Team

Several times over the past few years, the Tuesday Reading has focused on biases: Biased? We all are. Bias — If you have a brain, you’re biased. Mitigating Bias — When hiring staff. Train Your Brain — To help you avoid your biases. Today, we continue with this general theme focusing on the unconscious nature of many […]

… 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 […]

Ever have the fear that someone is always watching you, just waiting for you to foul-up?   Michael Gervais, psychologist and co-founder of Compete to Create, a high performance mindset training course, wrote in a recent Harvard Business Review essay “How to Stop Worrying About What Other People Think of You,”1 that our “fear of other people’s […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Amanda Winegarden, a Security Risk Analyst in the University Information Security Group at the University of Minnesota. She is a new alumna from the recently graduated MOR Lead From Where You Are Program at the University of Minnesota. Her essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year. [Amanda […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Mark Katsouros, Director of Voice & Video at the Pennsylvania State University. Mark is an early alumnus of the MOR Leaders Program. His essay first appeared in his blog Mark My Words on September 13, 2018. [Mark may be reached at <[email protected]>.]  Ever have one of those mornings where you realize you’re […]

Leaders must be men and women who influence others to enable them to become more effective. In her essay Five Principles to Follow If You Want to Influence Others,1 Amy Glass, writes “No matter your role, influence is key to solving problems and making things happen. … [T]his means persuading people to help you affect change, […]

Kids ask questions in order to learn about the world in which they live. And, sometimes they will answer their own question to show-off what they know – for example, my great-granddaughter holding out a stuffed rabbit and saying “rabbit” – and sometimes they want you to tell them. As they grow older, their questions […]

At one time or another, we have each tried and failed at something, sometimes miserably. And, as a result we all have some fear that if we try to do the same thing, or something similar, again, we will again fail.   Not always. But, sometimes. It might be that when you have a new […]

…  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 […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Theresa Bamrick, CIO at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory operated by Stanford University. Her essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection last fall. [Theresa may be reached at <[email protected]>.]    I come from a cranberry and fishing town near Cape Cod, MA. My parents were born in the Greatest […]

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 […]

Day after tomorrow, the fourth Thursday of November, will be celebrated as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.   A day set apart for giving thanks in the United States, has been celebrated most years since the first colonization of our country. Beginning in 1941, Thanksgiving has been celebrated on the fourth Thursday in November. […]

… a technique that allows people to iterate on ideas without using harsh or judgmental language. While used typically in teams and on the ideas of others, plussing works equally well on one’s own ideas – when one’s self critic can be particularly vocal. You may never have previously encountered the word “plussing.” Neither had […]

… a strong desire to know or learn something Previous Tuesday Readings have focused on curiosity,1,2,3 on the very related topic of asking questions,4,5 and the further related topic of psychological safety6 on numerous occasions. Given these six examples along with a larger number of additional Tuesday Readings focused on aspects of this topic I’ve not listed as References, […]

Today, most organizations, including a university’s IT organization, structure their work through a set of teams. Other examples include professional sports teams with their structure, their practice day-after-day of plays they may execute in the game, and a surgical team that performs the same procedure, for example, hip replacement, under tightly controlled conditions, perhaps multiple […]

… How do I respond?   Compliments are a good thing, right? Everyone likes to be recognized for a job well done. Especially from someone whose work you admire. They are a special form of positive feedback. However, many of us find accepting a compliment with grace to be a major challenge. Too often, our […]

The MOR Leaders Program employs a leadership model which calls for leaders to focus on providing direction – establishing vision, developing strategies, and coping with change; aligning people – communicating direction, engaging people in implementation, and building commitment; and motivating them to do the work – “holding up the banner,” coaching and empowering, and recognizing and rewarding success. This […]

. . .  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 […]

Steven Westlund is the author of today’s Tuesday Reading.  He is the Director of Enterprise Applications Architecture at Washington University in St. Louis.  His essay first appeared as a leadership program reflection earlier this year.  [Steve may be reached at [email protected].]   A few weekends ago, my wife and I watched Alexandra Dean’s documentary, Bombshell: the Hedy Lamarr […]