March 9, 2023
REAL Answers To REAL Questions From Leaders
Leadership development for new leaders means giving a safe space not just to learn but ask the "dumb" questions. And get real answers!
February 24, 2023
We’ve Got A 5-Alarm Fire To Put Out
Leaders are cutting in reaction to economic uncertainty. But instead they should be responding with an engaging employee experience.
February 2, 2023
Deer in Headlights Don’t Win Prizes
Employee anxiety is high. Leadership must be communicating with kindness, clarity and consistency to repair the Employee Experience.
January 20, 2023
Great EX-Pectations
Employee experience is key. Focus on small actions and celebrating wins. Read on for a few more ideas to consider as you evaluate your EX.
January 5, 2023
Here’s To Keeping 2023…SIMPLE!
How will you tackle 2023? I’m going for SIMPLE. That desire for simplicity lies in SIMPLE group coaching. Leadership development is about action and accountability that is achieved through group coaching.
December 20, 2022
2022: Highlights, Gratitude, and Next Steps
Well, 2022’s just about down the hatch. It’s been an adventure and I’m ready for a big old rest before diving into the new year.
December 16, 2022
Your 4 Talent Plays for 2023
Your 4 Talent Plays for 2023 Talent has really given us a run for our money this year. They’ve resigned greatly, they’ve quit quietly. They’ve been in short supply, and also we’ve laid them off.…
November 17, 2022
Why It May Be Time to Stop Listening
Silence has something to teach us If you’ve been listening to the world around you, then you know there’s been a collective rallying cry for more listening. Professionally and politically, calls for active listening, for demonstrating…
November 1, 2022
How to Fuel Future Plans with Hindsight Intelligence
We’re all sitting on piles of golden rocket fuel… I ran a team offsite last week. In person. With people and pants and posters. It was so great. As we look ahead, let’s also look…
October 18, 2022
Answers to Your Never-Dumb Questions
Remember when our teachers used to encourage us to ask the “dumb” questions because if we were wondering, chances are others were too? They were so right! And I’ve carried this with me as a…
October 4, 2022
The New Face of New Leader Development
I’ve always loved magic. Quarters and cards, rabbits and hats charmed me endlessly. So when I got a “How to do Magic” book on my 7th birthday, I dove all in!
September 20, 2022
We Put the EX in EXplicit!
You came for the family-unfriendly. But you’ll stay (I hope) for the insight and action. The latter I’ve got. The former…well, this just isn’t that kinda newsletter.
September 12, 2022
What “Quiet Quitting” is Trying to Teach Us
Quiet Quitting. Kinda the loudest thing on the socials right now. Amiright? Feels like it’s everywhere, sparking countless debates!
August 24, 2022
How Leading Through Change…Has Changed
Remember when change was a choice? Made with intention in pursuit of a known outcome? Remember when change was a contained thing, with a beginning and an end?
August 9, 2022
This Summer’s Hottest Employee Experience Insights!
Not sure what you’ve been up to, but my summer’s been pulsing with Pulse Checks!
July 27, 2022
Craft an Employee Experience in “Recessiony” Times
An economist I am not. So, I’m unapologetic about my using the word “recessiony.”
July 18, 2022
6 Keys to Impactful New Leader Development
In this action-packed talent market, we’re seeing lots of first-time leaders step up to the plate. And this transition sure can be scary!
June 22, 2022
Is Organizational Sludge Driving Your Talent Away?
These days it feels like bad bosses and toxic culture get all the airtime when it comes to reasons why people leave jobs.
June 13, 2022
The 4 Horsemen of the Decision-Making Apocalypse
Decision-making is coming up in Pulse Checks a lot these days. But the conversations aren’t about power or entitlement.
June 13, 2022
Your Real Communication Problem (and How to Solve It!)
Let’s talk about Communication — the capital “C” brand of communicating; the brand that’s a discipline, an art.
May 3, 2022
5 Employee Calls To Action You Need To Hear!
There’s no doubt that talent is holding the leverage in today’s market. And companies are rightly scrambling to hold onto top performers.
April 22, 2022
5 Ways to Recharge + Lift Your Leadership Development
We’ve infused a lot of leadership development into this past year. Organizations are recognizing the need to invest in their leaders – to grow their capabilities, to leave them feeling invested in.
March 18, 2022
Focus on Employee Experience…or Business Results?
You know the answer. It's YES! Because of course. It's a trick question.
