There are countless reasons to worry. The Economy. Tariffs. Oil Price. The Weather. Layoffs. Inflation. Sickness. Upset Clients. Car Repairs... I could go on, but I won't. Each of the items above has come up in my conversations this week. And some of them were from me! I get it, we see the negative all the time. We can't escape it but we can choose how we respond to it. As a leader, you have to choose to lean into the positive. Let me encourage you to acknowledge the negative and then turn...
14 days ago • 1 min read
A Framework and Example of Great Leadership It is rare to get an inside, intimate view of great leadership in action. Last night, however, I witnessed a leader offer a near-perfect example of concrete leadership skills. I was sitting in a small audience of parents and siblings at my son's karate belt test. We watched as Master Lewis showed high levels of empathy, challenge, and support to his students. It is not natural for most leaders to be both challenging and supportive. Usually, we are...
27 days ago • 2 min read
Too Confident? My goal at 405 Leadership Advisors is to help you gain the clarity and confidence you need to succeed. The right amount of confidence is key. Avoiding arrogance can be hard for some people, but those aren't the ones looking for more confidence. Short of arrogance, you can still have too much confidence compared to what you should. You can also have too little, and that brings different problems. How can be better at finding the right level of confidence? Let me set the stage...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
You Don’t Have to Be at 100% Every Day It’s okay to have a bad day. In fact, I expect it. I'd be worried if I always saw you at 100%, because that probably means you're not being honest—with others or yourself. No one bats 1.000 at life. Even Hall of Fame baseball players only succeed about a third of the time at batting. So, it’s perfectly okay to strike out every once in a while. And if you're truly always at 100%, it might mean you're not pushing yourself enough. Playing it safe rarely...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
This may be tough to hear, but avoiding hard conversations is not the path to being a better leader. Difficult conversations are a part of life regardless of whether you are a leader. For leaders, talking about tough things is part of the role. Recently, my friend shared with me about a situation that wasn't getting better and causing too much stress in her life. She isn't a client of mine but my coaching mindset is hard to turn off. She wanted more than just a listening ear. And I wanted to...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Today is a day you don’t want to be associated with: Quitter’s Day. Most people don’t keep their resolutions two weeks into the new year. Some articles will tell you 88% of people quit their resolutions, hence Quitter’s Day. I couldn’t find any published studies showing that but several professors and articles claim the same number. Anecdotally, at least for people I know, it’s true. It’s hard to keep going on something new. Don’t give up! Just take one more step, one more day, one more hour....
2 months ago • 1 min read
Sitting in the dark living room with just the light of the Christmas Tree in the early morning is one of my favorite things to do. The soft glow and peaceful stillness bring my focus to the reason we celebrate Christmas. I hope you can find a similar time of peace during this last week of the year. I have a short list of priorities for the next few days: Celebrate Christ Love on family Rest & Reflect Prioritize my focus and goals for 2025 I am excited about what is to come in 2025. Although...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Before I get into this week's content: I currently have 2 coaching spots open. I'd love to get those filled going into the new year. These one-on-one sessions are the most effective way to find clarity and confidence in your leadership. Let me know if you have someone in mind that could benefit from it. It's Time For A Reset You know the first thing the IT Help Desk asks you to do when your computer is acting up? Yeah, turn the thing off and back on again. It is surprising how many times that...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Improv, Strategy, and the Value of a Compass Junior High is rough for most kids but also a time of huge growth and learning. Some things we learn and carry with us into adulthood even if we don't realize it. The ability to improvise is one of those things for me. I spent a couple of years on our school's Improv Team and learned how to interact on stage with others even if we didn't know what would come next. Think "Whose Line Is It Anyways" but with awkward teenagers who barely know what they...
5 months ago • 2 min read