The Look & Sound of Leadership

A highly effective leader finds herself in the middle of a terrible mess, not of her own making. When her coach marvels at her ability to stay calm amidst the chaos, she shares a lesson she learned from her dad. Tools and concepts in this episode: “People are doing their best” embodies acceptance, and acceptance creates better outcomes. Quiet cycles of doubt by: Clarify what exactly are you upset about;Identify what you feel about having those feelings;Decide what action you want to take....

A chief officer reflects on the burdens of senior leadership. While grateful for its privileges, he’s keenly aware his title can put up barriers between himself and others. Typical burdens of leadership: People put up barriers because of your power;You are a public figure and will get judged, often harshly;You are always on display;Feeling entitled because of your heavy lifting. Tom suggests three tips to help you manage your power: Get conscious about your power;Share selectively;Be...

With her company on the brink of disaster, a leader hungrily tackles the art of delegation, learning three models on the way. The episode frames delegation as being primarily about getting your people ready. To get people ready, screen each delegated task against three filters: Skills & Will – do people need training or coaching?Control – who has it and how much?Measurement – what is each person’s responsibility? Our latest Tool has all three filters. Download it for free here.&n...

A chief officer finds himself repeatedly triggered by a peer. Afraid he’s going to say or do something he’ll regret, he asks his coach for tools. Three categories of self-regulation tools: PhysicalInternalExternal A visual tool with specific tools in each category is in our Tool bin. Ready for coaching? Reach out to Tom here. There are always more resources in our monthly email. Hear Tom’s most recent conversation on the Beyond Potential podcast here. Related Libra...

A brilliant but rather shy leader is challenged by her management to be bigger, more executive, speak up more. She is grateful to work with a coach. You can build muscle around getting your voice heard by creating homework for yourself. Think of it like going to the gym: working out regularly helps you build muscle. When creating homework, ask yourself three questions: What am I going to pay attention to?What specific behavior am I going to start or stop?How will I measure succe...