Side-stepping power

Side-stepping power

Most misuse of power is seen as its overuse: dominating discussions, micromanaging others, coercing or threatening to get your way. But the underuse of power—timidity, hesitation, fear of making the wrong decision—is just as costly. Holding power means having a...
Staying True to Your Voice

Staying True to Your Voice

Praise, approval, and positive feedback is attractive—and addictive. When you have an audience, it’s tempting to bend toward their expectations, to dilute your voice, your truth to earn their approval. We see artists sellout, teachers lower their standards to get...
Oh. I guess it’s me.

Oh. I guess it’s me.

My mother died last month, and now I’m confronting the strange sensation of being the eldest generation in my family. Along with my sister and brother, I’m suddenly the person at the top of the tree, the elder. It’s an odd feeling, and one I haven’t quite grown into....
Between Conscience and Compromise

Between Conscience and Compromise

When institutions are threatened by corrupt or corrosive forces, leaders face a difficult choice: resist or acquiesce. Do they defy the regime or accommodate to protect and preserve the institution? Is compromise a form of quiet resistance, or is it ‘bending a knee,’...
The Power of Reading the Room

The Power of Reading the Room

We often think of leadership as bold action, but it’s just as much about quiet sensing, tuning into unspoken dynamics, the mood, the tension in the room, and responding to what’s actually happening. Caught between the economic and legal consequences of a moment, it’s...