I just finished a lovely slip of a book written by Boyd Varty, The Lion Tracker's Guide to Life.
Boyd's family owns and runs a no-kill safari operation in Londolozi, South Africa. Boyd's father and uncle restored an overgrazed ranch their father had purchased on a whim to a lush landscape filled with native plants and African animals.
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I can't do backflips; some days, the yoga pose pictured above will always be impossble, and I will never understand calculus.
My clients readily concede similar inconsequential personal limitations, such as weak second serves, killing house plants, and messy closets.
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Another Stupid Reorganization-Bad Boss-Nasty Teammates- Boredom-Disrespect
What are you living with?
If you're reading this blog, you're probably thinking about getting out and trying something new.
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The miracle question is commonly used in solution-focused coaching to help individuals envision a desired future state or outcome. It is a way to shift the focus from the current problem or issue and encourage the individual to imagine how things would be different if the situation were miraculously solved.
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360 Assessments are a widely used professional development tool. Clients identify work colleagues who anonymously scale various job performance traits around leadership and management. Many 360s also include qualitative remarks.
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Reitz and Higgins have researched how we talk, listen, and learn from each other inside the workplace for decades. Power has an enormous impact on who speaks up and who is heard. Unfortunately, people in charge often don't recognize how their power silences others.
I found the observations on Listening Up incredibly informative. Great leaders know that active listening uncovers problems earlier, provides a richer pool of options, allows course correction more quickly, and creates a problem-solving culture. The benefits are enormous, yet most leaders must be attuned to what it takes to make others speak up. They don't create an environment that allows them to Listen up.
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This is my second post exploring how we react to universal fears. Fears force a false supporting narrative. Don't let your fears hijack you.
The need to belong, be respected, and feel safe is found in cultures worldwide. So we are on alert, looking to secure our place in the group, seeking confirmation we're respected, and protecting ourselves from the erosion of our safety.
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Chatter The Voice In Our Head, Why It Matters, and How To Harness It, by Ethan Kross, offers ways to quiet, unhealthful chatter.
We chatter to ourselves at a rate of four thousand words per minute! Usually, this internal narrative is valuable and allows us to:
form memories
reflect on decisions
control emotions
simulate alternative futures
keep track of goals
define ourselves
reminisce
I highly recommend Fred Kofman's newest book, The Meaning Revolution. I found his discussion on the ego's effect on leadership very interesting. I've summarized some of the critical points in this blog.
You can enjoy this appetizer, but please read the book.
To be a great leader, you must love the mission more than you love yourself. A mission-driven leader does find self-work through admiration, praise, and obedience. Instead, a mission-driven leader inspires others to accept a meaningful mission.
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