1: What makes a great coach great?

Being an effective coach is not about becoming indispensable. If our goal is to elevate the leadership capacity across the organization, we do so by learning to coach ourselves. And then coach others to coach themselves.  

I learned about self-coaching from my friend, mentor, and coach, Dr. Danny Friedland, who passed away 18 months ago after a year-long battle with brain cancer. … continue reading

1: So, what exactly is leadership anyway?

Let’s skip all the boring textbook 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 this definition of leadership because it’s simple.  

And, true.  

Think about it at a gut level. Whom do we consider a leader in our … 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 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

How does meaningful change actually happen in our lives?

I’ve been exploring this question with my coach, Dr. Daniel Friedland, author of Leading Well  from Within.

Danny has been leading me through a process of self-coaching. I’ve come to appreciate that  leadership is largely the capacity to coach others to coach themselves so they can rise through  powerful cycles of continual learning and growth (aka Active Learning Cycles).

It’s inspiring to … continue reading