Phil Hartman was one of my favorite comedians, actors, and SNL players. Over the course of his career, he started playing a lot of characters with radio announcer voices, like Troy McClure on The Simpsons. On a Mother’s Day episode of SNL, Phil asked his mom something like, “Mom, I was wondering, what does my … Read more
In a recent team-development session, we made some important growth happen. Growing as a team isn’t arbitrary, and it doesn’t happen without real, hard work. And it especially doesn’t happen when the team lacks vulnerability-based trust. As with building trust in any type of relationship, trust doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, building trust is a … Read more
Chris McQueen, former Google employee, delivered a keynote address on some of the best practices his unit has learned, and I’ll share two of them with you. This week, I’ll offer some thoughts on generating solid team relationships. Next week, we’ll touch on the magic of three particular words. As most of you know, I’m … Read more
Some people think the U.S. is headed for an economic downturn, and I know some managers who are bracing for that potential storm. Samir runs a boutique marketing firm that promises clean and consistent brand development and graphic design. Ellyn manages a production facility. She ensures that products are produced with quality consistency, just-in-time delivery, … Read more
I really appreciate—and have totally used—Brené Brown’s tools. You can find downloadables on her website. Brené Brown recommends the following phrases to push vulnerable and trusting conversations forward: “The story I make up…” Often, we have an experience and don’t know the whole story. Then, our imagination fills in a story. For example, Jack might … Read more
We often use the words shame and guilt interchangeably, but this causes problems. If we avoid tough conversations in order to save someone from shame, what we actually might be doing is avoiding important information that simply makes someone feel a little guilt. In a nutshell: Guilt – “I did something bad.” Shame – “I … Read more
I wrote a post back in 2015 that talked about leaders not saying “busy.” The word itself is so commonplace in our every day lives that we say it without thinking about it or considering its meaning. But the word itself can mean several different things, depending on the context and implication. That’s why I’m … Read more
Last week, we talked about numbing as a way of putting on armor. Brené Brown points out that sarcasm, cynicism, and passive-aggressive behaviors are another way to stay distant and avoid vulnerability. The solution is to avoid those three things, and— be clear and kind. One thing I’ve always said in sessions with clients is … Read more
*This blog post contains affiliate links where the author receives a small commission on book sales. I spent 19 years as a high school band teacher. This can be a big job—class sizes of up to 150 students, managing a budget of tens of thousands of dollars, and administering a hectic calendar of events and … Read more
I have never suffered from perfectionism, but I’ve certainly felt the fear of failure. For me, it isn’t perfectionism that produces the fear; it’s competitiveness. I like being the best at things. One year, about 15 years ago, my New Year’s resolution was to be the best Scrabble player in the state of Iowa. Then, … Read more