A friend of mine, Tom Fosterwrote an blog post, A Level of Competence, that ended in what he calls an unspoken question.
“What habits do you have that support your success?
He then posted replies from his readers. I’ve a couple I’d like to share.
This past week I exchanged email with my colleague and friend, Tom McCallum on the general topic of advice giving. The working theme of the post, the catalyst for the exchange, was about giving "less advice".
Totally unknown to Tom, several days prior to this post he had written a couple of other posts describing the advice he had provided to clients. This raised my shackles about the efficacy of advice in any form. I had started to bring up the issue a couple of times with Tom but failed to do so. Voila! Synchronicity, coincidence or serendipity took over and Tom wrote
"Give less advice."
Topics: Beyond Teal
Periodically, I like most of you, get introduced to other professionals through or by trusted colleagues.This past week Jimmy P. connected as a consequence of just such an introduction. After a brief email exchange it became clear that Jimmy was a true professional and superbly intentional about where the direction of the connection might go.
Topics: Beyond Teal
When asked the question, “Bruce, what is it you do?” I’m always inarticulate. I could say that I’m a business coach, a mentor, a trusted advisor to CEO’s and their entire organization. But those titles are really just bullet points for a much deeper, vested commitment.
Topics: Beyond Teal
Almost 15 years ago I was introduced to the work of Prof. Jerry Harvey, His seminal work on the
Abilene Paradox and subsequent videos created an almost cult-like following for him in the 80’s and 90’s in Business Management circles.
How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed In the Back My Fingerprints Are On the Knife continues to be my very favorite title for a business book. It’s message is that we all collude in some fashion in the results we get through the choices we make, and that resonates, perhaps, even more importantly today.
Topics: Beyond Teal
For as long as I can remember, as I enter into the holiday season and coming new year, I’ve found myself wrestling with my own mixed emotional responses. The seeds of this ambivalence were planted long ago in my earliest memories. While others have visions of sugarplums and gift giving, imprinted on me is the scene of my father dressed in a Santa Claus outfit beating my mother mercilessly while he was in a drunken stupor…virtually under the Xmas tree. That scene played out far too often. It was as if the pressure and expectation of the holidays brought out the very worst rather than the best.
Topics: Beyond Teal
I've been derailed from writing for some time. It’s so much easier for me to write and, indeed, speak in the context of a conversation or better yet truly a learning conversation.
Why to write may be an issue for everyone who picks up a pen or sits down with a keyboard. There is a part of me that is restrained by the additional thought, "Do I have something to say?” Or, “Isn't it arrogant to believe that others should listen, through reading my words?”
Topics: Beyond Teal
Early in the first session of the Facilitative Leadership Program (FLP) I show a YouTube video of the composer Benjamin Zander. In the video, Zander describes his teaching philosophy.
Zander is an accomplished conductor who has also written The Art of Possibilities, a book about transforming your professional and personal life through changing the way you see the world. The Art of Possibilities has attained readership beyond musical circles and is known worldwide to business leaders.Topics: FLP
How Come Every Time I Get Stabbed In the Back, My Fingerprints Are on the Knife, by Jerry Harvey, is without doubt, my favorite book title of all time. The book is a series of Harvey’s essays on how we collude in the outcomes in our personal and professional lives through the choices we make. At the core, his message is all about taking responsibility for the consequences of those choices.
After his passing, I wrote a eulogy about Professor Harvey. He is best known for his book and a concept detailed within the book; Abilene Paradox. However, my favorite of Harvey’s essays, is where he describes his concept of “non-teaching.”
Topics: FLP
While discussing the link between initiative and leadership, a female executive (MJ) in her early thirties and new to her managerial position asked (challenged rather),
“What would you do if you had this really great idea to improve our team efficiency, and your boss rejected your idea?”
Finding the Answer
Topics: FLP