Relationships

… and Why It Matters Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Julian Koh, Associate Director of Telecommunications and Network Services at Northwestern University. Julian is an alumnus of the MOR Leaders Program. [He may be reached at  <[email protected]>.]      I was recently fortunate enough to take a vacation where I had two very interesting conversations […]

– Upping your game In last week’s Tuesday Reading, Questions: How many have you asked today, we argued that the practice of asking questions is more important than any one of the answers we may be given, as asking builds our knowledge, teaches us about people, engages others, communicates value, sets an example, and develops […]

… Let it go. “Holding a grudge is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to be hurt by it.”                                                              —— Mark Goulston, M.D. author […]

… to Your Smartphone ad·dic·tion ––  the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance, thing, or activity.   As individuals in today’s society we have become addicted to our smartphones. We are at a loss when it isn’t in our hand, on our person, out of sight, etc. And, the research is clear, for all […]

Self-awareness, one of the key elements of emotional intelligence, is one’s “capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals.” Self-awareness is how an individual consciously knows and understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires. There are two broad categories of self-awareness: internal self-awareness […]

…  the right of every person to be valued and respected Last December’s first Tuesday Reading was Let’s Choose to Be Civil.1 There I used Georgetown University professor Christine Porath’s definition of “incivility” – disrespect or rudeness including mocking or belittling someone, teasing in ways that hurt, offensive jokes, arriving late to meetings, focusing on your smart device […]

New Practices for the New Year Here we are, a week after New Year’s Day. Now, if you are a typical American, there’s a 40% chance that you have made one or more New Year’s Resolutions. Babylonians made resolutions 4000 years ago, and since then, a lot of us have followed. I think this is […]

Harry Davis is the first individual to connect leadership and performance art that I ever encountered. He is the Roger L. and Rachel M. Goetz Distinguished Service Professor of Creative Management at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. We met at the 2008 MOR Leaders Conference1 where Professor Davis was the featured speaker. His […]

Two weeks ago, on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I wrote about gratitude – the importance of expressing gratitude, how to cultivate a practice of showing gratitude, and about the impact our showing gratitude has on others.  After completing that essay, I watched the CBS Friday (November 15) Evening News. The last of the evening’s news items was […]

Eric Abrams is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading.  He is Chief Inclusion Officer at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education. His essay first appeared as a leadership program reflection earlier this year. [Eric may be reached at [email protected].]   The MOR Tuesday Reading of October 23, 2018 focused on curiosity. Given my role at the Stanford Graduate […]

Some two weeks ago, Senator John McCain died. While some saw him as a maverick, someone with a strong independent streak, he was also determined to do what he believed right, even at a high personal cost. He is an American hero – for his five and a half years as a prisoner in a […]

… and School Will Soon Be Back in Session I’m sure that it is as hard for you, as it is for me, to realize that summer vacations are over, Labor Day is upon us, and children of all ages are going back to school. My middle three grandchildren are either at college or will […]

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.”                   – Brenè Brown   The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines vulnerable as capable of being physically or emotionally wounded, open to attack and damage.   Robert Stolorow,1 psychologist, author, and a founding faculty member at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Study, has […]

Yesterday was Memorial Day, our holiday for remembering all those – some 1.4 million from the American Revolution until now – who gave their lives in conflicts while serving in our nation’s armed forces.    The idea of having a time to commemorate those who have died in the line of duty while serving their […]

The MOR Leaders Program, as the name implies, is about leadership.  Just what is it that leaders do and how do they go about doing it?  Two weeks ago, we focused on the humble leader.  There we wrote about what makes a leader humble1 and how a leader can cultivate those characteristics in his or her […]

Daniela Aivazian is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading.  She is an Organizational Effectiveness Specialist in Stanford University’s University IT organization.  Her essay first appeared as a leadership program reflection earlier this year.  [Dani may be reached at [email protected].]   In my second IT Leaders workshop, my coach said something that stopped me in my tracks. “Words matter,” […]

. . .  Ask for it! On any given day we will each need help from others in one or more of our life-circles – our work, our families, our church, and our social and community activities, etc.  And, we also will have opportunities to extend our help to others.  So, why then, do we […]

. . .  to help you avoid your biases Today’s Tuesday Reading turns again to focus on another aspect of bias, how to keep our minds from falling for bad advice.   In the March 6, 2018 Tuesday Reading Biases, we noted that an individual’s personal cognitive biases can be helpful and adaptive, and also that they may […]

. . . Between Work and the Rest of Your Life Many of us have a difficult time of putting down our work to turn to the rest of our lives – time with family and friends, attending sports or other activities our children participate in, taking a walk in the woods, …  It’s a […]

Brian McDonald is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading. He is the president of MOR Associates an organization he founded in 1983 based on the belief that many organizations do not maximize the contribution most people want to make at work. More recently, he has led the development of the MOR family of leadership programs.   During […]