Mike’s Blog

While listening to the book, "Nine lies about work," I had a facepalm moment! Nothing great happened because someone failed. Great things happen when people operate from their comfort zone and bring their best selves. I knew this, but I've been talking about it all...

The other week I rekindled an old story about what it means to be self-employed. Stories such as this one keep me both stuck and doing things without value. Hanging on to stories, such as this one, can be exhausting. You spent your life-time forming your stories, and...

A couple of days ago my post "How do you define leadership," asked readers to think of a great leader. Since writing that post, I've been thinking of what great leadership might look like. The problem is, you cannot observe leadership directly. You can observe...

Have you ever wanted something and yet you keep holding yourself back? Perhaps you want to run a marathon, or go after a new job opportunity. If you don't have what you want, you might be stuck. When you're stuck you are making a choice that is working against you....

Have you ever wanted something and yet you keep holding yourself back? Perhaps you want to run a marathon or go after a new job opportunity. If you don't have what you want, you might be stuck. When you're stuck you are making a choice that is working against what you...

Think of a great leader you want to be like. Perhaps a leader you would like to have as a mentor. How would you describe their leadership? How would you know they are a great leader? The only way I know to become a great leader is to keep moving forward. You won't...

Yesterday, I wrote about helping others build their awareness. I make it seem easy as all you have to do is ask some powerful questions. I only wish it always worked so smoothly. So, what do I do when someone is stuck? Don't give up on them as there is always...

Others have accused me of avoiding or being theoretical when asked context-specific questions. The problem is that when I answer, it comes from my context and not yours. You will be far better off and more powerful if I help you become more self-aware. When confronted...

Recently, while teaching The Responsibility Process(R), I was asked if it's OK to stay in a mindset like Lay Blame, Justify or Quit. For example, what if you are feeling overworked, and the company has implemented a hiring freeze. You might feel powerless to change...

Did you ever wear a mask for Halloween? The type of mask that covers your face and with tiny holes to see through? If you run around with a mask on, you might hurt yourself by running into something. So people tend to move slower wearing a mask. I can tell you from...

Have you noticed how, when you put a group of people together, they immediately become a team? Of course not, that's not how team building works, despite some people trying. The making of a team is a long process. After bringing a group together, you need to align...

I see leaders putting significant efforts into changing things for their teams. Then, as soon as things don't go to plan, everyone slides back to old patterns and habits. Often, things backslide as you have dealt with a problem, and not what allowed the problem to...