Touch Matters

Laser Provision. When it comes to leadership, it's not enough to have a clear vision and lots of ideas. It's not enough to have lots of technical skills as to how to get the job done. One must also have the high-touch skills to galvanize teams and bring people together. That's especially true when we seek to bring about change in organizations or society. The more of a change-agenda we have, the more important those people skills become. Want to learn what that looks like? Read entire Provision...


Coaching Inquiries: What kind of leader are you? How would you rate your ability to touch the hearts of the people you lead? What would help you to develop your emotional intelligence? How could you become more sensitive to the people side of the equation? Who could assist you to make it so?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Trust Matters

Laser Provision: Today's Provision could not have been written without the research and work of my wife, Megan Tschannen-Moran. For the past 15 years, Megan has made trust one of her primary academic and professional interests. But trust is not just a theoretical construct to be studied, understood, and described. Trust is a way of being in the world. My wife embodies that way of being as does every great leader. Trust matters. Read the entire Provision to see just how much it matters and how it works.


Coaching Inquiries: On a scale of 0 to 10, how would you rate yourself when it comes to trustworthy leadership? What examples do you have of standing in trust and experiencing its transformative power? How could you strengthen your understanding and practice of trust? How could you make your school or organization more fully embody the five facets of trust? What is one thing you could do today that would move things forward in a positive direction?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Happiness Matters

Laser Provision: As someone concerned about the future of education in America and around the world, I have watched with increasing dismay the strident calls to get tough with teachers. There's no hiding the behaviorist philosophy: punish the low-performers and reward the high-performers. But are such threats and incentives the best way to change behavior and reform the system? Twelve years of coaching adults to higher-levels of learning and performance tell me the answer is no. Happiness matters. That's the most important incentive of them all. Read Entire Provision...


Coaching Inquiries: What framework do you come from? How can you make life and work more positive? What is one thing that could make you happy right now? How can you meet more of your needs for autonomy, competence, relatedness, and well-being? How could you assist others to meet those needs as well?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

What Is Servant Leadership?

The connection between being nice and servant-leadership can be seen in the earliest writing about servant leadership from Robert K. Greenleaf. In his 1970 essay, "The Servant as Leader," Greenleaf wrote:

"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature."

"The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

In his second major essay, "The Institution as Servant," Greenleaf articulated what is often called the "credo":

"This is my thesis: caring for persons, the more able and the less able serving each other, is the rock upon which a good society is built. Whereas, until recently, caring was largely person to person, now most of it is mediated through institutions -- often large, complex, powerful, impersonal; not always competent; sometimes corrupt. If a better society is to be built, one that is more just and more loving, one that provides greater creative opportunity for its people, then the most open course is to raise both the capacity to serve and the very performance as servant of existing major institutions by new regenerative forces operating within them."

That sounds very nice to me. There are many excellent books and articles about Servant-Leadership. You can download a bibliography from the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership. Or you can go straight to the source, and read Greenleaf's seminal book on Servant Leadership for yourself.

Coaching Inquiries: How would you describe the power of leadership? Where does that power come from? What does it lead to? How can you best embody the power of servant-leadership? What difference would it make if you carried yourself that way today?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Needs Matter

Laser Provision: When it comes to leadership, needs matter. Leaders who are more concerned about their own power, position, ego, agenda, perks, pocketbooks, smarts, or solutions, than about the needs of their people and the people they serve are not great leaders at all. Great leaders take a "seventh generation" perspective. We think about the impacts of our decisions not only on the needs of people today but also in the needs of people seven generations in the future. Where are we taking our people? If you haven't thought about that lately, then read on. You just might get inspired. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What needs are you most acutely aware of right now? What are people trying to tell you about how you are treating and respecting their needs? How could you do more listening before taking charge? What would have to change in order for you to get into that frame of mind? Who do you know who models respectful servant leadership? How can you get to know them better?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Evocative Coaching = School Transformation

We just published our new book titled Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time. This book grew out of our passion for human learning and our confidence that all schools can be catalysts for that learning. Not just some schools, but all schools. Not just schools with favorable demographics and resources, but schools with the right attitude, culture, and approach. That approach, the coach approach, has served us well throughout our personal and professional lives. Our best experiences in education have motivated us to develop our skills and to pursue our aspirations. Such experiences have opened doors to spirals of creativity, innovation, and accomplishment. They have made us what we are today.

Yet that is not the way education works for many people. The discourse regarding school failure has become all too familiar. Unfortunately, such discourse tends to shift educators into a defensive crouch that limits or even prevents them from making progress. They become so concerned about the consequences of failure and so focused on fixing what’s wrong that they lose confidence in their abilities and awareness of their strengths. Once that happens, the prospects for performance improvements dim and the politics of individual and collective resistance grow.

Although many books have been written and many speeches have been given on the subject of how to turn around this dynamic, we prefer to start with the most basic of building blocks when it comes to school performance and culture: how teachers talk to themselves and to others about their classroom experiences. When those conversations value teachers as collaborators and partners, who need not fear the consequences of sharing their stories, expressing their feelings and needs, exploring strengths, imagining new possibilities, and experimenting with how best to meet the educational needs of students, then resistance diminishes and energy grows for the teaching task.

That is our hope for those who learn and practice evocative coaching. We hope it will transform schools, one conversation at a time. This happens when teachers, coaches, instructional resources, staff developers, and other educational leaders make two significant conversational shifts: from evaluation to valuation and from problem-solving to strengths-building. These shifts are not easy, especially for educators who are so accustomed to grading performance and providing guidance, but when it comes to adult learning these shifts have proven their worth. Adults like to figure things out for themselves, building on what they already know and do well, without receiving judgmental feedback that calls into question either their intentions or their abilities.

To facilitate that kind of learning, we have to turn the tables on the questions we ask, the listening we do, and the reflections we make in our thinking and in our conversations. We have to move beyond old methods of supervision and professional development in order to dance with teachers in ways that generate openness, awareness, understanding, and change. In Evocative Coaching we choreograph that dance as having two turns (The No-Fault Turn and The Strengths-Building Turn) and four steps (Story Listening, Expressing Empathy, Appreciative Inquiry, and Design Thinking). We provide the research base as well as practical, hands-on descriptions for each step. By the end of the book, we hope readers will have a good idea as to how to facilitate an evocative coaching conversation.

