In Part I, I described a situation I was triggered – and stumped – by. Many of you dove into the water to help me out, and your perspectives went well beyond what I could see in the moment. Now: truth is indeed stranger than fiction. Here’s the surprising outcome. “Do you live here?” I […]

As some of you know, I’ve spent the last few months living and working from a quiet bay on Baja’s Sea of Cortez. (If doing your dissertation literature review looks a lot like solitary confinement, why not confine yourself somewhere you can paddleboard?) But it’s not been all quiet.

When I see something three times in three days I figure it will be useful to say something about it. What’s dropped by so often? No. It started Friday. I was talking with a dear friend and colleague I lunch with regularly for peer coaching.  (BTW, if you lead anything – including your own life […]

It is not in my nature to be brief. Fortunately, I have a dear friend and colleague who does a much better job.  After hearing me describe in detail a big, hairy change challenge my partner and I are taking on together, she grew silent. “This isn’t a coaching conversation,” she said, “but two questions come […]

A few weeks ago, I promised to return to explore Bill Torbert’s radical, useful thinking about fast and slow, speed and substance – and how to use a few seconds of conversation to propel deeply substantive action. Here’s part II of that series.  I’ll start with a story well-worth repeating, from the early pages of […]

We are (still) interrupting this series on marrying speed and depth to bring you some more “mental sorbet.” Hello Sports Fans. This week’s roundup of leadership reads starts off with a client find (thanks, Jeff Bresnahan!), blogger Eric Barker (pictured right). Barker is a quick and pithy wit who writes on his own blog, Barking Up the Wrong Tree, as well […]

“Leadership: Disrupting your own people at a rate they can stand, for a purpose.” – Alexander Grashow When was the last time you got to watch someone else do your job? To take a break from your role and learn from watching someone else – ferociously talented – do it? This week, I did.

A few years ago we worked around the world with multiple teams in the same business division, and one team in Asia was different than the rest. We noticed it immediately. There was ease, and a level of authenticity and trust that stood head and shoulders above the rest. This team’s problem-solving was swift and […]

After what seems like a seriously long time – more than a decade – helping leaders lead change, I feel like I’m just breaking the surface of the water. And in my 3-month-old job as doctoral student (which already seems seriously long to those around me; last night, I overheard my partner say, “yeah, Julie’s […]

I’ve noticed something. There is a certain shared quality I’ve seen across several of the groups I’ve worked with lately: people learning to drop down into a difficult conversation in an open, clear, productive way; groups willing to take risks together as they take on a challenging task; and several simply excellent leaders of people. […]