March 2, 2022
Time for Real, Messy Dialogue and Debate at Work
To all my clients who continue to ask, “how can we spark debate when we are a conflict-averse culture?” please hear me: You’re asking a flawed question.
February 18, 2022
How (and Why) to Run a Wayfinding Session
In the earliest days of the pandemic we all went into GO-mode. We scrambled and raced and efforted…we carried worlds on our shoulders to keep it all on the rails.
February 18, 2022
5 Tips for Kickstarting the Employee Experience
Employee Experience (EX) is kind of everything right now. It’s that magical force that retains, sustains, and unleashes the power of our talent. And whose top priority isn’t talent right now?
February 18, 2022
How to Define the Future of Work
Between ages 5 and 14, I was asked 1,278 times what I wanted to be when I grew up.
December 1, 2021
The 4 Most Valuable Lessons of 2021
When my girls were little, they never stopped talking. In the moment it felt like auditory assault. In hindsight, though, I wish I’d listened more. Now, in teen and tween years, I must pull teeth…
November 10, 2021
Three Levers to Amp the ROI on your L+D
In the earliest months of pandemic life, as panic pervaded, and our collective focus was on keeping the train on the tracks, learning and development (L+D) went into hibernation mode.
October 31, 2021
The 3 Drivers of Innovation in 2022
New ideas, reinvention, and creative energy are the lifeblood of success today. Yet so many companies in my orbit play in highly regulated and/or risk-averse spaces.
October 12, 2021
Our Top 7 Discoveries of 2021
At Lead Above Noise, we design experiences. And those experiences are built upon a foundation of Discovery.
September 29, 2021
Four Keys to a Meaningful Q4 2021
And while Q4 is the same size and shape as the others, it always seems to fight above its weight class. Q4 holds the most pressure but also the most promise. It's about closure…but also…
August 30, 2021
Is Your Team Ready to Shift Into High-Gear?
A change of season commands a change in energy. And specifically, the transition from summer to fall may be the most demanding.
August 11, 2021
The Burnout Antidote: It’s Not What You Think
We’re starting to burn out on burnout. Burnout is still commanding headlines – rightfully so. Because we’ve not solved it.
July 30, 2021
Solution-Seeking May Be Your Problem. Let’s Fix It.
When a system is down, IT must fix it. When compensation is inequitable, HR must fix it. When a product fails a customer, Product Management must fix it.
July 9, 2021
Buy a Hole. Not a Drillbit.
I've paraphrased thereby reducing classiness - but hopefully not impact.
June 23, 2021
5 and 1/2 Ways to Stop the Great Resignation
For efficiency's sake, I'll assume you're aware we've been living and working through pandemic times. That burnout's been insanely high and survival has trumped thriving and we're all just so damn tired.
June 22, 2021
Are You Nourishing Your Culture?
Culture only thrives when we fuel it. Culture is a living, breathing thing. And like all living things, it requires nourishment to thrive.
June 1, 2021
Why Leadership Development is Failing
And how to pivot. The imperative for leadership - real leadership - has never been louder or clearer in the span of our working lifetime.
May 12, 2021
Big Problems, Simple Solutions. What If We…
Just because the problem's complex, doesn't mean the solution need be. I challenge clients weekly with this little nugget.
May 7, 2021
Let’s Talk Virtual Employee Experience
I'll assume we all understand EX is critical to human performance and team success. But how's yours coming along...virtually?
April 23, 2021
I Don’t Do Reorgs. I Do This Instead.
Pop quiz. I say "reorg" and your instinct is to… A or B…
April 15, 2021
A Moment of Renewal
Take what you can afford. Even just a breath. There are traditional moments of renewal. Clean slates. Fresh starts.
March 17, 2021
Are You Retrofitting or Reinventing?
Whatever your role or industry, things at work have changed. Six-months into #PandemicLife, some of us are operating 100% virtually while others on the frontlines are live and in person.
February 23, 2021
Manage the Tension Between Fast and Right
When the two feel at odds...how do you map your course? The world - including the world of work - is changed. Maybe forever. And we're all in a collective season of reinventing how we…
January 8, 2021
Ready for a Reset?
Let us help you find renewal with your team. With a free tool.
December 18, 2020
Do These 5 Things in 2021
2020. We've almost done it! And it's been... ! The year may not have been pretty. But it caught us off-guard. Which, in turn, offers us the gift of foresight for 2021.
November 19, 2020
It’s Time to Lean On Some Certainty
Some days I feel like I'm floating between two islands. On the first is all that was but is no longer. On the second is all that will be that I can't yet see.