To that end, we have launched the Center for School Transformation and a companion website with additional resources, http://www.schooltransformation.com/. The Center offers a training program in Evocative Coaching that takes place in a convenient virtual classroom created by advanced telephone conference technologies. Anyone who can make a long-distance telephone call can participate in the training program. This 20-hour program across 13 sessions provides critical opportunities for people to practice and become more familiar with the techniques. The program has already been well received by trainees in 9 states and 6 countries. The Center also offers on-site training workshops, leadership coaching, and whole-system transformation initiatives.

Drawing upon the best in adult learning theories, growth-fostering psychologies, and organizational development, the Center aims to evoke excellence in education and school transformation — one conversation at a time. We invite you to join us on the journey.

Creativity Matters

Laser Provision: When faced with significant constraints, it's easy to make them the center of attention. After all, they're getting in the way. But focusing on the problem is not always the best way to solve the problem. It's often better to focus on the possibilities. That shift, from problem to possibility, unleashes creativity and generates enthusiasm. The more significant the constraints, the more creativity and enthusiasm we need. So let this Provision be your guide. Creativity matters when it comes to making dreams come true. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What holds you back from being creative? How could you empower and trust others to think outside the box and contribute their strengths? What could you offer the world that would make a difference? How could you test that hypothesis? Who do you think of as a creative role model? How could you draw yourself closer to their circle of influence?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Wisdom from Maya Angelou

Tis' the season for wisdom from famous people. Last week, we had ten lessons from Steve Jobs. This week, we feature eleven lessons from Maya Angelou, an American autobiographer and poet extraordinaire.
In April, Angelou was interviewed by Oprah on her 70+ birthday. Oprah asked her what she thought of growing older. She talked about it as exciting and amusing, especially all the physical changes which seemed to be occurring day. The audience laughed so hard they cried as she talked about the different parts of her body which were sagging in a seeming race to her waist. She is a plain-spoken and honest woman, with much wisdom in her words. Consider these life lessons:

1. I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.
2. I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.
3. I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
4. I've learned that making a 'living' is not the same thing as making a life.
5. I've learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.
6. I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.
7. I've learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart, I usually make the right decision.
8. I've learned that even when I have pains, I don't have to be one.
9. I've learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone. People love a warm hug or just a friendly pat on the back.
10. I've learned that I still have a lot to learn.
11. I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.

Coaching Inquiries: How do you make people feel? What would people learn about you by watching how you handle a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights? What would it take for you to start making a life? How could that be more wonderful and life-giving?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Lessons from Steve Jobs

One of my clients recently alerted me to an article titled "10 Golden Lessons From Steve Jobs." I encourage you to read the whole article. For this high-level summary, I give you the ten quotes from Steve Jobs, co-founder and CEO of Apple Computers, around which the article is written. Enjoy!

1. "Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower."
2. "Be a yardstick of quality. Some people aren't used to an environment where excellence is expected."
3. "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."
4. "You know, we don't grow most of the food we eat. We wear clothes other people make. We speak a language that other people developed. We use a mathematics that other people evolved… I mean, we're constantly taking things. It's a wonderful, ecstatic feeling to create something that puts it back in the pool of human experience and knowledge."
5. "There's a phrase in Buddhism, 'Beginner's mind.' It's wonderful to have a beginner's mind."
6. "We think basically you watch television to turn your brain off, and you work on your computer when you want to turn your brain on."
7. "I'm the only person I know that's lost a quarter of a billion dollars in one year…. It's very character-building."
8. "I would trade all of my technology for an afternoon with Socrates."
9. "We're here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?"
10. "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma -- which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of other's opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."

Coaching Inquiries: Which of these lessons speak most powerfully to you and your situation? Of everyone who has ever lived, who would you like to spend the afternoon with? What questions would you ask? What truth would you contemplate? How can you follow your heart and intuition more fully?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Persistence Matters

Laser Provision: The military has a term for what happens when priorities and planning go awry: OBE -- Overtaken By Events. John Lennon put it this way: "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." We all know that feeling and experience. It is universal because no one controls life. But we can control our response to life. Do we quit or do we persist? Do we give up or do we hang on? Although it doesn't help to do the same thing over and over again expecting different results, it also doesn't help to stop looking for alternative approaches and goals. With lots of engaging quotes from notable leaders, this Provision shows you how. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of mindset do you take in life and work? Would you describe yourself as more or less resilient? What brings out your resilience? What enables you to hang in there until you discover new possibilities and new ways forward? Who can be your persistence partner in whatever challenges you are facing?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Priorities Matter

Laser Provision: What things do you spend most of your time on? If you are like most people, you spend most of your time reacting to crises, deadlines, and pressing problems. No one gets away from such matters completely, but great leaders learn both how to set priorities and how to organize and execute around priorities. By taking a proactive stance in life and work we are better able to generate vision, perspective, balance, discipline, and control. We have fewer crises because we plan ahead. If that sounds like the third habit of highly successful people, then you're on to me! I hope you enjoy the Provision. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What kinds of activities do you spend your time on? How much time gets spent in Quadrant 2 activities? What rituals could you develop to help you get in that Quadrant more frequently? How could you get started today? Who could you talk with to identify the possibilities?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Stress Relief

A friend recently passed along these thoughts on stress. Give my own writing on Vital Rhythms, they fit right in and easily generate smiles. Enjoy.

A lecturer, when explaining stress management to an audience, raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g.

The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance."

"In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes," he continued, "and that's the way it is with stress management. If we carry all of our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on."

"As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden. So, whatever burdens you're carrying now, let them down for a moment if you can. Don't pick them up again until after you've rested a while. They will then seem so much lighter."

Here are some great ways of dealing with the burdens of life:

• Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue.
• Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them.
• Always wear stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it.
• Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be "recalled" by their maker.
• If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.
• It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to be kind to others.
• Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you won't have a leg to stand on.
• Nobody cares if you can't dance well; just get up and dance.
• When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.
• Birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.
• You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person.
• A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour.

Coching Inquiries: What burdens are you carrying right now? How could you set them down for a while? Who lightens your spirit and makes you laugh? What would it take to connect with that person right now? What might get you to smile?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Making Ideas Happen

There are many systems in the world for turning dreams into deeds. One of the better known is David Allen's, Getting Things Done. A more recent take on the subject is Scott Belsky's, Making Ideas Happen. Here is what Seth Godin, author of Linchpin, has to say about the book:

"Should you buy a book that will make you uncomfortable?

