So I’m standing there, talking with a seventy-year-old man, who has recently retired from his career as a vice president overseeing hundreds of workers each day. His wife is undergoing cancer treatment and he lays this on me: “Jen, with Nancy’s illness, I’ve realized I was such a jerk as a boss. My people would…
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5 Ways to Get Your Team to Speak Up
At a staff meeting Trina, a leader in an I.T. department, asks for a status update on a high-visibility project. There is a brief silence. Then Michael speaks up— “It’s behind schedule. I’m concerned that we’re not going to meet the beta test projections. What do you think?” Trina gives this some thought and counters…
Go On a Date with Your Dreams
Today I’m hosting a meet-up based on the book Dare, Dream, Do by Whitney Johnson. When I first heard about the book, I wasn’t all that excited about discussing “dreams”. I’m a busy wife/mother/daughter/friend who runs a full-time consulting business and also does volunteer work. Who has time to dream? Whitney’s book has opened my…
SmartBlog on Leadership – Can Your Team Say No?
Twice a month, Lead Change Group authors write a blog post on the SmartBlog on Leadership site. Today it’s my turn with a post called How to Get Your Team to Speak Up. It’s based on my observation that many team leaders create a culture where saying “no” is unacceptable, thereby causing their team…
TEDx Grand Rapids – Making Meaning of Connections
It’s six days out from last week’s TEDx Grand Rapids event and I’m still processing. TED events are well-known for their brief, powerful speaker presentations proffering Big Ideas (see my list of quotes from the 2012 TEDx Grand Rapids speakers). Frankly, A TEDx event can be daunting—such BIG ideas, presented by people with amazing stories…