I. ACT HAPPY WEEK, DAY 5: WHAT’S THE ONE THING? In 2018 I was guest on the Leadership Hacks Podcast with my esteemed colleague, Jill Windelspecht, a fellow executive coach and organization consultant. Jill invited me to bring my best hack (shortcut/workaround) to the conversation, so I showed up with the most basic tool in my box: Breathing. … Read more
I. ACT HAPPY WEEK, DAY 2: FROM JIM’S KITCHEN, HAPPINESS How do you feed your soul? Do you grab pre-packaged Pleasure from the freezer, microwave it, and eat on the run; or do you cook up your Joy from scratch using organic, locally sourced ingredients? Perhaps you have a saucepan of Gratitude constantly simmering on a … Read more
COVID Brain Part 2: Coaching Conversations I have a client who has struggled w/ depression in the past and is struggling with isolation now. In a recent coaching session (in which he wanted to “work through some of the negative shit”), I asked him this question: What are you learning about yourself as a result … Read more
Part 1: From The Pandemic Lockdown, Day 159 How long have you been in lockdown, or working from home, or having to balance kids and job and worry about the return to school, or feeling separated from loved ones? Too long, right? I thought I was doing OK. Then two weeks ago (day 143, but … Read more
Why Listening is Important. In this interview clip, Oprah – who made her living by listening – describes the insight that informed much of her career: The One Question Every Guest Asked.
WHAT JUST HAPPENED? Since mid-March, every conversation touches on the pandemic, at least for a second. But the topic’s been consistently held as a temporary situation. Then last week happened. Plans for return to work in July shifted to year-end 2020. Conferences in 1Q21 started getting the “let’s go virtual!” treatment. Three months is temporary. A full year is, … Read more
Five Prescriptions for Happiness: Short notice, but if you’re up for a lunchtime (well, Cleveland lunch time) Happiness shot-in-the arm, I’m speaking in the Cleveland Society for HR Management series next Tuesday 26 May at 12 US ET, sharing some practical tips for nurturing resilience in Turbulent Times. Register here Happiness Practices: If you can’t make … Read more
The experience of COVID19 Lockdown is as varied as the people who’ve had to live through it – which means there are several billion stories. Yet we are forming a global memory of a universal challenge. One dimension of that shared experience is, in my observation, a deeper appreciation for the broad range of human … Read more
This month’s post was inspired by a blog from one of my favorite mentors in the consulting world, Alan Weiss. This short excerpt sets the stage and my thoughts follow: An asteroid three times the size of the Empire State Building shot by the Earth last week, “only” three million miles away and traveling … Read more
What Does It Mean To Be Present? Remember, Leadership is not about a title; anyone can be a Leader who creates a positive experience for others. I typically end my essays with a tip like above, but today let’s start with a reminder that leaders are people who make a difference for others, usually through … Read more