More questions: Why is it so difficult to ship good ideas out the door? Why do committees show up and wreck the purity of your idea? Why do people avoid doing the hard work of actually bringing their work to the market?

I'll tell you why: Because it's safe. Ideas that never ship are never criticized. Faceless committees accept the blame for tepid products that were probably better off in the warehouse. And managers in search of a place to hide can best hide behind the unshipped product, the unrealized idea and the system gone wrong.

Scott Belsky has your number. He's seen it all before. He knows your excuses, he's seen your shtick and he knows all the ways to avoid doing the work. In this book, Scott's not giving you any place to hide.

There. Do you still want to read his book?

If you care about your art, your job or your market, you really have no choice. This is strategy and tactics, concepts and how-to, all in one on a topic that's often overlooked."

Sound intriguing? I encourage you to give it a look.

Coaching Inquiries: How do you do when it comes to making ideas happen? Are you better at coming up with ideas in the first place (creativity) or following through on your ideas to make them happen (discipline and delivery)? Which muscle would you like to strengthen this week? Who could help you to make it so?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Mindful Eating

In many respects, great leadership is mindful leadership. We cultivate the ability to stay in the moment, without distraction or criticism, in order to bring out the best in ourselves and others. Great leaders therefore adopt mindfulness practices in all areas of life and work. To that end, I found the following tips on mindful eating by Dr. Jennifer Daly in the April issue of the Health Journal to be helpful:

• Always eat in a clean and quiet place either alone or with people you like.
• Look at your food and appreciate its appearance and smell before you eat.
• Chew your food slowly and attentively, concentrating on and appreciating its subtle qualities.
• Eat without distractions such as television, radio or other media.
• Only eat when you are truly hungry.
• Do not eat within 2 hours of bedtime.
• After exercise wait a while before eating to get an accurate gauge of
your hunger level.
• Walk about 100 steps after a meal to aid digestion.
• Do not eat when you are angry, depressed, bored or otherwise emotionally unstable. Instead, try to resolve these feelings first through stress management tools such as exercise (including yoga), meditation, or seeking the support of friends, family, a spiritual adviser or a mental health professional.

Now, have some fun with this list. Substitute the word "lead" for the word "eat," and the word "people" for "food." Read the list again. What new ideas do those substitutions bring to mind? Hopefully, the exercise will encourage you to become both a more mindful eater and a more mindful leader at the same time.

Coaching Inquiries: What does mindfulness mean to you? How can you become more mindful in how you relate to eating and leadership? What benefits might you experience? What benefits might others experience? Who can join you on the path to mindfulness? How could you make it so today?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Rituals Matter

Laser Provision: Our effectiveness at work declines if we are always on the go. That's why great leaders develop regular, reflective rituals. We find ways to step back and to connect with purpose, plans, and people. That's what makes great leaders so refreshing to be around. Instead of wearing people out with nonstop performance momentum, great leaders infuse people with energy by knowing just when to push and when to pull back. It's an intuitive dance but it doesn't materialize out of thin air. It's cultivated one day and one ritual at a time. If you don't have such rituals, then this Provision will give you at least 11 ideas. I encourage you to go out and make at least one of them your own. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: Who do you think of as a great leader? What do you know about the things they do when you're not around? How could you find out more? What questions do you have? How could incorporate your discoveries into your everyday life? What rituals make the most sense for you?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

We Are What We Celebrate

Great leaders understand not only the importance of developing our own reflective rituals, but also the importance developing collective rituals that help to bring out the best in the people and organizations we lead. A collection of essays that takes this to the level of religious, national, and cultural traditions is titled We Are What We Celebrate: Understanding Holidays and Rituals by Jared Bloom and Amitai Etzioni.

Here is the book description; I encourage you to look into it if you can.

How did Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday become a national holiday? Why do we exchange presents on Christmas and Chanukah? What do bunnies have to do with Easter? How did Earth Day become a global holiday? These questions and more are answered in this fascinating exploration into the history and meaning of holidays and rituals. Edited by Amitai Etzioni, one of the most influential social and political thinkers of our time, this collection provides a compelling overview of the impact that holidays and rituals have on our family and communal life.

From community solidarity to ethnic relations to religious traditions, We Are What We Celebrate argues that holidays such as Halloween, Fourth of July, Thanksgiving, New Year's Eve, and Valentine's Day play an important role in reinforcing, and sometimes redefining, our values as a society. The collection brings together classic and original essays that, for the first time, offer a comprehensive overview and analysis of the important role such celebrations play in maintaining a moral order as well as in cementing family bonds, building community relations and creating national identity. The essays cover such topics as the creation of Thanksgiving as a national holiday; the importance of holidays for children; the mainstreaming of Kwanzaa; and the controversy over Columbus Day celebrations.

Compelling and often surprising, this look at holidays and rituals brings new meaning to not just the ways we celebrate but to what those celebrations tell us about ourselves and our communities.

Coaching Inquiries: What are the celebrations and rituals in your organization? How can you influence them or even set up new ones? How can you make them more celebratory and regular? Who could you involve in the process of stimulating a ritual makeover?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Relationships Matter

Laser Provision: Great leaders don't just get things done; great leaders get things done through people. That's the definition of leadership. Unfortunately, all too many leaders neglect or even violate the people side of the equation. We become so focused on getting things done that the needs of people get stepped on or trounced in the process. "Do whatever it takes!" If that sounds like you, then I encourage you to read on. This Provision is an invitation to think again. The needs of people must always be respected, honored, and met; otherwise, results suffer and leaders fail to get things done. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of attention do you pay to relationships? Do you inspire trust in the people you work with? What needs do you naturally pay attention to and honor? What needs are you more likely to overlook or neglect? How can you become a more holistic leader? Who can help you to get where you want to go?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Seven Archetypal Stories

It has been said that there are only seven archetypal stories. In his book, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories, Christopher Booker describes them this way:

1. Overcoming the Monster
2. Rags to Riches
3. A journey -- the Quest
4. A journey -- the Voyage and Return
5. Comedies
6. Tragedies
7. Rebirth

In the context of organizations, these stories often answer the following questions:

1. What happens when someone breaks the rules?
2. Is the big boss human?
3. Can the little person rise to the top?
4. Will I get fired?
5. Will the organization help me?
6. How will the boss react to mistakes?
7. How will the organization deal with obstacles?

