You Need to Write a Letter to Yourself
Last week, I was in a coaching session with Hiro. Hiro is a leader in transition. He had stepped into…
Stories
A Lasting Commitment for a Cause—Cancer Research
The other day, I was talking with a leader I coach who was wrestling with a big question:“How do I…
Your Team Member Could be Chasing Too Much Prey
Last week, I sat down with Mark, a mid-career leader who was feeling stuck. He had a high-potential team member…
Using AI Makes Your Leadership Message Clearer
Last week, I was coaching Elias, a thoughtful leader preparing for a high-stakes presentation. He had all the right instincts,…
Commitment Is Different Than Agreement—And Great Leaders Know the Difference
The other day, I met with Dan, a senior operations leader at a fast-growing company. We grabbed a booth at…
Determine the 40% of Your Activities That Matter the Most
I was coaching Fred last week, a senior executive contemplating the next phase of his career. “I want to work…
Your Team Needs to Take Flight
Every leader wants their team to move forward with energy and confidence. But once momentum stalls, getting back on track…
You Need Clarity on What’s Slowing You Down
Every leader aims for their team to advance toward a goal, but momentum doesn’t always come from working harder. Instead,…
Aligning Strategy and Operations Strengthens Team Execution
In our last conversation, Elijah, an executive at a large financial services firm, faced a familiar leadership challenge: balancing his…
Leading at the Right Altitude Enhances Strategic Execution
Recently, I worked with an executive named Elijah in a large financial services company who was struggling with a common…
Being Grateful Deepens Your Sense of Purpose
In a recent coaching session, I had a conversation with Aisha, a talented executive who had always been praised for…
Having a Cause You Believe in So Deeply that You Invite Others to Join You
There’s something extraordinary about generosity. It’s not just the act of giving, but the belief in something greater; something that…
The Benefit of Looking 7 Years Back to Give Confidence to the Next 7 Years
Planning for the future is something that comes naturally to me. I enjoy looking back 7-10 years and I enjoy…
The Importance of Blending Work and Personal Lives to Fulfill Personal and Team Goals
Success as a leader is a combination of professional performance and personal satisfaction and fulfillment. Our lives and the lives…
Creating a Leadership Playbook Adds Clarity
In our world, our lives are filled with information from our laptops, phones, and TVs. Having knowledge isn’t the difficult…
You Need to Turn Your Textbooks into Playbooks
In today’s fast-paced, information saturated world, knowledge is at everyone’s fingertips. Having access to this knowledge is just the first…
Pfrt Lrdhsp Requires Structure and Context to Build a Compelling Plan
Leadership is hard, and the beauty of leadership is that things don’t need to be perfect. Or, lrdhsp is hrad,…
Pfrt Lrdhsp: You Don’t Need to Be Perfect to Be a Great Leader
You don’t need to be perfect to be a great leader. You just need to be pfrt. Letting go of…
You are Not as Clear or Motivating as You Think You are
Leadership is hard. Being clear and motivating is hard. Recently I asked a coaching client if when she was having…
Be Generous in Ways that Reflect Your Values
During a recent coffee chat with one of the executives I am coaching, we were engaged in a thoughtful conversation…
Thank You for Your Contributions
The Ardy Germann Team has wrapped the MMRF Team for Cures Walk/Run fundraising campaign. I want to extend a heartfelt…
Having a Personal Leadership Brand Adds Value
The other day, I was sitting down with a sales executive and explaining that I want to continue writing stories…
Ten Important Leader Talks
It’s important to continuously build your effectiveness as a leader. There are certain moments in a leader’s interaction swith people…
Team Strategy Sessions Can Be Like Folding a Fitted Sheet
Recently I was with a team of leaders who gathered to update their vision and come up with a strategy…
How to Give Feedback
Creating more frequent and individualized feedback will help both employees and managers meet the goals of the organization. Most employees want…
We Choose Our Reaction
We have the power to choose our reaction and emotional state in every interaction. Back in 1991, I read Stephen Covey’s The…
Challenges Help us to Be Resilient – Emotional Intelligence
Developing relationships requires more than just being nice. I started working with a somewhat reluctant coaching client who was told- quite…
Directing Vs. Coaching
You need to change your coaching style if you want to be a powerful coach. Which one of these profiles…
How to Create an 18 Month Calendar
When planning out your calendar think out six quarters. I frequently tell the story about managing my 18-month calendar, so I’m…
Deposits and Withdrawals – Building Trusted Relationships
Our personal actions develop or break trust in our relationships. In relationships, we have what Stephen Covey refers to as an…
Building culture – one salt shaker at a time
When a leader focuses on impacting the culture of an organization, they impact the people. Here’s a great way to think…
Decide to Succeed
When we plan to succeed it gets us through the tough times. Just about any famous business strategist who has millions…
Live and Communicate your values
We all need to know what is really important. Years ago, I belonged to a group called The Masters’ Forum – which hosted…
Four Roles of Middle Managers
I often coach people who are middle managers. They’re strong, brave people doing their best every day to become more…
How to hold a stellar performance appraisal
Providing powerful performance feedback is something every leader should do well. The formal performance review system at large organizations can be…
Set the right goals, or how I got cut from the basketball team
Failure is a great teacher. In seventh grade, I got cut from the junior high basketball team. I was really disappointed.…
Belief Windows
I was coaching three people from an executive team and had the enlightening opportunity to hear about their daily operations…
Stretch Goals
Many people recognize the hard work, determination and commitment that running a marathon takes; even if you don’t plan to…
Please help us find a cure – virtually!
