Leading with Head and Heart

That is what it means to be an integrated leader – one who embodies being connected to themselves and others, and who can also rigorously think through complex problems. Easier said than done!

What does this REALLY require?

Today I’m sharing Amy’s* story: A leader who was already very successful and had just been promoted and given a much broader role in the organization. She was a dynamic doer and adept at mentoring and educating her people. They looked to her for answers. Her challenge was being an even more strategic leader who needed to learn about...

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness…” An often-quoted passage from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, that can describe the world today.

Which city do you want to live in? It’s about conscious leadership and deciding who you are and how you want to find meaning and contribute regardless of the circumstances you find yourself in.

Here are the 2 Cs: Clarity and Commitment; here are the 2 As: Agreement and Alignment.

I work with senior leadership teams and find that, in order for them to be performing at their best, they need to effectively address these four areas.

Last week, I told a story about an interaction with my stepson where I asked him to cut a watermelon. I showed him how to do it but I neglected to share an important detail in the story.

The other day, I asked my stepson to cut a watermelon to help with preparing dinner. It was a large watermelon and he was overwhelmed by the task – not sure he could safely do it without cutting himself, and he didn’t know how to “properly” cut a watermelon.

Today, we are focused on focusing and prioritizing. I use the present tense because, in this day of upheaval, uncertainty, constant change and where many people undiagnosed have ADD…attention deficit…difficulty focusing. We all need help, at times, to stay focused, and refocus, as things change and new information emerges. 

At the end of all my coaching engagements (which typically last 6-18 months), a question I often ask is, “What did you learn about yourself in this process?” Today, I share a real-time reflection from one of my clients...

What is the balance point of striving and push yourself and your team to achieve your goals and accepting what is, that maybe it’s not meant to be – you are not meant to achieve that goal?

How you balance cultivating a culture of care while holding your people accountable for their performance?

Last week, we established that having energy and vitality are what enable you to do life well and perform well, sustainably, at work. Today, we are going to discuss the impact that nourishing Relationships have on your vitality.

Having energy and vitality are what enable you to have a sense of well-being and do life well and perform well, sustainably, at work. What gives you a sense of energy and vitality in your life and/or work?

We are starting to offer Sage Sense Tidbits. A tidbit is a small morsel…of inspiration, insights, or lessons learned/tips to reflect on and digest over your week.

What you do offstage (on your own time at home, or in your office, when no one sees you) to take care of yourself – really matters for what happens onstage…

This month, I had an in-depth one-on-one conversation with over 15 leaders about their own self-care practices. One of the biggest things I learned is…

As a leader it’s easy to show up and lead when things are going well. As Jack, one of my former IBM colleagues, always said, “That is not leading. That is going with the flow downriver. True leadership shows up during tough times, when you have to stake a claim and maybe make an unpopular decision, or when you have to set a direction when the future is uncertain.”

Getting at the root cause of an illness or injury is critical to ensure healing leading to optimal health and wellbeing. Today, there are loads of research studies and corporate wellness guides that validate what many people have intuitively known to be true: health and wellbeing contribute to productivity and performance.

True wellbeing is not just about getting a massage or going to the gym three days a week. Overall wellbeing is an outcome of being healthy mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, financially and spiritually.

I’m not in the habit of endorsing products or services on this blog, but I do want to highlight a unique organization, it’s leaders and the quality product they are able to produce BECAUSE of their relationships and ties to the communities in which they operate, and with each other. Relationships and authentic community matters.

The pandemic amplified the conversation around mental health and the need to honor the worker and foster more compassionate work cultures. The current wars and strife in the world require this now, more than ever. The world is in turmoil, and yet our lives and work must carry on – but how? What role can you, as a leader play? How, and why, do you nurture cultures of care?

We are all multi-dimensional creatures, and some of us need more diversity of activity to stay engaged, contributing at our best. I am eternally interested in what drives successful people and how they leverage their multiple talents in pursuit of making meaningful contributions in their work and lives. At times this means balancing one’s vocation with one’s avocation.

What helps you make courageous decisions? First, what does it mean to be courageous? The word courage comes from the Latin “cor” which means heart. In a sense to be courageous means to go with a full heart. To make a decision with all your heart. It doesn’t mean you aren’t afraid or there isn’t danger, but you do it anyway.

So, in the face of fear and expectations of others, what enables you to make a decision that overrides all that? What pulls you toward that decision versus pushes you away from your current state?