Understanding how these stories circulate around the proverbial water cooler, trustworthy leaders make sure that people have positive stories to tell.

Coaching Inquiries: What kind of stories circulate in your organization? What kind of stories circulate about you, as leader? Who could tell you the truth about that? How can you shift the stories that are being told in a positive direction? What kinds of things do you want to pay attention to in order to make that happen?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Results Matter

Laser Provision: Great leaders get things done. Instead of getting attached to particular strategies, and then becoming disheartened when they don't work out, great leaders stay focused on universal needs, and then become energized for seeing them satisfied one way or another. That is the desire that burns in the heart of leaders. To see that desire through, great leaders cultivate optimism, creativity, and persistence. It may not be easy to get from here to there, but we can rise to the challenge and enjoy the ride. Read on to find out how. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What is your framework when it comes to your goals and desires? How optimistic, creative, and persistent are you? How could you strengthen those leadership muscles? What contribution could you make that would bring you the most amount of joy and fill you with the most amount of juice? Who could join you in that quest?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Energy in Leadership

My friend and colleague, Marcia Reynolds, has written about the role of persistence in life and work, in her article "A Healthy Supply of Energy is Needed for Success." How do we know when to hang in there and keep trying? How do we know when to scrap a strategy and to head off in a new direction? She suggests that we conduct an "Energy Allocation Exercise" to chart our course and determine our path. Here's a synopsis of the exercise:

Step 1. Divide a sheet of paper in half. Label the left side "Can’t Control" and the right, "Can Control." Now think about the specific goal you’re struggling to achieve.

Step 2. Under "Can’t Control," list the aspects of the situation that you’re unable to change. Be honest with yourself. If the person’s mind you are trying to alter or the people guarding the policy you’re trying to revise haven’t budged in months, it’s safe to say you’re wasting your time.

Step 3. In the "Can Control" column, list the aspects that are within your power to affect. Include yourself--your willingness to deal with the situation, your mindset and attitude, and the emotions that you need to feel so you can shift out of complaining and into action. Include everything within your "response-ability."

Step 4. Return to column one, your "Can’t Control" list. How much energy do you put into these items, including complaining or worrying about them? These are your dead horses. You need to quit putting energy into what you can't control. You can kick your dead horses all you want, but they won’t budge. It may take time to bury a dead horse, but you’ll feel better when it’s over. As hard as that may be, heed the wisdom of George Bernard Shaw who said, "Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything."

Step 5. Review the right column, your "Can Control" list. Which of these items are you working on now? Are there any you can commit to doing or beginning today? Place a check mark next to each item you will activate immediately. This is where you should expend your energy. Few excuses justify inaction in this column. If you feel trapped or helpless, direct your energy to where you can take charge.

The Energy Allocation Exercise is another way to get at the distinction between needs and strategies. Confusing the two always gets us into trouble. If our energy is dwindling or in short supply, then chances are we have gotten hooked on a strategy. When that happens, sorting through our priorities and possibilities can set us on the right path, all over again.

Coaching Inquiries: What is happening with your energy right now? Is it waxing or waning? What things give you energy? How could you do those things more consistently and joyfully? Who could support you in the process?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

50,000 Daffodils

Thanks to CL for passing along this anonymous and beautiful story!

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead "I will come next Tuesday", I promised a little reluctantly on her third call.

Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and reluctantly I drove there. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.

"Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly and said, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears, and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her.

"But first we're going to see the daffodils. It's just a few blocks," Carolyn said. "I'll drive. I'm used to this." "Carolyn," I said sternly, "please turn around." "It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience."

After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read, "Daffodil Garden." We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight.

It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, and saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.

"Who did this?" I asked Carolyn. "Just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.

On the patio, we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking", was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."

For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration.

That is, learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time--often just one baby-step at time--and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world ...

"It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years? Just think what I might have been able to achieve!"

My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said. She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use today?" Use the Daffodil Principle. Stop waiting..... 

• Until your car or home is paid off
• Until you get a new car or home
• Until your kids leave the house
• Until you go back to school
• Until you finish school
• Until you clean the house
• Until you organize the garage
• Until you clean off your desk
• Until you lose 10 lbs.
• Until you gain 10 lbs.
• Until you get married
• Until you get a divorce
• Until you have kids
• Until the kids go to school
• Until you retire
• Until summer
• Until spring
• Until winter
• Until fall
• Until you die...

There is no better time than right now to be happy.

Happiness is a journey, not a destination.

So work like you don't need money.

Love like you've never been hurt, and, Dance like no one's watching.

 

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day! Don't be afraid that your life will end, be afraid that it will never begin.

 

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Evocative Coaching YouTube Videos

If you have been reading our material for any length of time, then you know that together with my wife and colleague, Megan Tschannen-Moran, I have written a new book titled Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time. The book comes out in July.

We plan on using and marketing the book in many ways. Megan, who teaches educational leadership at the College of William and Mary, plans to use the book in one of her classes. We also plan to use it as the core textbook for a coach training program that focuses on coaching in K-12 schools. You can find out more about that by going to http://www.evocativecoaching.com/.

To spread the news about our program, and to help explain our coaching model to those who are interested, we just posted three videos on YouTube that came out of a recent presentation to the Training and Technical Assistance Center at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. I hope you will follow the links, watch and rate the videos, post a comment, and otherwise let us know your thoughts and feelings. Thanks!

