Some of the most valuable work that I do with individuals and teams is helping them understand the difference between assessments and assertions… or put another way, the difference between opinions (or assumptions) and facts. Of course, you know the difference. If it is 85 degrees, you are sweating, and you say “It’s hot.” That’s […]
Sometimes, we think we know things. And because we humans – even the leaders among us – aren’t always as rational as we’d like to be, we often make thinking errors that cause us to believe that we absolutely know things, when in reality we don’t know them at all. This happens especially with emotionally […]
Read Across America day is next week on March 2. The observance, spearheaded by the National Education Association, is designed to promote reading among children and young adults. But we wonder – Why should kids have all the fun? The evidence is clear. Children who are given early access to books, are read to, […]
“You can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet. You have to be in the right mood. What mood is that? Last-minute panic.” Bill Watterson, creator of the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes. He’s talking about procrastination and this quote would lead me to believe that writing a comic strip may be a lot like […]
Almost no one actually enjoys receiving negative feedback. At best, we feel sorry for whatever we did or didn’t do to earn the feedback. At worst, we think that we did not earn the negative feedback at all and we feel hurt by it or betrayed by the feedback giver. But proactively soliciting feedback and […]
Coaching is hard. No, I don’t mean being a coach or coaching other people is hard. I mean that being coached is hard. I have to give credit every day to wise, brave people who open themselves up for coaching and go on to learn, grow, and truly benefit from the process. It’s not something […]
Ever watch what happens as the workload keeps building, complexity keeps increasing, and leaders try to cope by working harder and faster? Work hours extend and anxiety levels rise, but productivity does not necessarily increase as leaders frantically attempt to simply keep up. Hard work is not a bad thing. Sometimes we need to work […]
Organizations frequently do SWOT analyses because they are effective tools for reflection and planning. Individual leaders can and should gain the same benefits. While there are many tools and processes to engage during the creation of a strategic plan, none is so time honored as the SWOT analysis. The classic SWOT analysis examines the Strengths, […]
Every year around now the time honored topics of New Year’s Resolutions and whether or not to make them comes up. People debate the merits of these oft-made, and nearly as oft-broken, promises to ourselves and, increasingly, decide just to skip the whole business altogether. But I’m an advocate of the much maligned New Year’s […]
Lessons for leaders in Donald Trump’s surprising win
This week’s US Presidential election represented one of the most stunning political upsets that most of us alive today have ever witnessed.
Regardless of how you...
Marie Peeler of Peeler Associates to Speak at ECCF’s Institute for Trustees, March 25
PEMBROKE and HAMILTON, MA, ISSUED MARCH 10, 2017… Marie Peeler, founder and principal of Peeler Associates, an executive coaching and leadership development firm working with individuals and...