Emotional Intelligence (EQ) is a must for high-performing leaders during regular times, but it is especially important during crises. When times are uncertain and decisions are especially complex, leaders need to tune in to their own emotions in order to better understand and manage them. They also need to be aware of others’ emotions to...Read More

How do you give feedback to someone on your team who is not self-aware?  So often, our feedback is judgmental, too general, and over-generalized. It looks something like this:   “Yesterday at our meeting, you acted like a jerk. Why do you have to keep interrupting people? We are really tired of you!”  This approach is...Read More

How do you address sensitive or controversial issues effectively within your team? Often, healthcare leaders mistakenly feel they must choose between (a) addressing the issue and damaging relationships or (b) ignoring the issue for the sake of the relationship. High-performing leaders manage to do both, addressing delicate topics in a way that strengthens relationships, team...Read More

In our coaching work, we often encounter groups made up of highly talented, deeply dedicated members who are struggling to come together as a high-performing team due to interpersonal dynamics. Of course, we always need to explore the context in which the situation has arisen to address it effectively. We often find the key to...Read More

I have had occasion recently to speak with several senior executives who care deeply about the issue of social justice but who are struggling to find the best way for themselves and their organizations to serve as positive instruments of change. Many of them voice fear about wading into the issue, given how emotionally charged...Read More

Over the past several months I have listened to clients who have struggled with more conflict in their organizations than ever before. In one conversation, Doug (not his real name), a CMO in the Midwest, mentioned that he was having conflict with his CEO. Because they normally see eye-to-eye on most things, he wasn’t sure...Read More

We are in a time of enormous turbulence in our country with focused energy aimed at a set of complex cultural issues long overdue for attention and reform.  It is at once a time of great potential but also great risk as the heightened passion will either move us to embrace change or further entrench and...Read More

Interpretation: Our Intentions, Expectations, Mood and Beliefs  Most leaders are skilled at external communication and trained in the areas of articulation, presenting, active listening, body language and emphasizing tone of voice.  As a matter of fact, most research says that 7% of our external communication is the content and the words we speak, 35% is...Read More

Normal, predictable and thankfully, manageable stages of teams “I guess I am not a good leader.” There are times when someone I am coaching – who happens to be a fantastic leader – will turn to me in exasperation and say something along the lines of, “I guess I am not a good leader.  If...Read More