Our YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/evocativecoaching

• Evocative Coaching in Schools: Part 1 of 3
• Evocative Coaching in Schools: Part 2 of 3
• Evocative Coaching in Schools: Part 3 of 3

Coaching Inquiries: What is your interest when it comes to the work of schools? How could you assist schools to be more productive and rewarding places? If you don't work in a school, would you be willing to volunteer in one? What would you most enjoy doing?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Leadership 101

Laser Provision: In the USA, it's March Madness when it comes to college basketball. The top teams, male and female, in every division are in the midst of their playoffs. One thing every team has in common is that every team has a coach. This designated leader is responsible for recruitment, training, strategy, practice, and execution on the court. The buck stops there when it comes to leadership. One of the more legendary coaches is "Coach K" from Duke University. What's the secret to his success? Nurturing relationships, building infrastructure, and establishing high standards. With that, we kick off our new Provision series on leadership. Read Entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What leadership responsibilities do you hold? In what ways to you nurture relationships? Build infrastructure? Establish high standards? How would you describe those standards? How well do you live by them? Who could assist you to clarify and strengthen your standards?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Coach K Leadership Quotes

Now that Duke has advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, I thought you might enjoy these "Coach K" leadership quotes:

• "I don’t look at myself as a basketball coach. I look at myself as a leader who happens to coach basketball."
• "Effective teamwork begins and ends with communication."
• "Too many rules get in the way of leadership. They just put you in a box...People set rules to keep from making decisions."
• "People have to be given the freedom to show the heart they possess. I think it’s a leader’s responsibility to provide that type of freedom. And I believe it can be done through relationships and family. Because if a team is a real family, it’s members want to show you their hearts."
• "Confrontation simply means meeting the truth head-on."
• "During critical periods, a leader is not allowed to feel sorry for himself, to be down, to be angry, or to be weak. Leaders must beat back these emotions."
• "Leaders have to give time for relationships. But more demands will be placed on their time as they become more successful. So if a person’s success is based on developing relationships, then they have to continually find new ways of getting it done."
• "Every leader needs to remember that a healthy respect for authority takes time to develop. It’s like building trust. You don’t instantly have trust, it has to be earned."
• "Leaders should be reliable without being predictable. They should be consistent without being anticipated."

Coaching Inquiries: Which of these quotes speak to you? Which ones concern you? How can you bring their wisdom into your own life? How can you become more of a leader from whatever position you play? How can you empower others to be great?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Guidelines for Living with Children

Just in case you have not had enough Guidelines for Living, the North Carolina Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics Online website offers the following 10 Guidelines for Living with Children. If you find them interesting or want to learn more, I encourage to visit their site for a full description.

1. "Catch 'em being good." -- The single most important rule in living with a child is to find things to praise
2. "Let them help you." -- The second most important rule is to let your children help you
3. Monitor your children. -- When your children are playing quietly, catch them being good! Don't ignore them.
4. Home routines and responsibilities should (within reason) be orderly and predictable.
5. Discipline and enforcement of discipline should be as matter of fact as possible. -- Follow through with logical consequences.
6. Lectures belong in lecture halls; not in homes. -- Do not lecture your children, not even under the guise of reasoning with them.
7. Show sympathy when you discipline. -- Be empathetic but don't give in.
8. Prompting and modeling, or imitating. -- Children learn by what they see, and hear you and others do.
9. Be a mother, not a martyr. -- Find a good babysitter or preschool, and take a breather.
10. Parents are teachers. -- Whether you program it or not, whether you intend it or not, you teach your children through your interactions with them. What you do is more important than what you say.

Coaching Inquiries: Who are the children in your life? What do they learn from how you live your life? When was the last time you went looking for something to celebrate and appreciate? How have you called that to their attention? What would assist you to become a better role model?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Eleven Commandments

Laser Provision: After four months of comparing and contrasting seven different sets of Ten Commandments in my weekly email newsletter, LifeTrek Provisions, it's time to bring this series to a close. So today, if you click through to read the entire Provision, I present my top Eleven Commandments or Guidelines for Living, one right after another. If you've been reading along, then these will be familiar to you. If you are checking this out now, for the first time, then you will get four months of Provisions in one single dose. Either way, I hope you will find this summary to be both helpful and inspirational. I even add a few new pieces that haven't come before. Enjoy! Read Entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: What are your guidelines for living? How do they manifest in your life? Which of the above guidelines make the most sense to you? Which ones challenge the way you go about living and organizing your life? Who embodies these guidelines and could serve as role models for you? How could you get closer to them in life and work?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Forgiveness Health Benefits

MayoClinic.com identifies the following health benefits of forgiveness:

• Less stress and hostility
• Lower blood pressure
• Fewer symptoms of depression, anxiety and chronic pain
• Lower risk of alcohol and substance abuse
• Healthier relationships
• Geater spiritual and psychological well-being

How do we do that? Here is their recommendation for reaching a state of forgiveness:

"Forgiveness is a commitment to a process of change. A way to begin is by recognizing the value of forgiveness and its importance in your life at a given time. Then reflect on the facts of the situation, how you've reacted, and how this combination has affected your life, health and well-being. When you're ready, actively choose to forgive the person who's offended you. Move away from your role as victim and release the control and power the offending person and situation have had in your life. As you let go of grudges, you'll no longer define your life by how you've been hurt. You may even find compassion and understanding."

Coaching Inquiries: How would your health and well being benefit through the practice of forgiveness? What's stopping you from doing that work today?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Be Forgiving

Laser Provision: Have you ever held a grudge? Are you holding one right now? Last week I wrote about the importance of fairness, but fairness without forgiveness can become an obsession. It can eat away at our spirits as we connive and strive to see justice done. Forgiveness is the mitigating factor that releases our bondage to enemy images and aggressive actions. It demands courage and integrity, but it is never too late to forgive. If, when, and how that happens is up to us; this Provision simply points out the value of forgiveness when it comes to making life more wonderful. Read Entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How ready are you to forgive? What has been bothering you and eating away at your heart? What combination of fairness and forgiveness will release your spirit? What and who could assist to get to that place?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Be Fair

Laser Provision: Fairness conjures up notions of even-handed accounting. Think balance scales, with no one having more or less than anyone else. Although a case can be made for some measure of economic parity in life, fairness also means giving all people the opportunity to meet their needs. This goes far beyond subsistence-level accounting; it goes to the heart of what makes life worth living. When we honor, respect, and cooperate with the strivings of people to meet their many different needs, we make life much more meaningful and satisfying for all. Read entire Provision...

Coaching Inquiries: How do you understand the notion of fairness? Do people treat you fairly? Do you treat other people fairly? How can you assist people to experience more satisfaction in life and work? Who serves as a role model for you in this regard? How can you experience more satisfaction in your own life and work? What's stopping you from doing that today?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Food, Inc.

How do we meet our needs for clean, healthy food? Having just seen the movie, Food, Inc., it's not that easy anymore. With the growth of the world's population, and the consolidation of that population into cities, agriculture has become big business that taxes the very fabric of life. Plants and animals were not meant to be manipulated into ever higher yields and rapid growth curves; doing so has stressed the system and put our health at risk.

