It was a tense, even stifling, environment. People were afraid to fail, so they avoided risks. They were reluctant to speak up in meetings or challenge ideas. The reason? The leader. He was never out of control, always in charge, always one step ahead of everyone else. Never vulnerable. Always composed. For all his self-assurance,
In his powerful book A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, Edwin Friedman talks about an anxious world’s desperate need for a non-anxious leader. He describes this type of leader as follows: I mean someone who has clarity about his or her own life goals, and, therefore, someone who is
What can babies teach us about being calm, inspired and creative? In a recent study exploring the origins of human learning, researchers recorded the brain activity of 45 11-month old babies when they were in a position to learn something new. The babies watched two people play with a rubber duck. One person pointed at
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin affirmed the reality of human limits when he wrote those words. And I affirmed this reality when I recently reviewed a six-week time analysis of my schedule. I had been letting people down. The time analysis revealed why. I
In the corporate world, I was someone who was driven. And I was rewarded for that drive. But the more I achieved, the more demands were placed on me and the more stress I experienced. While I had a clear identity—I was a business executive—I felt myself slipping away. You see, my pure self is
My biggest anxiety entering this past weekend was coach-pitch little league baseball. I am the head coach for my son’s team because no other parent volunteered. It’s not that I was reluctant to help out. I’m not terrible on the mound. I just know that pitching baseballs to nine year olds with dozens of parents
What are you obligated to do? Comply with policies or regulations? Complete a report for your job? Perform mandatory tasks? Take care of people who depend on you? How does it feel to be obligated when those activities seem boring, unnecessary or overwhelming? For me, it feels stressful, irritating and draining. For instance, I remember
This week, an email appeared in my inbox from one of my teammates at work. It was an unsolicited message sent to the entire company explaining the positive impact that another person on our team had on one of our clients. It was one of many emails I received that day. I read it quickly,
Calling all people-pleasers, approval seekers, validation junkies, emotional chameleons, insecure overachievers, and anyone who wonders how—or whether—they measure up! To some degree, you most likely see yourself through the eyes of others. The way others feel or the way others treat you impacts how you feel inside. Are these co-dependent feelings, ironically, reducing the strength
It was such a surprising thing to hear. The husband of a well-known musician told me that his famous wife frequently feels inadequate. How could she, with so much talent, success and popularity, ever question herself? Maybe it shouldn’t surprise me, given that musicians constantly put themselves out there. Yes, they get affirmation, but they
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE