Tuesday Reading

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Brian McDonald, President of MOR Associates.  Brian may be reached at [email protected].] During this current health crisis it may be helpful to take a few minutes to step back and think about the leadership challenges and responsibilities that are inherent in this increasing critical threat. Before you begin this, it […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Jim Bruce, Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates. He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He may be reached at [email protected].] Resilience1 is the psychological strength that allows people to be knocked down by life […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Sarah J. Buszka, Critical Infrastructure Service Lead, University of Wisconsin – Madison.  She is a current participant in the Big Ten Academic Alliance (BTAA) MOR Leaders Program.  Sarah may be reached at [email protected].]   In her book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth successfully proves that effort […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is by Dr. David Sweetman, MOR Associates Leadership Coach and Consultant.  David may be reached at [email protected].] In my experience coaching, teaching, and leading, one of the greatest limits to our potential are self-defeating assumptions.  In the words of the great automotive pioneer Henry Ford, Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Jim Bruce, Senior Fellow and Executive Coach at MOR Associates.  He previously was Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Vice President for Information Systems and CIO at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA. He may be reached at [email protected].] Do you ever hear voices in your head saying that you […]

A Tribute to Jan and Growing Outside Your Comfort Zone [Today’s Tuesday Reading is from Laura Patterson, Leadership Coach and Consultant at MOR Associates.  She previously was CIO at the University of Michigan. Laura may be reached at [email protected].]   I recently received word that a friend, Jan, had passed away. Jan was a special […]

New roles and your feedback on [Tuesday Reading] please [Today’s Tuesday Reading is by Dr. David Sweetman, MOR Associates Leadership Coach and Consultant.  David will be facilitating Tuesday Readings moving forward. David may be reached at [email protected]] Have you recently taken on a new role? Can you recall the last time you did? If you’re […]

[Today’s Tuesday Reading, is written by Brian McDonald, President of MOR Associates.] For the last fifteen years Jim Bruce has been endeavoring to share his wisdom and insights from across the leadership landscape with all of us through these Tuesday Readings. It has been a terrific way for Jim to read, reflect and synthesize the […]

An early 20th-century New Year’s resolution postcard1 put it this way:          Your New Year’s Resolution          Resolve to renew all your old resolves.          And add a few that are new.          Resolve to keep them as long as you can.          What more can a poor man do. People have been making “resolves” or resolutions, promises, commitments, plans, pledges, aspirations, aims, designs, etc. […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Matthew E. Mooney, Assistant Dean for Teaching, Learning and Technology the at Pennsylvania State University’s Smeal College of Business. His essay first appeared as a leaders program reflection last fall. [Matt may be reached at <[email protected]>.]    I’ve so appreciated previous reflections. It’s comforting to see that while we are […]

Last week the Tuesday Reading, On Being Grateful,1 focused on showing appreciation and called attention to a quote from Robert Emmons, University of California, Davis psychologist and author: “Feeling gratitude starts off with the realization of what we have received from others and what it has cost them.”2   This led me to suggest four ways that […]

Two days from today on the fourth Thursday of November, people in the United States will celebrate a national day of Thanksgiving. A similar holiday is celebrated on the same or other days by people in many nations.   In the United States, a day set apart for giving thanks has been observed, most years, […]

… to be truly effective, you need to be!   Bill Taylor, Robert J. Smith Professor of Accountancy at Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Business and an expert on subjective performance evaluation, has said it this way: “… I’m convinced that if you truly want people to elevate their performance, you have first to […]

Recently on TV, I was attracted to a Cascade dishwasher detergent commercial featuring child actress Sierra Richards, who seeing her “mother” rinse off the dishes before putting them in the open dishwasher asks, “just what does the dishwasher do?” This question is an example of thinking critically about what the “mother” in the commercial was doing. […]

… they surround us   No matter where you look, you will find both unwritten and written rules – rules at work, rules that are personal to you, rules for your family, rules about your social interactions, rules at home, rules everywhere. Some are “written” by others including your organization, and many, likely the majority, by […]

“Humble listening” is among the top four characteristics of leader.1  —  Jeff Immelt, Former Chairman and CEO, GE.  “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”2,3     —   Henry Ford.  “To […]

Today’s Tuesday Reading is an essay by Monika R. Dressler. Director of Academic Technologies, in the LSA Technology Services group at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She is an alumnus of the MOR Leaders Program. Her essay first appeared as a program reflection earlier this year. [Monika may be reached at […]

Where are you on the burnout scale — exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy — to fully engaged — energy, dedication, and absorbed?1   In a 2018 paper, Seppälä and Moeller2 introduce a young woman who is in a new workplace. She really liked her new job and was highly motivated to perform well. She undertook, and was highly successful at, organizing a […]

… Which do I need?   I’ve been working on a rollout plan for a new major application. And, before I present that plan to the clients, I need to give the presentation a test run. I can ask my test audience to give me feedback or I could ask them for advice. What do […]

Been gobsmacked1 recently? You are in a team meeting and make a proposal you believe is well thought out. You feel your work is solid. A coworker viciously attacks your proposal. Or, a friend, who also is your boss’s, boss’s boss, unexpectedly calls you early one morning to strongly admonish you for a comment you had […]