Proponents of agribusiness would argue that this system is the only way to feed the world. Huge, consolidated, high-consuming populations require huge, consolidated, high-yield farming, feeding, and slaughtering operations. That represents what I once called the Planetary Predicament: what's good for individuals and local communities may not produce enough calories to feed 6.5 billion people (let alone the predicted 9.5 billion people by 2050).

Others disagree, however, arguing that huge, consolidated, high-yield farming, feeding, and slaughtering operations may collapse under the weight of disease and detritus. Nature has its ways, and the jury is out as to our long-term ability to go against the grain. Such concerns argue for a more local, distributed, and sustainable approach to the consumption and production of food. If you share that concern, here are ten simple things you can do to make our food system more fair according to Takepart.com:

1. Stop drinking sodas and other sweetened beverages.
2. Eat at home instead of eating out.
3. Support the passage of laws requiring chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards.
4. Tell schools to stop selling sodas, junk food, and sports drinks.
5. Meatless Mondays -- Go without meat one day a week.
6. Buy organic or sustainable food with little or no pesticides.
7. Protect family farms; visit your local farmer's market.
8. Make a point to know where your food comes from -- READ LABELS.
9. Tell your government that food safety is important to you.
10. Demand job protections for farm workers and food processors, ensuring fair wages and other protections.

Coaching Inquiries: What concerns do you have about the food you eat and the liquids you drink? What would you be willing to do to make our food system more fair? Who could join you in the cause? How could you act together to make life better for all?

We invite you to Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Evocative Coaching Book Contents Unveiled!

We've just posted the cover, coaching model, and table of contents to our new book, Evocative Coaching: Transforming Schools One Conversation at a Time. You can view these materials by visiting our companion website, http://www.evocativecoaching.com/, or going directly to the PDF file.

The book will be in bookstores in July, and can be pre-ordered today through Amazon and other online book sellers. The book forms the basis of a 12-week coach training program, launching in September, that is ideal for anyone concerned about or tasked with the responsibility for improving the performance of teachers in schools. That includes school leaders, instructional coaches, teachers, and other professional educators. The program can also be helpful to those coaching in other organizational settings.

By learning the art of Story Listening, Expressing Empathy, Appreciative Inquiry, and Design Thinking, we become better able to find our voice and design approaches that work. When we shift awareness and structure conversations using the Evocative Coaching model, new possibilities emerge for enlivening performance improvement and learning conversations. Whether you want to do that for yourself or to help others, this enjoyable and fast-paced training program can make a real difference. We invite you to give it a try. Find out more...

Nurture Planet Earth

Laser Provision: This truth applies to one and all: we are duty bound to protect and nurture planet earth. Buckminster Fuller long ago challenged us to "do more with less" if we hope to keep this "spaceship earth" in good working order. Others have recognized the need to develop sustainable energy economies and environmental practices. From the micro level of our individual decisions to the macro level of our global policies, our planet is straining under the weight of over-consumption and over-production. Can we do better? This Provision suggests we can and argues we must. Read full article...

Coaching Inquiries: How would you evaluate your "green" consciousness? What is one thing you do to help conserve energy, preserve the environment, and/or advance "green" policies? How can you take a few more steps in the right direction? Who could become your partner in nurturing planet earth?

To reply to this Provision, use our Feedback Form. To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Go Green! Newsletter

It's not often that I feature a government website in LifeTrek Provisions, but given today's topic it's hard to ignore the Go Green! resources through the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Their Monthly Newsletters are archived since they started publishing in July 2007. Recent topics include:

• Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth
• Recycle your tree
• Build a Watersense home!
• Heat from the ground up!
• Pick 5 for the Environment
• eCycle your old computers
• Buy or switch to energy efficient lighting
• Prevent poisoning in your home
• Allow grass clippings to stay on the lawn

You can easily subscribe to the monthly newsletter by email, and I encourage you to do so as a simple way to increase your awareness of green strategies for nurturing planet earth.

Coaching Inquiries: What helps you to become more environmentally conscious? What little things can you do to make a big difference? Who do you know who sets the pace and serves as a positive role model for environmental awareness and action?

We invite you to contact us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Nurture Well Being

Laser Provision: Today's Provision tells a story of hard work, exhaustion, and recovery with a surprising twist at the end. It's not a story I copied from the Internet. It's my story, and I hope you will find it both interesting and instructive. Only one set of those Ten New Commandments that I introduced last December talk about the importance of looking after the well-being of mind and body. The others are big on caring for children, orphans, parents, families, neighbors, friends, other living things, and the world in general. Apart from healthy rhythms of self-care, however, our caring for others will come up short. If you've been meaning to get around to taking some time for yourself, then perhaps my story will give you a little push to get started sooner rather than later. Read Entire Article...

Coaching Inquiries: What assists you to recover from the stresses and strains of life? How often do you put yourself first, and how often do you sacrifice yourself on the altar of busyness? How would you describe your rhythms, in small, medium, and long chunks? What and who could assist you to make your rhythms more regular and consistent? What's stopping you from taking a break, right now?

To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Running Barefoot?

I'm not there myself, but there is growing research and debate regarding the biomechanics of running shoes and barefoot running. No one can argue with the fact that running shoes are a pretty recent invention in the grand sweep of human evolution. People have been running barefoot for most of the past 2 million years. The question, then, is whether or not running shoes represent a step forward or a step back in human evolution. In other words, do running shoes do more harm than good?

Fortunately, that question can be researched. In Kenya, which produces many of the world's great marathoners, barefoot running is the norm. Research indicates their biomechanics are different and they suffer fewer injuries than their many equally-fit competitors who run in shoes. Shoes produce more of a heel strike and more of an overall impact shock to the body.

Heel striking is apparently a more efficient way to walk than to run. And many runners just can't imagine giving up their shoes. So there's no definitive, one-size-fits-all recommendation. Yet the proponents are filled with passion, watch video, and many shoe companies are now making shoes designed to simulate barefoot running.

The most extreme is Vibram Five Fingers, which is essentially a rubber glove for your foot. It protects against debris and dangers without changing the biomechanics of running barefoot. The Nike Free 5.0 is less extreme, with a little more padding and still calling for a sock, while its flexible sole seeks to emulate the freedom of barefoot running.

