A week ago, I spoke to 1,500 people from the TEDx Berkeley stage at Zellerbach Hall on the UC Berkeley campus. I was blind. I realized this would be the case during my dress rehearsal: the hall was dark and the stage lights were like a row of parked cars all pointing their brights at … Continued
This marks the final column, and to me, the most interesting data from our mini-research inquiry on managerial coaching. While the first two were about how frequently people would like to be coached, today’s data is about the what – On what do we like to be coached? Before we jump to the findings, however, a … Continued
Last week I shared the research on the huge gap that lies between the frequency of ideal and typical coaching. What your feedback on my survey showed was that most of us would like informal feedback once a week or at least every other week, while the highest percentage of people said that their “worst manager” and … Continued
Thanks to almost 200 of you who responded to last week’s survey, we have some pretty interesting data to look at over the next couple weeks. Today’s data — as my title suggests — gives us all a whack in terms of the contrast in the data. Here is a pretty self-explanatory table: So the … Continued
Shouldn’t every college graduate take a course in managing and coaching people? I know my wife and I with our fancy-shmancy bachelors AND graduate degrees never received formal training. Instead, we learned like so many people, on the job. Most of that was by osmosis from mostly average experiences. No slight is intended, as few … Continued
Last week I was teaching the principles and practice of “coaching” at an “executive boot camp” and these women and men were good. I asked for volunteers to give me feedback and the two who took turns were s-m-o-o-o-t-h. They complimented me first and made me comfortable before delivering the coaching that I requested. One … Continued
Last week I suggested that the best way to renew a strained partnership is to work on yourself. I suggested I must lead with my best self to begin with the assumption that I have done something to contribute to stress or a breakdown. It takes my best, because the lawyer in me habitually turns all … Continued
Friends, Last week I invited you to commit to making this the best year of your life. Part of making 2012 my best year on the planet is reaching the specific Big Hairy Audacious Goal of landing a TV show to engage everyday leaders around leading with their best self. And to accomplish this, I … Continued
Friends, I can’t quite figure out what to think of the fact that Kate, our oldest daughter, was the one of our three kids who seemed to need the most coaching; and now at 22, she’s expert and forthright. I look up to her for thoughtful advice. Yesterday, she was really on her game. She … Continued
Friends, I was with a friend of mine this week who is a lifelong educator. He was working with his fourth grader on her homework, and his daughter was getting frustrated and nervous that she couldn’t figure out a couple of problems. His advice to his daughter took me off guard. “It’s okay to leave … Continued