Money Lessons with Andrew Temte, PhD, CFA

“There are no failures in life, only learning opportunities.” “It’s only a failure if you don’t learn from it.” Phrases like this are designed to promote a lifelong learning mindset, but it can be incredibly difficult to separate the feelings of failure after something goes wrong from the need to learn from a failure, grow, and move on. I know from personal experience that I can get really stuck w...

The popular press is filled with “how to” guides on personal and professional fulfillment as well as tons of click bait on fad diets, how to get in shape, and develop washboard abs. Yes, it can be fun to vicariously live through others and dream of personal transformation, but those same dreams can be soul-crushing when we slide back into old habits and self-destructive behaviors and patterns that...

On The Balancing Act Podcast, I routinely ask my guests for the advice they would give our listeners on how to optimize the balancing act between technical skill and human (a.k.a. soft) skill in the world of work. The answers to this question vary widely, but most answers share a common thread of building the skills of communication, active listening, presence, situational awareness, self awarenes...

Embrace the power of music. There’s an old saying that my father often repeats: “Keep a smile on your face and a song in your heart.” In this forum, I talk a lot about developing an agile, growth mindset and nurturing a strong portfolio of emotional intelligence tools. Embracing this old saying is one of many methods I’ve used through the years to keep my head screwed on straight and avoid the sli...

Resilience is defined as “the capacity to withstand or to recover quickly from difficulties” (Oxford Dictionaries). The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences.” In most definitions of resiliency, adversity, shock, and/or change occurs that an individual or system must adapt to. Individu...

Earlier this summer, I was in unavoidable earshot of a conversation between two acquaintances regarding team performance—specifically about an operational failure that had occurred in their business. They were lamenting about one of their co-workers, and the implication was that the co-worker was to blame. As a reminder, if I’m pointing a finger at someone else, three more are pointing right back...

There are many truisms in business, and one that doesn’t get nearly enough attention is that as a leader rises through the ranks of an organization, the amount they are discussed, analyzed, and talked about increases in a non-linear fashion. I would periodically get asked if this bothered me during my career, and I would typically respond with a flippant: “My ears stopped buzzing long ago.” Meanin...

Far too often, when confronted with a challenge, we talk. We talk to deflect. We talk because we don’t know what else to do. We talk to release nervous energy. To make matters worse, when we start talking, we usually start relaying a story of a similar challenge that’s happened to us. The individual who’s going through the challenge doesn’t want to hear about our suffering or similar situation, th...

Are you feeling disengaged or ‘stuck’ at work? Does it feel like you’re trudging through mud and that the light in your eyes has dimmed? From my own personal experience, it can be very difficult to pinpoint the root cause of these feelings and it’s even harder to break through to an improved state of well-being and engagement. Today, I’d like to share a tip that’s worked well for me when I find my...

One of the biggest errors a leader can make is to hire team members who are direct reflections of themselves. Yes, it can be temporarily convenient to surround yourself with people who always agree with you, or who share your own perspectives, but in the long-term, this type of hiring behavior will hinder growth, innovation, and forward momentum. A balancing act all leaders must grapple with is th...

Your people need to hear from you. Radio silence is a terrible management practice and is a big driver of employee dissatisfaction. In the case of our delayed flight, all the pilot needed to do was provide a 30 second update to passengers regarding why we pulled off an active runway prior to takeoff. That simple action would have prevented unnecessary spinning and emotional waste. You can prevent...

What do your people want (other than more money)? They want clarity, autonomy, empowerment, respect, and organizational accountability. They want to make a difference and do good, meaningful work. They want to know that leadership cares and that everyone in the company is rowing in the same direction with the same commitment and vigor that they apply to their own work. https://www.andrewtemte.com/

There will be times when you’re the smartest person in the room and others when you need a helping hand. Your colleagues will quickly become exhausted by a know-it-all attitude and will begin to tune you out. Your value to the team and its leader will fall, and tough decisions will follow. https://www.andrewtemte.com/

We’ve all been there. The conference room is packed with attendees for the big presentation. The projector comes to life and the speakers begin walking everyone through the next big corporate innovation, the quarterly financials, or an update on a cross-functional project. The room is professional and focused, with the exception of Suzie and Quentin, who are whispering so loudly that their side co...

What’s the formula for career success? There are endless consultants and prognosticators who claim to have the golden ticket to success. I’ve thought about this many times throughout my career, and with nearly 40 years of experience under my belt, I can boil the formula down to two interrelated concepts: relationships and results. If, at first glance, this framework appears overly simplistic, it i...

Once you’ve come to terms with and start loving the unique human that is you, then achieving your definition of success boils down to relationships and results. For a deep(erish) dive into the relationships side of the equation, here’s the link to last week’s episode for you to review. [1960s elevator music plays] Now that you’re back, let’s tackle the second part of the equation, results. https:/...

We fill our lives with busy and hurry—seldom, if ever, stopping to check in with ourselves and ensure we’re living out the promise of our purpose. One of my goals with the Saturday Morning Muse is to help drive a shift in perspective—from the negative to the positive—from “I have to,” to “I get to.” If you want to be an effective, compassionate leader in life and in business, start engaging in you...