I've been running in the Nike Free for the past month and it is fast becoming my favorite running shoe. It's funny how less can be more. If you give it a try, let me know what you think.

Coaching Inquiries: What helps you to have fun and run injury free? When was the last time you went out to a park or meadow, took off your shoes and socks, and went for a barefoot walk or run? What helps you feel like a kid again? How can you cultivate more spring in your step for life?

We invite you to contact us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Nurture Children

I'm surprised that only two lists of The Ten New Commandments urge us to protect and nurture children as a guideline for living. If not us, who? If not now, when? Throughout history children have been abused and exploited for the gain, benefit, and sadistic pleasure of adults. Although the world community has clearly condemned such violations and inhumanity, problems continue to this very day. That's why it's important to support organizations like UNICEF. And that's also why it's important to pay attention to our own attitudes and approaches when it comes to children. I say we put the needs of children first. What about you? Read Entire Article...

Coaching Inquiries: Who are the children in your life who need to be protected and nurtured? How can you reach out in ways that help them to become more fully alive? What kind of support are you able to offer? Why not make some child's day today?

To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use the Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Support UNICEF

I don't know about you, but one of my long-time charities has been the United Nations Children's Fund otherwise known as UNICEF. Created by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II, UNICEF has grown into a permanent part of the United Nations system, providing long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries.

The UNICEF website highlights the following focus areas:

• Child survival and development
• Basic education and gender equality
• HIV/AIDS and children
• Child protection
• Policy advocacy and partnerships

And the following reasons for doing what they do:

• Because children have rights
• Because the world has set goals for children
• Because children demand a voice
• Because poverty reduction starts with children
• Because the people of the world say 'Yes' for children
• Because children should not be dying from preventable causes

As one of the primary responders to the tragedy in Haiti and as one of the leading development organizations in the world today, I encourage you to find out more and to support them as best you can. Support UNICEF.

Coaching Inquiries: How might you be able to extend more care and support to children around the world? What kinds of initiatives intrigue or attract you most? Who do you identify as champion of children? How can you reach out today and let them know you care?

We invite you Contact Us using our Feedback Form if you are interested in learning more about LifeTrek Coaching or participating in our Evocative Coach Training Program.

Respect Quotes

• "The first duty of love is to listen." Paul Tillich
• "I'm not concerned with your liking or disliking me... All I ask is that you respect me as a human being." Jackie Robinson
• "Never take a person's dignity: it is worth everything to them, and nothing to you." Frank Barron
• "People are respectable only as they respect" Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "Self-respect is the fruit of discipline; the sense of dignity grows with the ability to say no to oneself." Abraham J. Heschel
• "I have found the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it." Harry S Truman
• "If we lose love and self respect for each other, this is how we finally die." Maya Angelou

Coaching Inquiries: What increases your self-respect? How well do you listen? When was the last time that you said no to yourself? How can you connect more fully and respectfully with your children? With your parents? What might you do to make love grow?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here.

Be Respectful

What does it mean to be respectful? What does it mean to listen to someone? Does it mean to take their advice and do whatever they say? Or does it mean to consider their opinion, to strive to meet their needs, to engage in civil discourse, to be honest and humble, and to find as many areas of agreement as possible? Of those two options, I prefer the latter understanding. Respect is not just about showing deference, although at times it's smart to be deferential. Most of the time, however, we can and should speak our mind freely as long as we do so respectfully. Can that happen, especially in the face of strong disagreements? I strive to make that case in today's Provision. Read Entire Article...

Coaching Inquiries: What's your commitment when it comes to respect? Would you say you model respect in all your dealings? How can you cultivate that posture as a strong and present value? What needs would it meet for you to do so? How can you carry yourself forward in that direction? Who would be willing to go with you on the trek?

To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, Contact Us.

Global Weirding

It was Thomas Friedman, in his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded, who introduced me to the notion of Global Wierding. He credits Hunter Lovins of the Rocky Mountain Institute as inventing the term. We are not going to see gradual warming. We are going to see weird weather, and often dangerous weather, popping up all over the place.

"The rise in global average temperature (global warming)," writes Friedman, "is actually going to trigger all sorts of unusual weather events – from hotter heat spells and droughts in some places to heavier snows in others, to more violent storms, more intense flooding, downpours, forest fires, and species loss in still others. The weather," in other words, "is going to get weird. It already has."

Interesting story in today's Washington Post on how this is playing out this winter in the Northern Hemisphere. Opinion polls show waning support in the USA for the notion of global warming as being related to human population growth and activities. So, like deficit spending, we push the problem downstream, take our chances, and risk the consequences.

Property Rights

Laser Provision: Most people know of the most famous sentence in the United States Declaration of Independence, namely that people "are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Most people do not know, however, that earlier documents and drafts asserted the Rights to "Life, Liberty, and Property." It was taken as self-evident that people had the right to own things and to protect as well as to add value to what they owned. "Do not steal," the eighth commandment of Moses, reflects that understanding. But property rights are a complicated guideline for living, and I invite you to read further to explore them more fully. Read Full Provision Here...

Coaching Inquiries: How do you understand your right to the property you own? How can you best use your property and resources to preserve and protect the rights of others? What fears do you have when you think of sharing your property with others? How can you reach beyond your fears to see the needs? Who embodies for you a happy and healthy relationship to money? How can you become more like them?

To talk with us about coaching or consulting services for yourself or your organization, use our Contact for Coaching Form to arrange for a complimentary conversation.

Development Dollars

In the Harvard Business Review Conversation Blog, Thomas Ogden writes a compelling essay urging companies and individuals to hold back some of their giving for Haiti until after the dust settles on disaster relief. The problem, he argues, is an unfortunate and discernable pattern when things like this happen:

1. Donations spike in the immediate aftermath.
2. A huge portion of the funds donated are spent on setting up disaster-relief operations that are no longer the primary need.
3. A flood of cash and materials cause a logistics nightmare leading to waste and ineffectiveness, if not corruption.
4. Six months later, reconstruction stalls because the world's attention has moved elsewhere.
5. And, finally, a series of reports bemoan the fact that too many funds are devoted to disaster relief and not enough to disaster preparedness and reconstruction.

