Greetings Kind Leaders and welcome to First Principles February! A little over a year ago, on February 1, 2022, I launched the kind leadership challenge podcast. To mark this anniversary month, we’re going back to the first p...
So let's say you followed all my advice in episode 51 last week, but still have more to do than you can manage. Don't worry, I'm not going to blame you or tell you to "hustle harder". I totally believe …
So, we’re getting into late January. For those of you like me whose work is based on the educational calendar, the spring semester is in full swing. If you’re doing well, you’re still hanging on to the word of the …
So, stop me if you’ve ever believed one of these toxic leadership myths: Good Leaders have all the answers. Good Leaders can look at any situation and immediately know what to do. Good Leaders have a clear vision at all …
One of the things I talk about a lot on the Kind Leadership challenge is the way in which leadership is a team sport. Creating collaboratively is one of the three core skills of kind leadership, because all of us …
So I left you on a bit of a cliffhanger in episode 47, when I discussed my opinions about new year’s resolutions, and how I found it much more productive to instead pick a word of the year. I try …
Pretty much every year around this time, I sit down with a notebook or Word document and make my goals for the new year. For many years this planning session would yield a long-ish laundry list of personal and professional …
I talk a lot about establishing boundaries in your own leadership practice, and how to use them to protect your team as a whole. And everyone listening to this probably agrees that boundaries are a good thing. But HOW do …
I hate to say this, but you probably delegate a lot less than you think you do. Now, I’m sure you regularly find items on your to-do list that can be done by another team member or members, and assign …
Greetings Kind Leaders! I hope you’re all hanging in there during this hectic time of the year, when many of us are juggling holidays, family commitments, work commitments, and all the craziness that early December brings. Th...
Seems like every day I’m seeing more job openings on linkedin and the other boards I follow. Between COVID hiring freezes thawing and a wave of retirements, a lot of us are bringing on new team members right now! I’ve …
As you listen to this on release week, I will be in a small 1980s suburban home in Tornado Alley, most likely fresh back from a grocery store run and probably debating with my mom about the merits of doing …
Uncertainty is a part of every leader’s life. Kind Leaders try to make effective, humane and collaborative decisions based on what we know about the world around us. However, we inevitably have a partial understanding of the ...
As a kind leader, you usually know where you want to go and have a plan on how you want to get there. However, if you take a look back at the goals you have reached thus far, how many …
In light of the positive feedback received from episode 37, where we talked about why you need to tell your team members the reason for setting a meeting with them rather than leaving them in suspense, our host Sarah Clark …
Don’t worry, this is not turning into a podcast about weight loss! However, there is a lot to learn about facing a seemingly impossible task and being successful in completing it. Whether it be losing 93 pounds, or taking on …
When going into a meeting with little to no context, it's easy to jump to the worst possible conclusion. Especially if a team member has had negative experiences with previous bosses who behaved unkindly toward them, their im...
Hustle culture is not sustainable for anyone, no matter how dedicated and passionate they feel towards their position. After slowing down during the pandemic, many people are ditching this mindset in place of a better work-li...
Public speaking is a point of contention for many people. There are times in our lives where public speaking is inevitable, and most don’t feel equipped to do it well. However, you don’t have to do it well, you just …
What does leading a strategic plan for a library and riding a bike have in common? A ton, actually! Keeping your eyes forward, focusing on the task at hand, and trusting the process. These are all points to take into …
Are you a micromanager? I know all too well what being a micromanager entails, and where it comes from: a lack of trust. Micromanaging can have detrimental effects, like burnout, loss of connection, and living in a state of u...
It’s time for another leadership challenge! Today, we’re looking at a real-world scenario where a leader feels they are clearly communicating their expectations, but team members just aren’t quite getting it. We should warn y...
Let’s just go ahead and get right down to it: your team at work is not your family, and believing otherwise will lead you down a disastrous path. It makes sense that people often compare the two because a cohesive …
Workplace drama is unnecessary and quite frankly, annoying! Do we really need to bring melodrama into the workplace? Of course, where there are humans, there will be some sort of conflict, but there are usually solutions to a...