Friends, colleagues and family – For many, late summer means the State Fair, back to school shopping, dorm move-ins and…
Learning to Juggle
We can often learn while we are waiting. When I was in college, I played tennis with my friend John. There…
Soaring, Showing and Flutter Days
When somebody asks me how my day went, sometimes I tell them I had an Eagle Day. I soared and made a…
Conquering Your Fears by Naming Them
We all have fears – and right now, our fears about work, health and family may be more top of mind…
Executing Through Difficult Times – Sessions with Jack
While failure is temporary, learning from it can be permanent. Remember the first time you tried to ride a bike? Or…
Inner Game of Self Leadership
Self-Leadership – that is the responsibility and discipline of leading yourself– is like a game. All games are played at…
Read 40 Books a Year
We all need to keep learning and growing. People who know me know that I love to read and learn. That’s…
Your Quality of Life is a Result of Your Decisions
There are profound moments in your life that shape who you are. My dad and I used to go to a…
Heart Set, Mindset, Skillset, and Toolset
You can optimize the impact of your talent and available tools with the right heart set and mindset. To grow into…
Power of Collaboration
We, as leaders, need to give up power and control, delegate and trust people more. For me, that often comes in the form of asking questions.
Small Decisions Can Have a Big Impact
We benefit from following sound advice. When I was in my late twenties with a couple of small children at…
Help us reach our goal… and find a cure!
August 8th, 2019 Have you had a chance to stretch yourself this summer? Maybe you’ve taken on a new activity…
Stakeholders
There are many stakeholders who leaders need to focus on.I had a coaching client who was truly the epitome of…
Apologies
A sincere apology improves our relationships – both personal and professional. It’s a fact – the workplace is filled with…
Leadership Philosophy
We need to know what we believe. One of the most powerful exercises I do with the people I…
Checklists Work to Create Habits
I’d like to share a personal story to illustrate how a simple routine checklist can help you be a better…
Servant Leadership
Leaders who have the perspective of being a servant leader will succeed long term. Leadership is naturally outward facing. At its…
Building Relationships that Matter
Knowing how to develop and grow relationships is a key skill for every leader. It’s hard to believe that the…
Establishing goals – Aligning for best outcomes
As a leader, it is important that you establish goals that are clear and inspiring. You won’t find many successful…
Help us find a cure!
August 10, 2018 Friends and Colleagues, Over the past few months, I’ve been sharing a few stories from my collection…
$100 Recognition
Good leaders know how to make recognition very personal and meaningful. Not long ago, I met with a leader who…
Starbucks with Jack
It is important to be mentoring people you want to succeed. My daughter Laurel is married to Jack, a financial planner…
Your Perfect Week
We have the opportunity to make every week perfect. Each of our lives is perfectly aligned to achieve our goals.…
Power of Habit
Habits are very powerful things. Many of our habits help us accomplish the things we want to achieve. There are…
Slow the Game Down
We’ve all been there – having that feeling where everything seems urgent and frantic. When life seems out of control…
Mission – Vision – Values – Purpose
Leaders need to live and express their organization’s mission every day. Imagine my surprise when I meet with a coaching…
Why Create an 18-Month Calendar?
Busy lives require us to take control of our schedule so it doesn’t take control of us. So many…
100 Moments in A Year – Reflecting is an important part of life
Reflecting is an important part of life. I have an annual ritual at the end of every year, usually on…
The Power of Collecting Your Stories
Imagine how long ago – maybe 20,000 years – the very first story was told around the fire circle. Stories…