October 23, 2020
How to Forge a Path Forward
How the tools and framework for #EmployeeExperience can show you the way. You know how this moment feels weird and fraught and dystopian...but also the littlest bit settled?
September 19, 2020
How to Lead Change in a Crisis
Traditional change leadership begins with articulating a vision. And articulating a vision presumes the change was designed with intent: that leadership has opted to shift its strategy or alter its structure or implement a new…
September 16, 2020
Building the Talent EX of Tomorrow: t.EX.t
Ready or not, the world has changed. And over time it will reset...but never quite return to what was. Rules have changed. Competition for talent will be global. Fancy office spaces not-so-relevant. New ways of…
August 27, 2020
Inclusion. Connection. Voice.
The needs of humanity and the needs of business have finally, truly collided. The state of the world has unleashed a pervasive experience of isolation, anxiety, uncertainty, devastation, and a ravenous appetite for purpose and…
August 19, 2020
Let the “Adjacent Possible” Define What’s Next
Remember when the OG iPhone could've knocked us over with a feather? It's ubiquitous today, but collectively we spent a hot minute in silent awe.
June 24, 2020
Listening Posts: The Tool You Need Now
As this moment of chaos and uncertainty continues to prevail, the true experts in the business - the ones we should all be heeding and following - are no one.
June 23, 2020
The Moment for a Pulse Check is Now
Hi. How are you? And how would you answer that if you and I were hanging out by a water cooler (remember water coolers?)?
June 18, 2020
Make Connecting Your Top Priority
Getting things done matters now. But making sure we're all OK matters more. Let's talk about that.
June 6, 2020
Oops…I Made It Better!
Confession: I sobbed uncontrollably while watching Saturday Night Live's virtual premier. Something about Tom Hanks hosting in front of his oven just broke me.
June 4, 2020
Future of Work Have you Spinning? Time to Simplify…
It’s easy to get lost in the spin of all we can’t predict; the totality of questions we can’t answer. But what if we focused instead on a single question we can answer?
May 29, 2020
Is It Time to Redefine “Work”?
Is work, for you, defined by effort? Exertion? Impact? Is it about time spent? Results achieved? Does it depend on what you’re doing? Where you’re doing it? With whom? Is it grounded in the experience…
May 23, 2020
How We’re Moving Toward the Future of Work
When it comes to the Future of Work (FOW), I'm grateful for the trendwatchers and makers out there. I consume and celebrate their wisdom.
April 16, 2020
What’s Your Noise?
When I named my company, Lead Above Noise, six years ago, I was shooting for pithy and on-brand in three words or fewer. Those were my three. And I stand by them now more than…
April 8, 2020
Anxiety. Resilience. Some Resources to Support You.
So much in this moment is hard. Scary. And yet, there is something about its universality that's been sitting with me. I've had so many conversations in recent weeks whose themes echo all the other…
March 11, 2020
Let Your Operating Principles Lead You to Success
Read on to learn: how a set of Operating Principles can serve in your success; what a set of Operating Principles can look like; how you can develop your own set…for yourself or for your…
February 11, 2020
Be an Awesome Problem Solver
Let Einstein and Hanlon show you how... I recently ran a workshop for a leadership team needing help with its business problem-solving capability. So we did indeed develop solutions for some of their challenges.
January 15, 2020
Unbox Your Frustration – It’s Telling You Something!
I’ve always taken issue with the idea of “no pain, no gain.” It’s a little masochistic for my taste. I will concede, however, that sometimes there are gains to come from pain.
December 21, 2019
Renew and Refresh: Lean Into Learning – Not Panic
In 2020 there will rightly be tremendous focus on the Employee Experience (EX). Whether shaping our own (yes we can!) or crafting our team's experience, Development must command our attention.
December 12, 2019
Let’s Undercomplicate How Work Gets Done
What if conversation design could save you from org design?
December 10, 2019
Survive the Dangerous Culture of “Do More With Less”
Raised by a children’s librarian, my youthful heart belonged exclusively to Shel Silverstein. Every one of his poems delivered a clever punchline if you were in on the joke. And I was…most of the time.
November 27, 2019
It’s Time to Rethink Productivity
Raised by a children’s librarian, my youthful heart belonged exclusively to Shel Silverstein. Every one of his poems delivered a clever punchline if you were in on the joke. And I was…most of the time.
November 5, 2019
Balance Drives Business. 5 Keys to Creating It.
