Executive Coaching, Leadership Training, and Personal Development
This week I’m dealing with my father transitioning to an assisted living facility after 10+ years of enduring the aftermath of lymphoma, heart disease, and stroke. We humorously refer to him as the “triple threat.”
Like Frankin Delano Roosevelt (FDR), my father is now mostly confined to a wheelchair. His metaphorical physical wings got clipped some time ago. But not his spiritual wings. Those continue to help him soar.
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In his excellent course The Science of Mindfulness, Professor Ron Siegel from the Harvard Medical School lays out the modern scientific evidence for the benefits of meditation practice–one of the pathways toward mindfulness.
It is becoming clearer through cutting edge research that mindfulness (or the awareness of present experience) which has been practiced for over 2,500 years is a reliable pathway to increased wisdom, compassion, and courage–qualities possessed by great leaders and organizations.
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Toward the end of his book, Unbeatable Mind, Mark Divine introduces the expression “embracing the suck” in reference to accepting what is even in the face of great adversity.
The saying comes from the military, and in my own life I can recall multiple occasions where embracing the suck was absolutely necessary, including: [Read more…]
Values represent who you are, what is most important to you, and how you want to express yourself in the world.
Three positive things happen when you honour your values:
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In 1964 The Rolling Stones declared that: “Time Is On My Side” on a b-side single. Despite this short bit of wisdom that resonated through the pop culture a little over 40 years ago, many of us fail to heed that message. We tend to get caught up in the limiting belief that there is not enough time for everything in life.
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Daniel Pink explains how positive self-talk is better than negative self-talk. Doing a fist pump and telling yourself “I am going to rock this donor call” is going to create more success than telling yourself “there is no way I can ask the donor to give that much.”
I am sure this is not too big a surprise.
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I’m fond of Napolean Hill’s expression: “Whatsoever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” It comes back to me time and time again, especially when it seems as if progress is difficult.
I’ll admit that up until recently embracing this axiom was difficult. Then I recently read an excellent book by Claude Bristol entitled The Magic of Believing. It helped me recall several episodes during my life where I held an intention to be, do, have, or accomplish something without being attached to any particular way it manifested.
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You’re restless, and so am I.
In 2013, Penelope Burk surveyed more than 1,100 fundraisers and found the average time someone stayed in a fundraising position was 16 months. 16 months! And we know that it typically takes at least 10-12 months to integrate and acclimate an individual to become productive in an organization. Wow!
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Sidney Mathias Baxter Coulling III, the retired S. Blount Mason Jr. Professor of English at Washington and Lee University died in February at the age of 92. I had the distinct privilege of being taught Old English Literature and Poetry by Professor Coulling in 1981 as a freshman at W&L. It was the toughest “C” I ever earned (one of only two as an undergraduate). How I made my way into a sophomore level course (also taken by many juniors) is a testament to my naiveté–an error that only a greenhorn freshman can make.
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I recently completed Ron Schiller’s excellent book, The Chief Development Officer: Beyond Fundraising. It’s well worth reading, and I can recommend Ron’s work to you without reservation, especially if you are considering the Chief Development Officer Role (CDO) now, or in the future.
While Ron focuses primarily on the CDO, my work as a leadership coach tends to focus on mid-career fundraising leaders at the various Director and AVP levels. You are our future CDOs!
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