A friend’s daughter just announced her family’s sudden decision to pack up and move several states away, with no jobs, no residence, three school-age kids, one dog and two cats. My friend is agonizing over whether to try to talk her daughter out of it (“How will you live? Where will you live? What about health insurance? […]
How Feedback Can Stunt Growth, Stifle Learning and Encourage Mediocrity
Nancy Settle-Murphy
Feedback of any kind rarely helps people perform better, no matter how much you dress it up and call it something pretty. In fact, telling people what they need to do differently, however well-intended, actually can block learning and prevent growth. As a result of reading the article The Feedback Fallacy in the March-April 2019 Harvard Business Review, I […]
Daring Leaders Build Trust by Peeling Away the Armor, Choosing Courage Over Comfort
Nancy Settle-Murphy
How can I build trust, quickly, across my team? That’s the #1 question I get from my clients and students. Before I read Brené Brown’s brilliant new book, Dare to Lead, I would have hedged, insisting that there are too many variables to give just one answer. But now I realize there is one answer that seems to […]
Making the Most of Bittersweet Endings, Tough Break-ups and Brand New Starts
Nancy Settle-Murphy
My twin daughters graduated from high school three days ago, which should really be a time of great celebration. To retain my sanity, I’ve been keeping busy with necessary distractions like planning their party, gearing up for our summer vacation (possibly, one of our last together!), and (thankfully) a barrage of client work. But every […]
Filed Under: Articles, Newsletter, Newsletter: Leadership and management (general)
How Mindful Leaders Keep Calm Under Pressure, Inspire Better Team Performance
Nancy Settle-Murphy
Judging from your team’s expression of outrage when you made your latest impossible request, you realize you’ve just crossed a red line. While you feel badly, especially since you’ve given team members a barrage of pretty ridiculous demands lately, you really had no choice. Your manager has made it clear (again!) that failure is not […]
Filed Under: Articles, Newsletter, Newsletter: Leadership and management (general)
How Mindfulness Keeps You Present, and Why It Matters
Nancy Settle-Murphy
Imagine this: It’s after 5 PM, and your train is leaving in less than a half-hour. You’re in the middle of saving your final edits to the presentation for the executive team meeting first thing tomorrow, when you hear the unwelcome ping of an incoming IM from your boss: “Sorry for the last-minute change, but […]
Filed Under: Articles, Newsletter, Newsletter: Leadership and management (general)
How to Make Introverts and Extroverts Happy, and How to Drive Them Crazy
Nancy Settle-Murphy
“We suspect that our team can be a lot more effective if we can do a better job of acknowledging, appreciating and accommodating the introverts among us. We also want to acknowledge what our extroverts need to operate at their peak potential.” That’s the challenge my client recently asked me to help solve for her […]
Prove You’re Trustworthy – Here’s How, and Why It’s Critical to Make the Effort
Nancy Settle-Murphy
When I see a provocative headline, I check the veracity with at least two reputable news sources before I accept it as at least a close approximation of the truth. (And even then, many major news outlets often fail to report the really important news, which undermines their credibility, in my book.) I am not […]
Filed Under: Articles, Newsletter, Newsletter: Leadership and management (general)
Great Gift Ideas Everyone on your Team Will Appreciate Now, and Later
Nancy Settle-Murphy
For many of us, the month of December evokes the spirit of giving more than any other time of the year. Not to say we’re not generous of spirit all year round, but it’s typically during the holiday season that we are most likely to affirm appreciation for team members. Finding the right gifts for […]
Filed Under: Newsletter: Leadership and management (general)
How to Create a 12-Month Plan in Just Two Hours
Nancy Settle-Murphy
There’s something about the blank slate of a brand new year that makes it a perfect time to get your group together and lay down plans for the next 12 months. Sounds like a good idea in theory, but it can be near impossible to persuade people to hunker down in a meeting room for […]
