Essays on leading yourself first.
Groundwork is what I call the writing: these essays, the newsletter every two weeks, and the tools. Written for first-time leaders who look like they have it figured out and are ready to look at the part underneath.
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The Circle of Could and Should
When you're leading with less than you need, the shortage is real. What you can put down is the loop of designing a job you can't actually run right now.
Read essayWho Is Saying You're Not Supposed to Be Here?
Imposter syndrome and perfectionism travel together. What the research says, and the one question I ask on a coaching call that seems to move it.
Read essayThe Three Pillars of Leadership
My coaching practice has been based on three pillars for a while. This summer I heard what they sound like in real conversations, and they stopped being a framework.
Read essayThe Role You Signed Up For
The love we give our children is often a reflection of the love we wish we received. On my father, my son, and the balance I have not figured out.
Read essayThe Unknown Is You
The thing you keep calling risk has a face, and it is yours. On imagination as a practical tool, and the question I bring to almost everyone I work with.
Read essayLonelier Than the People You Lead
Gallup says managers now carry more stress, more sadness, and more loneliness than the people they lead. On helpers, the weight of the middle, and finding your impact again.
Read essayThe Space Between You and the Wall
Close your eyes and notice the space around you. It looks empty. It isn't. On grounding, oneness, and why you already hold what you need.
Read essayThe Tree Her Mother Wouldn't Cut
Wangari Maathai grew up beside a fig tree her mother wouldn't let anyone cut. When it fell, the stream died too. On the roots holding your life together, and 51 million trees grown from seven.
Read essayWhen the String Snaps
A 14-year-old broke three violin strings mid-performance in front of Leonard Bernstein and never stopped playing. What real performance is made of when the conditions fall apart.
Read essayThere's No Failure in Sports
The night the number one seed got eliminated, a reporter asked Giannis if the season was a failure. His answer is a lesson in presence for anyone in a hard season.
Read essayThe Land That Healed Him
Sebastião Salgado photographed the worst of humanity and it broke him. What put him back together was a forest he planted with his own hands. On recovery, and the slow way back.
Read essayThe Night Shift
Why I built NightShiftOS, a free open-source system for parents building something after the day job. The night shift is where the dream gets built.
Read essayTrust the Process
Arsenal just won the Premier League after 22 years. What Mikel Arteta's rebuild teaches us about patience, foundation, and leading without rushing to the finish line.
Read essayLeadership Coaching for New Managers: What to Know
What the first 90 days actually demand. Three patterns new managers break on, four principles I bring to every first session, and how to tell if you're ready for the work.
Read essayDo It Scared
What presence actually looks like under fear. The story of taking a sales job two months after my mom died, and what my T-Mobile manager taught me about staying in the room.
Read essayGrounding Comes First
Why I open almost every coaching session with the same two-minute grounding practice, and why it is the first tool I hand new clients.
Read essayIs it the job, or is it you?
Twelve questions, four minutes, and a read on where you stand.