Goals & Practices
Dealing with Team Members Who Are ‘Off-Track’
Most of us have experienced team members taking the discussion at a meeting off-track. It could be to a topic not on the team leader’s agenda, either the written one or the one in only the lead’s head. Or, it could be to an aspect of a topic on the agenda that has already been addressed, etc. The […]
Quote of the Week
“Your life doesn’t get better by chance. It gets better by choice.” – Author Unknown Do you hold resentments from your past? Do you tend to blame others for positions that you […]
Why Do I Think Better after I Exercise?
Justin Rhodes, associate professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tells us that excercise can be the answer. The essay appeared in the Scientific American. Rhodes says that there is a growing body of evidence that suggests that we think and learn better after we exercise. Part of the reason that cognition […]
Forget The Mission Statement: What’s Your Mission Question?
In “Forget The Mission Statement: What’s Your Mission Question?”, Warren Berger challenges us to consider responding to a set of mission questions instead of writing a mission statement that is so general it can apply to almost anything. He argues that mission questions provide a reality check on whether you are staying true to what […]
Individual Development and Skills for Evolving with the Times
A key theme of the 2013 MOR IT Leaders Conference was that we are entering a time when disruptive change is the norm. Given that change will happen whether one participates or not, those who actively resist it will hinder their organizations’ progress and imperil their careers. For the conference participants, the message was clear: […]
3 Motivational Mind Tricks Designed to Power Progress
Making progress toward a goal increases motivation and performance. In today’s reading, “3 Motivational Mind Tricks Designed to Power Progress” <http://www.fastcompany.com/3012545/dialed/3-motivational-mind-tricks-designed-to-power-progress>, Janet Choi, Chief Creative Officer of iDoneThis, provides advice on how we can use our mind to power further progress. Choi notes that as you think about a goal, you really need to know where […]
You Need to Take Care of Each Other (One Hand)
Joe Bajek, Director of Enterprise Cloud Services at the University of Colorado and an Advanced Leaders Program participant, submitted this reflection on leadership. I would add that you should look for opportunities to help those around you. Both you and they will benefit. . . . jim One Handby Joe Balek, Director […]
Why Courage is the Most Essential Virtue
This “reading” is a short video presenting the idea that having courage enables you to say NO to something so that you can say YES to something that really matters. Its author is Michael Bungay Stanier, a senior partner at Box of Crayons, a Toronto-based organization with the slogan “do less Good Work in order […]
Nine Ways Successful People Defeat Stress
Grant Halvorson, associate director of the Motivation Science Center at the Columbia University Business School, notes that everyone who is a professional in today’s workplace experiences bouts of extreme stress. So, it’s not whether you are going to experience stress but what you are going to do about it. His Harvard Business Review blog essay offers nine […]
Train Your Brain to Focus
Paul Hammerness and Margaret Moore, authors of Organize Your Life, Organize Your Mind point to three ways to improve our focus. Hammerness is assistant professor of psychiarity at the Harvard Medical School and Moore is founder and CEO of the Wellcoaches Corporation and co-director of the Institute of Coaching at McLean Hospital. Their original essay appeared […]