel](https://eblingroup.com/tag/stanley-turkel/) - [Sunday Routine](https://eblingroup.com/tag/sunday-routine/) - [communication](https://eblingroup.com/tag/communication/) - [self-management](https://eblingroup.com/tag/self-management/) - [gear shifting](https://eblingroup.com/tag/gear-shifting/) - [clarity of purpose](https://eblingroup.com/tag/clarity-of-purpose/) - [lalaland](https://eblingroup.com/tag/lalaland/) - [distraction](https://eblingroup.com/tag/distraction/) - [addiction](https://eblingroup.com/tag/addiction/) - [negotiation](https://eblingroup.com/tag/negotiation/) - [Trump](https://eblingroup.com/tag/trump/) - [United](https://eblingroup.com/tag/united/) - [culture](https://eblingroup.com/tag/culture/) - [values](https://eblingroup.com/tag/values/) - [LiveAtYourBest](https://eblingroup.com/tag/liveatyourbest/) - [Hurricane Harvey](https://eblingroup.com/tag/hurricane-harvey/) - [Mattis](https://eblingroup.com/tag/mattis/) - [micromanager](https://eblingroup.com/tag/micromanager/) - [outcomes](https://eblingroup.com/tag/outcomes/) - [solutions](https://eblingroup.com/tag/solutions/) - [Dorie Clark](https://eblingroup.com/tag/dorie-clark/) - [Christine Porath](https://eblingroup.com/tag/christine-porath/) - [Civility](https://eblingroup.com/tag/civility/) - [Development](https://eblingroup.com/tag/development/) - [Maria van Hekken](https://eblingroup.com/tag/maria-van-hekken/) - [story](https://eblingroup.com/tag/story/) - [Tips](https://eblingroup.com/tag/tips/) - [Strategies](https://eblingroup.com/tag/strategies/) - 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[EBLIN Rows](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/eblin-rows/) - [EBLIN Modules](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/eblin-modules/) - [05. BK About / Brand](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/05-about-brand/) - [00. BK General](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/00-general/) - [01. BK Hero Banners / UVP](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/01-hero-banners-uvp/) - [02. BK Value / Outcome](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/02-value-outcome/) - [03. BK Problem / Agitation](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/03-problem-agitation/) - [04. BK Solution / Services](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/04-solution-services/) - [06. BK Packages / Pricing](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/06-packages-pricing/) - [07. BK Process / How It Works](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/07-process-how-it-works/) - [08. BK Testimonials / Clients / Proof](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/08-testimonials-clients-proof/) - [09. BK FAQs / Objections](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/09-faqs-objections/) - [10. BK Call To Action / Subscribe](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/10-call-to-action-subscribe/) - [EBLIN: Tab Content](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/eblin-tab-content/) - [EBLIN - Archived](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/eblin-archived/) - [Eblin Podcast Rows & Modules](https://eblingroup.com/fl-builder-template-category/eblin-podcast-rows-modules/)