Archive for Self-Management

I have published a book chapter called, “Emotional Intelligence for Resilience: How to Know What you Really Want and Stay Focused on it,” in the Amazon best seller book, Upping the Down Side.
My chapter focuses on having clarity of intention that results in more energy and resilience. Clarity of intention means [...]

Do you find your work meaningful? The Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin for December 2007 on pages 34-35, has an article on “How Business Schools Lost their Way.” HBS associate professor Rakesh Khurana has written a book that points out problems including, “…business schools on average are not providing some way for them [...]

Geese flying in proper V formation can fly a 70% longer distance than a single goose flying alone. This happens because a goose creates an updraft that benefits the next goose in formation. Is there a lesson here?
For the geese, resilience is based on being in formation. For us humans, we might [...]

One of the first steps in positive change is self-awareness, or mindfulness.
First of all, we need to be aware of what we really want and what gets in the way of achieving it. Very often the barriers to change are internal, or emotional. The more aware we become of our [...]

A promising young division general manager, let’s say Tom, was up for a promotion. However, his promotion was being questioned due to complaints from direct reports and peers who were subject to angry outbursts and hostile emails. There were concerns on the upper levels about his suitability for increased responsibility and visibility, given [...]

There is a big difference between having an emotion and it “having you.” You can have a feeling or you can be caught up in it. The trick is to have an awareness of the feeling. If we lack self-awareness, we are more susceptible to being caught up in a feeling. [...]

Emotional intelligence starts with intention. When you start a difficult conversation with someone else, what is your intention? You will be emotionally intelligent when you pause to answer that question before you proceed with the conversation.
For example, let’s say Bob has not followed up on his promise to do a task [...]

One of the biggest blocks to emotional intelligence and effective communication is emotional reactivity. You know how it is, you have all the best of intentions to have a productive communication with somebody and they say the “wrong thing” – the thing that pushes your “hot button”. Often it can be a criticism, [...]

When I was an MBA student at the Harvard Business School, professors rewarded strategic thinking. I excelled in strategic thinking and was therefore able to do well even though I was poor in math. In each case we needed to clarify what really mattered to an executive and the company. I could [...]

Marshall Goldsmith, renowned executive coach, has a new book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful [Hyperion, 2007]. Marshall synthesizes the 21 “bad habits” that hold leaders back from achieving even further success, including making destructive comments, speaking when angry, negativity, failing to give proper recognition, [...]