More than a decade ago, Dr. Daniel Friedland shares in Leading Well from Within, he and his then four-year old son Dylan were walking down the trail to Torrey Pines Beach outside of San Diego.  Despite the spectacular setting, all Danny could think was: “What’s wrong with me?” 

At that time, he was plagued with an increasing sense of regret and remorse over the ten years he had spent … continue reading

This week we are exploring the concept of self-coaching and then teaching others to self-coach themselves – ideas I’ve been exploring with my coach, Dr. Daniel Friedland.  At the same time I am sharing these ideas with you, I am also working on putting these ideas into action myself.  We are on this journey together.

So far this week, we’ve examined the power of: (1) asking questions and (2) starting with … continue reading

Yesterday we looked at what makes a great coach great.

A related question: what makes a great team great? According to Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within, it all starts with intention.

Not expectation.

What’s the difference?

Expectation is outside in.  Intention is inside out.  

We understand intention through the lens of purpose.  Why is this important?  Who am I here for?

When we ask ourselves these … continue reading

So, what makes a great coach great?

This week we are looking at the idea of self-coaching and then teaching others to self-coach themselves.  According to Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within, it begins with asking inspiring questions.

What is the desired outcome?  What am I here to learn?  How can I best serve? 

Learning to ask ourselves questions is at the heart of self-coaching. Doing so elevates … continue reading

So, what exactly is leadership anyway?

Let’s agree to skip the boring text book definitions.  In one ear, out the other…

Not management.  Not being a manager.  That’s an important skill.  But, management is not leadership.

Ready?  

Leadership is about the ability to influence others.

I like it because it’s simple.  And true.  Think about it at a gut level.  Who do you consider a leader and why?  Think of a … continue reading

In his book The Happiness Advantage, Shawn Achor shares the research of Daniel Khaneman that shows us we don’t always act in rational, logical ways.  

When threatened, we are hard-wired to “fight or flight,” also known as “emotional high-jacking.”  This instinct serves us well when our house is on fire and we need to make a quick escape.  But not so much when our spouse makes a comment and … continue reading

I lost my cool yesterday.  True story.  Those who know me know that isn’t my “go to.”  

Being overtired plus my perception of a lack of urgency on a long-standing business issue sent me over the edge.  I raised my voice.  The whole nine yards.  

To top it off, this happened on a day on which I wrote a blog post on “Conversations Worth Having.”  

The irony wasn’t lost … continue reading

Yesterday we looked at the benefits of having better conversations.  

Sounds great.  But how do we do that?  How can we flip a negative conversation into a Conversation Worth Having?

The Appreciative Inquiry model provides us with a simple but powerful model: focus on adding value (appreciative) and asking questions (inquiry). 

Does this mean we can’t deliver critical feedback? Of course not.  If we aren’t meeting our numbers,  we need to … continue reading

Last week RiseWithDrew addressed a lot of theory.  Interesting, powerful, thought-provoking theory!  But theory, nonetheless.

This week we’re looking at putting some of the concepts from Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within, into action.

1: Be present.

2: Show up.  Don’t shut down.

3: Scary times = growth.

4: “The Infinite Curriculum:” Experience. Reflection. Action. Repeat.  

5: Pursuing relationships over efficiency.

In the aftermath of the horrific killing … continue reading

In business and in life, we want things to run smoothly. But, should this be our primary driver?

This week we are looking at some lessons from Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of the terrific book, Leading Well from Within.

Danny suggests we can choose to see an organization as either a machine or a living, breathing organism. A machine has a function. The goal is to eliminate errors and maximize efficiency. When … continue reading