A few months into George’s executive coaching, we had a joint meeting with his boss for a midpoint check-in. Len had provided input at the beginning of the program, to help George select leadership development goals. They both agreed that focusing on a few critical areas would improve the department’s productivity and raise customer service standards. Now our question to Len was: Is anything noticeable to you yet? Read more
I don’t recall the actual achievement – just that it was some form of recognition I had received at work. It might have been an accolade from a customer. Or maybe it was a promotion. Yes, a long overdue promotion, that sounds good. Let’s go with that. Read more
I’m writing today’s article in-flight, on the way home from attending my stepson Jordan’s college graduation in Hartford. During this trip and through the example of three people close to me and in their 20s, the theme of willingness presented itself as the message to share with you this week. Read more
Most of us marvel at stories about people who became successful despite experiencing rejection or failure on the road to achievement. One of my favorite examples is Chester Carlson, the inventor of electrophotography (photocopying), who was dismissed by more than 20 companies as well as the National Inventors Council, before he had the ultimate satisfaction of seeing Xerox introduce its first office copier. Read more
It was late afternoon and Norah, a client and Human Resources Manager, stated that she only had about ten minutes to talk, as an urgent issue needed to be addressed before leaving the office. Rather than rescheduling, Norah had gone ahead with our call, so I was confident that something important would transpire even in the short amount of time we had. I asked the familiar question: “What would you like to get from our conversation today that would be of value to you?” Norah’s response without hesitation: “Help me to not back off my goal.” Read more