coaching

Leading change isn’t just about new plans or structures. It’s about what happens when leaders feel pressure to act like they have all the answers, even when uncertain. In today’s Leadership Ready Room Chats, Tom and I talk about: • Communicating clearly what’s changing, why it’s changing, and what’s not • Admitting what you don’t…

You know that feeling when small things start to feel heavier than they should? You get frustrated by things that normally wouldn’t frustrate you. Little decisions take more energy than they should. For me, that’s usually the tell. Not that the team is the problem. But that I don’t actually know the best next step…

There’s a kind of uncertainty that feels familiar to me. I spent 22 years flying helicopters in the Navy. One of the biggest shifts wasn’t learning the controls. It was learning to fly when it wasn’t clear. Instrument flying is what you trust when your body is telling you one thing and reality is telling…

There’s a pattern I keep running into. A lot of the paths we’re on weren’t really chosen. They were inherited. Encouraged. Rewarded. Modeled. And for a long time, they work. You’re productive. Capable. Even successful. Until there’s a quiet moment where something feels…off. Not wrong. Just unexamined. This clip captures how I’ve been thinking about…

I’ve been thinking about something after a conversation with my coach this week. We talked about AI, content, and efficiency. And then we talked about what actually creates connection. AI can create the image of a fire. It just can’t warm the room. That comes from something else. Passion. Meaning. Presence. It reminded me that…

One of the easiest leadership traps to fall into is this: • You see the situation. • You’ve done something similar before. • You know how you would handle it now. So you tell your teammate what to do. It feels efficient. Helpful, even. But there’s a cost most leaders don’t notice until later. When…

Before next year starts asking more of you, it’s worth noticing what this year already changed. Not in terms of titles or accomplishments. But in how you experience your role. For many leaders I work with, this is the year where: • the work felt heavier than expected • decisions took more energy than they…

A common belief I hear from leaders: “I don’t have time.” On the surface, it feels true. • Their responsibilities have grown. • Their calendars are packed. • Their teams rely on them. But here’s what I see underneath that belief: The things that would help them lead with more clarity… • reflection • growth…

Empathy isn’t about being nice. It’s knowing your teammate well enough to understand what they might be feeling in the moment, not how you’d feel in their place. That insight doesn’t replace candor. It sharpens it. It helps you deliver the feedback they need in a way they can actually use. That’s the kind of…

Alignment doesn’t come from telling people what to care about. It comes from helping them connect what they already care about to the mission. Here’s something we do with each ready room in LRR: (🎥 Check out the clip: https://lnkd.in/eiMC8CwR) Ask your team to reflect: 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘸𝘦…

Leaders talk a lot about giving feedback. But how often are you getting it? The higher you climb, the harder it becomes to receive honest input. People hesitate. They soften the truth. That’s why, as Tom Murray shared during our recent Leadership Ready Room Chats, sometimes you have to fight for feedback. He literally scheduled…

There’s a moment when achievement stops being enough. Years ago, my commanding officer asked me a simple question: “Why do you want to be a commanding officer?” I paused for a bit then said, “Because it’s the next step.” That’s when he said something that stuck with me, not word for word, but the message…