Words of Wisdom – Page 18

The Value of Taking a Risk

I play it pretty safe. Over the years, I’ve observed that I’m pretty conservative about the way I live my life. I keep money in savings. I try not to spend too much and pay off my credit cards each month. I stay in touch with family and friends, sometimes ...

How Feedback and Feedforward Change Your Professional Impact

Think about the last time you gave a presentation. How did it go? Did you say “um” or “like” too often? Stand stiffly? Speak too quietly or too high-pitched? Did you rely on PowerPoint to carry your message, with slides that bored the audience? Seeing or hearing ourselves afterward can ...

Disagreeing Without Being Disagreeable

This post is about the importance of disagreeing without being disagreeable in the workplace. Last week, I acted as a mediator between two colleagues at a client company. Their disagreements had become so polarizing that the project they were working on together had come to a standstill. I don’t ...

The Power of Saying No

The subject of this post is about the concept of “neti-neti.” This phrase comes from Sanskrit and means “not this, not this.” These are important words for me. I first heard them from my wise therapist when I was 45 years old. I was starting to say “no” a ...

Appreciating Life’s Mysteries

There is something magical about allowing the great mystery of our lives and the things that happen to us be as they are. Here’s the experience that sparked this idea: Years ago, I was in Ireland on a writing trip with the poet David Whyte and 22 other aspiring ...

The Arrival of Spring

This post is about appreciating the arrival of spring. I’d simply like to share an article I read this week in the New York Times, “The Farm From Afar” by Verlyn Klinkenborg: “Last week I got an e-mail from one of the two young farmers living at my small ...

Poetry During Poetry Month of April

It’s April, and that means it’s poetry month again. As I always do in April, I’d like to share a poem with you that speaks to me. Try finding a piece of writing that speaks to you — maybe it’s the words to a song, a piece of prose, a ...

The Power of Acknowledging The Efforts of Others

I’ve had the fortunate experience of working with my coaching associate Kate Dwyer over a number of years. She’s always been my backup when I needed to rely on another coach to work with me on projects for clients. This post is one that Kate wrote about the importance ...

How To Be a Better Influencer

In my coaching practice, I’ve often worked with management teams to help them discover and focus on their individual strengths and teaching them how these strengths fit into the four domains of leadership – executing, influencing, building relationships and strategic thinking. These are the four domains that leaders and ...

How We Like To Learn

Over the years, I’ve been participated in a number of different coaching training and certification processes. My experience in these classes has reminded me how important it is to understand how we prefer to learn. Research has uncovered three major types of learning styles. Auditory learners enjoy learning through ...

Dealing With Our Blindspots

This post is about recognizing our blind spots—and taking action once we see them. When I trained to become a coach, I discovered one of my major blind spots: I often interrupted people. I would jump in mid-sentence, finish their thoughts, or ask questions while they were still talking. I ...

Facing Your Fears

This piece is about facing your fears and the difference it can make in your life. Here is a short testimonial from a friend of our daughters about finding the joys of motherhood by facing her fears. “Before I had my children, I never wanted children. I also was ...

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