Work-life balance is getting a bad rap these days. People say it's not real - neither achievable nor what we should be striving for.
September 27, 2019
Why Offboarding and Exit Interviews Are Important and How to Do Them Right
Read Rachel Cooke’s featured statements in this article by Lattice.
September 25, 2019
Pointers for a Thriving Q4
Time does feel winged sometimes...doesn't it? For anyone keeping score, we've got one more quarter to go before the phrase "30 years ago" is officially referencing 1990 (not 1970 as my brain keeps wanting to…
September 20, 2019
If You See Something, Say Something
“If you see a suspicious bag left entirely unattended, you have permission to alert a member of our security staff,” said no one working at an airport EVER. Heck no.
September 19, 2019
How Coffee Breaks Can Propel You Forward
Now that Labor Day has come and gone in the U.S., it's time to dive back in to our final third of the year.
September 18, 2019
Why a Change Plan is Only as Strong as Our Commitment to Nurturing Change
There’s no shortage of wisdom out there on leading change. If you’ve ever lived through a major one, you know it can feel a lot like having a baby. There may be pain. Tears. A…
August 14, 2019
How to Conquer Your Fears and Perform Like a Star
Thrive Checks keep us thriving. And every time an organization brings us in to conduct one – whether because engagement is low, attrition is high, or culture or performance just seems off – we’re given…
July 24, 2019
Opportunity Cost. Is it What’s Crushing Our Potential?
As a person who took “Econ for Psych Majors” in college (with all due respect to my econ-minded psych-majoring compatriots), even I can say the concept of “opportunity cost” was intuitive to me from the…
December 6, 2017
The One Question to Ask in 2018
We’re almost at the finish line. 2018 is well within sight. How are you feeling? Full disclosure: I’m a little tired. A little road-weary; spent.
October 19, 2017
Biohacking Business Performance: Why Butter is Better and Why Leaders Should Listen
Per my personal hero, Dave Asprey (of Bulletproof coffee fame… or infamy), biohacking is “ science, biology, and self-experimentation to take control of and upgrade your body, your mind, and your life… The art and…
September 7, 2017
The What, Why, and How of the Hunch
Quick question: the last time you heard an inspirational quote around failure – whether fail forward or fast, learn from failure – did you kind of roll your eyes?
July 19, 2017
Why Leaders Need to Check Their Frequency
I had lunch recently with a colleague who used this delightful turn of phrase: we all need to “check the frequency we’re resonating at.”
July 10, 2017
Unsexy: It’s the New Black
Working with leaders that shoot for the moon is inspiring, and frankly just fun. I have all the time in the world to talk about building capabilities for innovation, risk-taking, learning from failure – all…
June 20, 2017
Be Your Own Wizard
Allow me to (very gently!) beat a dead horse. As my long-time readers well know, it’s my assertion that – for too many of us – work simply isn’t working.
June 15, 2017
Hey. Can We Talk About Burnout?
In the past week I’ve had conversations with three different colleagues on this topic; the idea that organizations are continuing to “challenge” teams to do more with less… and that something has really gotta give.
April 25, 2017
Head in the Sand? Just Might Be Your Competitive Advantage…
We’ve all seen the image of the ostrich. We all know the metaphor. Whether the story we’re telling is one of apathy or ignorance, rarely does the ending involve the prince and the wedding.
April 21, 2017
The Investment You Can’t Afford NOT to Make
Ah spring break. It’s a beautiful thing. Last week my family took a much-needed vacation with some sunshine and waves. One of the many activities in which we indulged was a three-mile kayaking adventure.
March 8, 2017
The Power of the Great Decider…
D is a powerful letter to the human body. It’s a vitamin that keeps our bones strong, and rickets at bay. It may not get much conscious attention… but without it, you’d be mush.
March 7, 2017
Tiny House Thinking… Why Your Business Needs It
Is mine the only family recently addicted to HGTV’s Tiny House Hunters? I mean, families of four + two dogs living in 200 square feet? Crazy! But a little bit amazing…?
February 21, 2017
Fighting the Delegation Resistance
Delegation. Terrible idea. I mean – I can do it faster, better myself. Raise your hand if you’ve ever thought this. Come on – no one’s looking. You know who you are – put it…
January 17, 2017
It’s Time to Game the System…For Good. Let’s Make It Work.
Gaming the system – hmmpff. That’s for scoundrels, for scallywags – right? Perhaps. And let us not look to gangster films for inspiration.