Where Leadership Goes to Die

• By Scott Eblin
• August 1, 2013
• comments

While travelling this week, I’ve been reading This Town: Two Parties and a Funeral-Plus, Plenty of Valet Parking!-in America’s Gilded Capital by New York Times reporter Mark Leibovich.  It’s a simultaneously entertaining and depressing account of the power elite in Washington, DC.  The primary point of the book, which Leibovich illustrates with story after story, is that the players in D.C. (referred to in the book as The Club) are all about Brand Me. The whole scene, as described by Leibovich, is a constant flurry of self-interested self-promotion across as many platforms as possible. It's becoming a place where leadership goes to die.

The book does a great job of explaining why so many Americans are so disgusted with what goes on in and comes out of DC. In a word, it’s shallow.

Back in 2009, I wrote a post on this blog called What Are You In It For? That’s a question I’d love to ask of a lot of the people profiled in This Town – what are you in it for? Based on what I’m reading, I’d have to conclude that honest answers would include fame, fortune ...

5 Questions You Should Be Asking Yourself On a Regular Basis

• By Scott Eblin
• July 29, 2013
• comments

How many decisions do you think you make in a day? The research I’ve seen says its anywhere from 600 or so to 10,000 on average. When I think about all of the relatively inconsequential decisions I make every day (e.g. what shirt to wear, what I’m going to have for breakfast, etc.), I’m inclined to go with the higher number. Any way you slice it, it’s a lot of daily decisions for most people.

Most of us tend to get into a well grooved loop of actions and results (or cause and effect if you like). That’s a good thing for the most part because with all of those decisions we’re making everyday, we’d have total analysis paralysis if we had to actively stop and think about every decision we make or action we take.

So, it’s a good thing until it’s no longer good thing. And when is it no longer a good thing? It’s no longer a good thing when you stop getting the results you want, need or expect.

Sometimes, we can be so caught up in our minds that it’s hard to ...

Let Them Think Out Loud

• By Scott Eblin
• July 25, 2013
• comments

A few days ago, I got a call from a coaching colleague who was looking for some advice. He’s been working with the top executives of a company and has developed strong relationships with each of them. The challenge is that those executives are sorting through some disagreements with each other and each of them is confiding their points of view in my friend, the coach.

Understandably, he was growing concerned about being in the middle of a multi-party dispute. He asked me what I would do. Instead of answering, I asked him what he thought was important in this situation. He was very clear about that. I then asked him what he wanted for himself and the people involved. He was very clear that he wanted the best for everyone. Then I asked what he thought he should do. He immediately said he should talk to each of the individuals to let them know that he was getting perspectives from their colleagues as well but that all of those conversations were solely between him and the executive he was talking to. His job was to be a sounding board.

At different points in our conversation, I repeated back ...

What Will Be Your Responsible “No” This Week?

• By Scott Eblin
• July 22, 2013
• comments

My wife has this great line that she sometimes uses when she’s asked to help with something that’s not as high a priority as other things on her calendar. She listens to the pitch and then politely says, “What you’re doing sounds great and really important. I’d like to be able to help but given everything else going on in my life, it wouldn’t be responsible of me to say yes.”

Based on what I see with a lot of leaders, there are lots of irresponsible yes’s flying around. (I’ve certainly emitted my share, too.) The outcome is often frantic, rather mindless calendars that don’t really drive meaningful results.

So, consider taking five minutes on this Mindful Monday to consider what’s inbound on your radar screen that you need to say no to when it arrives. Saying no could be the most mindful and responsible thing you do all week.

What’s your best advice for saying no in a mindful way?

Image via Happystock/Shutterstock.com

Leadership Lessons from the San Francisco Plane Crash

• By Scott Eblin
• July 18, 2013
• comments

My friend and Georgetown leadership coaching colleague, Bob Wohlsen, sent a thought provoking email to his friends and clients last week on the recent crash of an Asiana 777 jet liner at San Francisco International Airport. In it, Bob raises a lot of important questions for leaders and their colleagues to consider. With his permission, I’m sharing his thoughts on the Next Level Blog.  You can learn more about Bob and his work with leaders as well as contact him through his LinkedIn profile.