Be scared and do it anyway. Be under-qualified, and get in the room anyway. Be messy, imperfect, and unsure and show up anyway. Comfort is the enemy of growth. Get uncomfortable. Growth requires learning. Learning requires us to attempt things we’ve not tried before. Along the way, there will be missteps, mistakes, and failures. […]

Today, I ask Lisa to pull the curtain back and share a part of her journey as a new Managing Director, being part of the City Manager’s Office, that involves earning the trust of your boss(es). For her, it’s a new role, but it still speaks to our need (and opportunity) to show our

This version was first published in Punch, April 10, 1875, and ran as follows. There was an owl liv’d in an oak The more he heard, the less he spoke The less he spoke, the more he heard. O, if men were all like that wise bird. We saw this posted on social media some

You don’t always have to tell your side of the story because time will. Leaders can be honest without being completely open with all the details. Sometimes we must deliver a deeper service by protecting others. It’s part of the loneliness of leadership – the knowledge we have that would serve no useful purpose

Cowardice takes a toll on effective leadership. It robs us of opportunities to perform better, to serve well and to make a positive difference. It’s hard, but necessary at times if we’re going to do the “right” thing. Join us today as we discuss courage, cowardice, competence and credibility. See if you can apply

Two recent physical ailments provoked me to think about how I might improve a third problem. Honestly, had it not been for the first two I may have avoided getting too serious about figuring out the other one. Join me and Lisa today as we talk about self-awareness and self-improvement in our leadership and

Shiny object syndrome. Dogs (or cats) chasing laser pointers. Running around like squirrels. Chasing our tails. We use all kinds of language to describe being distracted. It’s increasingly easy to be distracted. Electronically. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally. What if we could discipline ourselves to limit the distractions? What if we were in better tune with

Being present is becoming more challenging. Our meeting culture of jumping from one meeting to another contributes to the challenge. So does the Internet, social media and the iPhone. All of our lives are filled with distractions that beckon for our attention. Simon Sinek and many others have talked about how phones are negatively