Entries by gmader

Why is straight talk so difficult?

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I was coaching two entrepreneurs who were partners in a services business. They were very good at what they did and their partnership made them a lot of money and afforded them great market brand and reputation. However, they had very different personalities and they had an acrimonious relationship for a long time. Even though their teams had to work closely together, somehow the two managed to navigate the business conversations and activities while staying clear of the need to directly deal with each other on a personal level. They continued to avoid dealing with their personal conflicts, lack of trust and overall contentious relationship, even though it negatively affected the people under them, as […]

Even senior executives need to build their team

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True Story: I was coaching a senior executive – fictional name: George – who is the head of a big division in a global technology company and he was expressing his frustration about the fact that his direct reports, who are also senior executives, were not gelling together as a team the way he needed them to and the way he expected and hoped they would. George’s organization went through significant changes in the last year because he was asked to take on an expanded mandate of running one of the key growth areas of the company. As a result, he ended up with a brand new team that was larger than what he had […]

What are you resigned about?

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Have you become apathetic about something you care about? This may seem like a strange question. After all, it assumes that you are resigned about something that is important to you. However, I believe most of us are resigned about something that is important to us a good chunk of the time. If we have strong self-awareness, commitment and discipline we may be able to pull ourselves out of apathy every time we fall into it. But, I think resignation is unavoidable for human beings. I am not suggesting that all of us are apathetic all the time. But, it is the nature of people to dream and aspire, but when things don’t go as […]

What is the source of your personal energy? Part 1

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People often ask me how I maintain such a high level of energy in my life all the time. The questions that often follow are “what are you on?” or “is it something in your drink?” Well, I do take vitamins and I do love to drink a lot of water and green tea. However, I am quite sure they are not the source of my high energy. High energy comes naturally to me, partly because of my personality, but mostly because of a few practices and ways of being that I have adopted, internalized and integrated into my life. They are: Maintaining a physical lifestyle that supports wellbeing and high energy. Having a positive, […]

Are you taking enough time off?

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I took a vacation last week. It was March break in Toronto. Our youngest daughter travelled to our family overseas for the break so my wife and I took advantage of our ‘empty nesters’ status and took off to a resort on one of the Caribbean islands. I love what I do and I am a passionate type-A, hyperactive workaholic. So, for me to have a successful vacation I need to go to a place where I can leave all devices, my wallet and my watch behind and just focus on resting, slowing down, rejuvenating and having fun. Nothing fits the bill better for me than an all-inclusive resort on a sandy beach in a […]

Are you willing to be empowered?

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There is a great quote by Marianne Williamson: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that frightens us most.” Are you willing to be empowered? This may seem like an odd question to ask. Who wouldn’t want to be Great? Perhaps it’s not as straightforward as it seems. It is my life’s purpose and focus to ignite, energize and empower people. In fact, it’s my job, and most of it takes place in the workplace. In my work I get so many opportunities to empower people; remind them of who they are and how great and […]

How to regain your motivation

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I was coaching someone the other day who is generally a highly committed and passionate person. He is also someone who has historically dedicated himself to big commitments and self-improvement. I was coaching him because somewhere along the way he got stuck and deteriorated into a state of resignation and suffering. When I asked him to share what had happened he said, “I have lost my motivation.” Over the years, I have supported so many committed people who have experienced this same sensation of feeling stuck. I have also struggled through it myself. So, I want to dedicate this blog to the question: “how do you find your motivation when you have lost it?” Part […]

4 Steps to ensure mergers and/or acquisitions fulfill their purpose

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I often work with organizations and teams that are going through, or have gone through, internal or external merger or acquisition. Unfortunately, it is a known fact that most mergers or acquisitions fail to fulfill their desired or anticipated potential. I read a statistic, which stated that the archives of the Wall Street Journal show that upwards of 80 percent of mergers and acquisitions fail to fulfill the strategic goals that justified the merger and/or acquisition within the expected timeframe. In many cases, the resulting organizations are less effective and less successful than the original two by themselves. My personal experience and observation have led me to believe that this failure is due to the […]

Bring your full self-expression to work

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In one of my earlier blogs I shared about the story of a client friend who described his work as his “8 hour inconvenience.” Almost every week as I work with teams of all levels around the globe, I encounter a similar team dynamic: people being hesitant to express themselves boldly and passionately, especially when dealing with the sensitive issues, challenges and topics that frustrate them and stifle their productivity and effectiveness. In fact, in most teams, bold and courageous communication is often replaced by resignation, fear and a victim mentality.  It’s not that people are cowards. It’s that in organizational settings, even courageous people tend to play a more safe and politically correct game. […]

Stop the Passive Aggressive Behavior

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In most organizations, passive aggressive behavior is rampant. The dictionary defines passive aggressive as: a type of behavior or personality characterized by indirect resistance to the demands of others and an avoidance of direct confrontation, as in procrastinating, pouting, or misplacing important materials. In reality, passive aggressive behavior is actually much worse than this definition suggests. Typical passive aggressive behavior happens in environments where people don’t feel they can fully express their feelings and thoughts–especially the negative ones. So, instead of communicating openly, authentically, courageously and effectively, people tend to pretend that everything is going well, even when they really feel the opposite – irritated, upset and/or angry about what is going on. They say […]

You can promise the uncertain

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You can promise the uncertain Can you promise an outcome that you don’t know how to fulfill or that you don’t own and control all the aspects that are needed in order to fulfill it? My answer is yes! In fact, I think in many cases, these type of promises are the ones most worth making because they often reflect our aspirational dreams and game changers. When Kennedy promised that the USA would put a man on the moon and get him back safely by the end of the century, NASA didn’t exist. In fact, all of the key technologies and materials needed to achieve Kennedy’s lofty vision didn’t exist. But, by making the promise, […]

What is your identity wrapped up in?

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I was speaking to a client who recently retired as a senior executive in a well-known global telecommunication company. We have become friends over the years of working together and he was sharing with me his initial experience of retired life, and what he had learned so far about how to have a successful retirement. One of the things he pointed to was that in order to have a successful retirement, we need to be able to disassociate ourselves from our past professional title, status and position. While this is certainly true for executives, I believe it is relevant for everyone. After our conversation, I was thinking to myself that doing this might be easier […]