self-belief

I Think it is Time for Some Inspiration

I wanted to share something that I thought was very inspiring today from Octavia Spencer. This partial video and link to her speech at the Kent State Commencement last year has so much great advice from someone whose life could have taken a much different path. Her life differed in ways that she couldn’t even have predicted for herself. She is an amazing actress who has won an Academy Award, SAG awards, a Golden Globe and many others for her…
Read more

Monday Morning Leadership Q&A – 2/27/17

Today’s question: “The team that I took over has had little to no exposure in front of senior management. I know I need to help them get visibility. Where do I start?” This type of situation has happened to me. I took over a team that had been given no opportunities in front of senior management and they were only allowed to interact with people on the phone. They were doing a lot of good work but no one knew…
Read more

Are you ready for a big opportunity?

Opportunities come along every day, but are you ready for them when they happen? It would be great if you could predict what to know and when to be ready, but you can’t. All you can do is to prepare yourself as much as you can, be ready to learn on the job and from others who can mentor you. Let me share a story with you that illustrates this point. A football player named Jordan Howard played the…
Read more

What are you waiting for? Ask for what you want!

The beginning of the year is the time of the year to clean the slate and try new things. What things have you been thinking about, but haven’t put into action yet? What is holding you back? So many people that I work with have a lot of dreams and aspirations for change to occur, but are hesitant to try. So let’s clean the slate and try a new approach. Write…
Read more

What are the beliefs that you have about yourself?

I was working with one of my clients the other day and he shared that he didn’t think he had what it took to perform a senior level role. This is a person who has accomplished a lot in his career. Even though we detailed out his background and all the things that he accomplished, he still struggled to feel like he was qualified. This is how strong a belief can be for a person. Even with all the facts…
Read more

Can changing your job make you happy?

How many of you have thought about changing jobs or looking for a whole new career? I think that we all consider it when we are having a bad day, but how many people actually do it? I will share with you a bit about my story. I worked at the same company for 20+ years and had created a good reputation for getting things done, bringing teams together and as a leader who was a good people developer. I…
Read more

The Chicago Cubs Face Adversity to Win the 2016 World Series!

It is the final game of the World Series tonight. The Chicago Cubs led for most of game 7 and then the Cleveland Indians tie it up 6-6 in the 8th inning, which forced them to go into extra innings. This could have caused the Cubs to wonder if they had it in them to come back from this adversity. Their usual closing pitcher is worn out due to all the pitches he has thrown over the last three days. Then…
Read more

The Chicago Cubs: A Great Example of Making the Impossible Possible

I am a big sports fan and wanted to share that two sports teams in Chicago had two big days this week. My Chicago Bears won on Monday Night Football. They have not had the best record this year, but I am happy that they did well and it helped me win in fantasy football this week. Tonight’s big event was seeing the Chicago Cubs Baseball team tie up the World Series! I am so excited for them and hopefully…
Read more

Are you scared of ghosts and goblins?

Since it is Halloween, I thought it might be good to talk about things that are scary. No, I am not really talking about ghost and goblins, but what are the things that scare us and hold us back from moving forward? It is pretty common to be scared when you are trying something new. For example, I remember when I was little and I rode a bike without training wheels or swam in the deep end of the pool…
Read more

How do you define your leadership?

My very first team leader experience consisted of managing 3 direct reports and 20 indirect reports. Since this was a new experience for me, I asked for advice from some people who had been managing teams. What did they do to prepare themselves to lead a team? I pulled together their ideas and came up with my plan. I asked myself the following questions: What qualities did I want to emulate or reject from my previous leaders? What are my…
Read more

Are You Ready For a Transformation?

I was watching a video by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, who is the author of many books including the one that I am reading now called 10x is Easier Than 2x. His book, that he co-authored with Dan Sullivan, is focused on ways to achieve more by doing less. In the video, he discussed some of the concepts from the book, he shared that, “courage is the starting point of all transformation.” If I look back on my own transformations throughout my career, that…
Read more

How to Master Project and Program Visibility

If you have been following me for any of amount of time, you know that getting visibility for you and your team is important. However, there is also an opportunity for you to consider creating visibility for projects and programs too. Let me share an example: A client of mine shared the details of a discussion that he had with an executive leader about a project that would be kicking off soon. My client intended to walk through the proposed…
Read more

Leading Through Uncertainty: Strategies to Develop Stronger Leaders

Change is a constant, especially when it comes to business. Companies and their leaders need to anticipate customer needs, focus on internal business changes, retain employees and grow the company at a rate that is acceptable by their management and shareholders. Navigating through all of this change isn’t easy for leaders today and it isn’t going away. The Current State This quote was shared from an article on hrexecutive.com, “increasingly, employers report that new hires lack the necessary skills for the job….
Read more