Blog
Avoiding Breakdowns
“The world breaks everyone and afterward many are strong at the broken places.” -Ernest Hemingway in A Farewell to Arms In leadership circles, too often the focus is on success principles for effective leading. That is all well and good, but often it can be more helpful to tackle things from the other perspective: what causes leadership to break down (and what can we do to avoid breakdowns)? First, there is a connection between personal breakdowns among leaders and the breakdowns of their organizations. Here we reflect on both. Personal Breakdowns “Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop.”
The Perils of ‘Climbing Mode’ in Our Career
In our culture today, it is easy to assume that the proper frame for going about our working life is to pursue “climbing mode” as early and aggressively as possible. When I say “climbing mode,” I mean striving to move up the ladder of success, focusing on achievement and advancement. For many, this notion is so ensconced in our culture that it is invisible, unconscious, and wholly taken for granted. But is it right? Is it helpful or harmful when it comes to living a good life and crafting good work? The assumption of course is that it is right and helpful.
Ten Keys to Self-Leadership
We face a barrage of challenges these days: rapid change, a barrage of demands on our attention, tension between work and home, and more. There’s one meta-skill that shapes how we respond to all these challenges: self-leadership. Without it, we cannot sustain ourselves for long. Leading self may be obvious, but it’s far from easy. We neglect it at our peril. The task of leading self is the task of a lifetime. Here are ten keys to self-leadership: 1. Healthy Habits. When we are leading self well, we develop an energizing rhythm of self-care. It includes the “fundamentals” that
