Fearless Leader

FEARLESS LEADER, How do you build and maintain trust with your clients? “Trust is a choice.” — AMY DICKINSON, advice columnist   I attended a gathering of mediators last month to enjoy a purposeful social hour. The topic up for discussion was Trust. To me, the conversation raised points that apply directly to how Fearless…

FEARLESS LEADER, Do you feel exhausted, overwhelmed or depleted right now? There’s nothing wrong with you.   “Our efforts at connection are insufficient against the responses of our nervous system.”  — Christine Runyan, Clinical Psychologist   My clients land in a Zoom session with me in a state of distraction: they’re rushing in from the…

FEARLESS LEADER EXTRA: Today I’m sharing the reassuring guidance of Dr. Aisha Ahmad of the University of Toronto about the wall we can expect to hit, like clockwork, at about the six-month mark of a sustained crisis.  If you’ve hit the wall, and you’re wondering ‘What’s wrong with me?’ or ‘How do I get through…

FEARLESS LEADER, Do right by your clients. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” —ALBERT EINSTEIN   In the 90s, whenever the phone would ring at our architecture firm, someone would sing out with excitement: “Customers!” Remember, this was in the days before we carried our phones around with us…

FEARLESS LEADER, This is the hardest thing you’ll have to do.   “When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.” — HARUKI MURAKAMI   In 2008, right at the tail end of the recession, after it seemed that all the layoffs…

FEARLESS LEADER, What is your instinct when you face anger or other high emotions within yourselfor from a colleague or client? “Certainly I’m angry…But I don’t think it’s a helpless emotion.”— SHERMAN ALEXIE, author   About anger (and other high emotions) I’ll never forget the first real mediation session I observed during my training. As…

FEARLESS LEADER, Time for a quick Gut Check. “Pay attention… and make what you think you know be strange to you.” — KIRK VARNEDOE, curator COVID Crisis Working Remotely Initiating Re-Entry Facing Economic Uncertainty Confronting Systemic Injustice   Fearless Leaders know that each of these will continue to challenge your business, your processes, your relationships, and…

FEARLESS LEADER, How can you tell when someone is really listening? How do you show that you are listening?   “It’s enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment.”  — GABRIEL GARCÍA MARQUEZ   One step we often skip over in the midst of a difficult conversation, is acknowledgment. This serves…

FEARLESS LEADER, What if your responsibility as a leader is first to listen? To learn?   “Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.” — JAMES BALDWIN   Rather than moving on to another key this week, let’s stick with this one: Listening. Last week, Fearless Leaders…