The solution, Ogden argues, is not to suspend relief efforts. That would be heartbreaking and cruel. The solution is to give regularly to thoroughly vetted organizations, such as Partners In Health, so they can respond to emergencies when and where they happen and so they can better facilitate economic and human development during ordinary times. One-time, flash-in-the-pan giving, in response to the disaster of the moment, does not bring long-term relief and invites as many problems as it solves. Ongoing and generous support is the only way to make a real difference in good times and bad.

When companies and individuals adopt such practices, Haitians and other, future disaster victims will benefit most in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods. "One way to do this," Ogden concludes, "that engages employees and customers, is to match the dollars they contribute for immediate relief with a corporate gift for reconstruction, to be given in six or eight months. By that time it will be clear which areas of the rebuilding effort are underfunded. You'll also have time to thoroughly vet agencies, projects, and so forth, to ensure that your donations will do the most good."

The bottom line is that property rights impose social responsibilities. The haves must be smart in assisting the have-nots or we will be constantly struggling to pull drowning people out of the river. It's important that we do that, but it's even more important that we attend to the structures to keep people from falling into the river in the first place.

Coaching Inquiries: What is your pattern of giving? How often do you take the long-term view when it comes to economic and human development? How can you be smarter and more generous about sharing your resources with others? Who could you challenge to be more financially responsible and engaged?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Be Honest

Laser Provision:  It's not always easy to be honest. Sometimes it seems impolite. Why not tell a little lie, or avoid telling the whole truth, to protect someone's feelings? Other times it seems much more costly in terms of our reputation, finances, or influence. Why not tell a big lie, or make up a whole new story, to protect our own interests and / or the interests of others? Then we have those who are paid to lie in the name of "intelligence" or "national security." Honesty is a coveted yet complicated value and today's Provision hopes to sort out some of the nuances. Let me know your thoughts after you read through to the end. Read the Full Provision Here...

Coaching Inquiries: What standards do you hold yourself to when it comes to honesty? How strict are you when it comes to never telling a lie? How would you like to enhance your relationship with the truth? Who could become your "honesty buddy" in life and work?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Outsmart Your Brain

This past week I spent a day with Marcia Reynolds, a Master Certified Coach, past president of the International Coach Federation, and a Certified Speaking Professional from the National Speaking Association. The focus of her workshop was on the Anatomy of a Keynote speech, but she is best known for her book, Outsmart Your Brain, which applies cognitive neuroscience to leadership. Here is a recent issue of her Brain Tips Newsletter based upon a film that I, too, appreciated and enjoyed thoroughly:

"There are many wonderful lessons on leadership in Clint Eastwood's new film Invictus, a movie based on how Nelson Mandela changed the conversation in South Africa from divisiveness to solidarity. Whether you are an executive, a manager, a coach, a speaker or a writer, you are seeking a following. Here are some tips to help you build your community.

Mandela demonstrated the power of engaging people who see the world differently than you do. It’s easy to get like-minded people to follow you. Yet, as Peter Block says, “Like-mindedness is the enemy of the future.” Your strength as a leader is to engage everyone and to unify diverse, creative thought toward a common mission. Here are a few tips gleaned from Mandela’s wisdom:

Leadership Tip #1: Help people know they can accomplish more than they thought they could. Stand for what is possible not just in your organization, but for each individual including low performers. Your belief in them will often change their minds.

Leadership Tip #2: Truly see people. Know what their joys in life are. Know what they hope for. Know what they think stands in their way. One of the bodyguards in the movie said that he felt he was invisible to the president before Mandela. Yet Mandela knew he loved toffee and often brought it to him after a trip. Feeling visible inspired his dedication and achievement.

Leadership Tip #3: When people come to you for advice, don’t give it to them right away. Discern what they know and fear first, and then discover the answers together. Being “the one who knows” stunts their growth. In Gary Cohen's new book, Just Ask Leadership: Why Great Managers Always Ask the Right Questions, he shows how CEOs, managers, and supervisors can ask the right questions in the right contexts. This empowers coworkers, opening the door to greater productivity and creativity. Gary draws on his own experience as a successful CEO and from his interviews with 100 leaders across the country.

Leadership Tip #4: Forgive. What truly inspired the captain of the rugby team to align with Mandela and lead his team to the World Cup was Mandela’s ability to forgive those who imprisoned him for 27 years. Mandela changed the conversation from Us vs. Them by refusing to fall victim to negative emotions. He didn’t want to live in the story of the past. He sought to create a new story for South Africa based on creating the future. This required hope, not revenge.

The poem, Invictus, written by William Ernest Henley in 1875, kept Mandela’s resolve during his dark years in prison. The last two lines read, "I am the master of my destiny. I am the captain of my soul."

As a leader, you are an example whether you are consciously choosing your behavior or not. Don’t let past transgressions and current fears dictate your behavior. Be clear about your mission, and then see the gifts each person brings to the table. People will follow you based on how you acknowledge and treat them. No matter how brilliant you are, you must show that you care about them to engage their commitment to you and your cause. You can do this if you remain the master of your brain, commandeering your emotions and your actions in the service of your vision."

Want to read more? I encourage to visit Marcia's website, OutsmartYourBrain.com, and sign up for her newsletter.

Coaching Inquiries: How do you respond to challenges in life and work? When life throws you a problem, do you see a possibility? How do you explore those possibilities to generate creative, new alternatives. Who is your mentor when it comes to leadership? How can you be more of a leader from whatever positions you hold?

If you would like to learn more about our Coaching Programs and to arrange for a complementary coaching session, Click Here or Email Us.

Seeing You

This poem was written after seeing the movie Avatar. It speaks to the value of connection and deep appreciation for all of life. I hope you enjoy reading it as much I enjoyed writing it.

Seeing You

by Bob Tschannen-Moran © 2010

When I see you

And you see me

We all see better

Together

When I understand your feelings

And you understand mine

We all understand each other

Better

Together

When I recognize your needs

And you recognize mine

We all recognize the source of life

Vitally

Better

Together

When I hear what you want

And you hear what I want

We all hear how to make life

More Wonderful

Vitally

Better

Together

Coaching Inquiries: Who sees you? Who do you see? How can your connection and mutuality be enhanced? What would make your life more wonderful? How could you make life more wonderful? Vitally. Better. Together.

If you find this poem intriguing, use the Contact Form or Email Bob with your response. We'd love to hear from you and to offer you a complimentary telephone coaching session. Enjoy!