1: Can we get better at handling stress and self-doubt?

The short answer? Yes.

Life comes at us fast. It’s a VUCA world out there full of “Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.” Our ability to navigate life successfully depends on our ability to move from a reactive mindset to a creative mindset, Dr. Daniel Friedland* writes in his wonderful book Leading Well from Within.  

“The state of … continue reading

1: VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.  

That’s our world. There are two ways we can show up.  

Option one? A reactive mindset. “We feel threatened with fear, stress, self-doubt, ego, and conflict; where an unconscious and reflexive series of protective responses can dominate our psyche and ripple through our actions, activating similar experiences in others that can instantly drain energy and fragment teams as well as families,” … continue reading

Dr. Daniel Friedland arrived at the board meeting feeling raw and out-of-sorts after an argument with his teenage son.  

Danny* was the board chair of the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine. It was the morning of the second day of a combined board meeting with another leading organization in integrative health. The goal of the meeting was to formalize the upcoming collaboration of the two groups.

The leader … continue reading

My friend, mentor, and coach Danny Friedland passed away last month after a year-long battle with brain cancer.  There was a moving memorial service for him on Saturday.  Here are eight brief reflections.

1: “Live a loving life” was Danny’s invitation to all who knew him.  His purpose was to “scale” the giving of love.  He encouraged us to say “I love you” to more of those people we love … continue reading

This week we’ve been looking at different ways to self-coach ourselves to be more intentional and more present in our lives. We started with the power of getting up an hour earlier and priming ourselves for the day ahead. Then, we looked at seeing our days as a series of pivot points on which to focus. When our attention wanders (as it always does) we simply bring our attention back to what’s most … continue reading

Are our days an endless parade of zoom calls, emails, and follow up’s?

There is a better way, says Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within.  This week we are exploring some of Danny’s wisdom around the specific ways we can learn to self-coach ourselves and teach others to so the same.  

Yesterday we looked at the power of being intentional about priming ourselves for our day … continue reading

We recently looked at what makes great teams great.  

Great teams are committed. Commitment is created by starting with purpose. Which begins with intention. Not expectation. 

“Inside out” (intention) beats “outside in” (expectation) every time, says Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well from Within.  Danny has been leading me through a process of self-coaching. This ability to self-coach ourselves and then teach other leaders to do the same so they can … 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