Last weekend, I went to Tryon International Equestrian Center to watch horses jump on the cross-country course. If you haven’t seen this event (which, ironically, is one of 3 disciplines in a sport called “Eventing”), it’s absolutely incredible that a horse and rider can get over these huge jumps together. On one of the jumps, […]
Here’s a question: What would happen for you if change came easier? Take a moment and really think about that question. Where would you like to change something in your professional life, perhaps such as doing more of the work that makes your heart sing? Maybe something in athletics, creativity, or other endeavors? Have you
In the last Coaching Digest, I started a new feature called Favorite of the Week, highlighting a favorite podcast, book, or article. As I was considering what to focus on this week, I realized that it’s a good time to share a reading list. I love reading other people’s lists. That’s how I find many
A conversation that almost never comes up – at least directly – with my executive coaching clients is boundaries. Yet some of the most pervasive problems they face are violations of their boundaries. Someone talks over them in a meeting. Their boss storms into a crisis and starts barking commands without deep knowledge of the
I was playing pickleball Sunday afternoon when suddenly I felt a pop near my right hip joint. Immediately, I turned my attention to controlling the now inevitable fall. My left knee took the brunt of it as I slid across the concrete. I decided to lay still for a while as I assessed the damage.
Originally Published: June 30, 2022 Note: Today I’m sharing an excerpt from Chapter 2 of my new book, Dancing the Tightrope, What Falling Off a Horse Taught Me About Embracing Pressure, Fear and Uncertainty. In the following excerpt, we pick up the story soon after I fell off the horse. In this segment, I’m beginning
When I got my first job in banking, I soon realized that I had entered a world full of rules. Our hometown bank had a small lunchroom with unremarkable tables and stacking chairs scattered about. I was pinching pennies, so the this quickly became the place to eat my sack lunch. Next to the lunchroom
When I was in midst of editing Dancing the Tightrope, someone told me to hang on to the many stories that were landing on the cutting room floor. “Just because it didn’t belong in the book doesn’t mean it’s not a story worth telling,” they said. The following story is one of those that didn’t
Searching through my blogs last week for a post on resistance, I ran across one I wrote 18 months prior to the horseback riding accident that set me on a journey of a whole new understanding about operating effectively under pressure. Reading this piece was almost eerie. It was a little bit like entering another
“Don’t shrink. Don’t puff up. Stand your sacred ground.” Brené Brown One of the most common requests I get as an executive coach is this: How do I develop “executive presence?” It’s one of the most elusive traits we can choose to develop. The distinctions are subtle. What one person calls gravitas, another might call arrogance. The difference