The Kind Leadership Challenge

The Next Steps Checklist companion Tutorial is live! Listen to an excerpt here, or download the next steps checklist to access the full video! ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist! Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick...

Greetings Kind Leaders! Just a quick head’s up that there’s no episode of the Kind Leadership Challenge this week. That’s because on the next episode, I’ll be unveiling a new companion tutorial to the next steps checklist. It’s a short step by step demo of the checklist that will teach you everything you need to solve your next leadership challenge in as little as 15 minutes! If you want to get an...

It's time to talk about mandatory fun. Not the kind that involves forced merriment and trust falls, but the actual rest and recreation that keeps you from falling apart.  ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist! Want a likeminded community of leaders who&apo...

If the surveys are right, many of the leaders listening to this episode are more afraid of public speaking than they are of death. The good nees it, there's a simple solution to that fear, and I'll share it today. ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist...

Strategic planning is just like riding a bike! ...Crashes Included.  ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist! Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership Guild.

We'd all love it if our leadership growth curve was a nice, straight diagonal line upward. However, mine definitely hasn't been, and I doubt yours is either. The good news is that there are lessons to be learned in the hard times that will help you come back stronger. ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure...

It's great to be close with your team. But there's such a thing as being too close... ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist! Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn more about the Kind Leadership...

When you get right down to it, Leadership is nothing more or less than the ability to make decisions. And anyone can do that, right? Well, maybe. Because if that is true, then you are no better or worse a leader than the quality of your decisions. And that feels great when you’ve just managed to keep your head in a crisis. But what about the other day when you stood in front of the line at the cof...

There's no one "right" answer to almost all leadership problems. The good news is there's often several "good enough" answers, one of which may well be the "best" for your situation. ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist!...

I don't normally comment on current events. However, the recent systemic failures at Boeing and Lincoln University of Missouri, and the serious consequences of those failures, made it clear that we need to talk about how kind leaders can best balance healing toxic workplace cultures without putting ourselves at risk. More on Dr. Antoinette Candia-Bailey and the Boeing 737 Max 9: OPINION: Dr....

How can we as leaders wield our power in a kind manner? Ultimately were the boss, the head honcho, the big cheese. Heavy is the head that wears the crown and all that, especially when you’re juggling less money, more mandates, a burnt-out team and a frustrated community. But what if you actually have a lot LESS power than you think? That realization can actually be pretty empowering in itself.  ~~...

So, you’re here because you want to build a better world without burning out! That’s a great goal! But as the person who made “Build a better world without burning out” the Kind Leadership Guild’s tagline, I know it’s also a pretty mushy goal. For instance:  What do you mean by Better?  And Better for Whom?  And what part of the world are you trying to make better? ( And that’s not even getting in...

Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like every leadership influencer and researcher I follow is talking about how we all need to know our “why” and our organization’s “why”. However, one’s personal and professional “why” can change from month to month, and even minute to minute! So today, I’m going to talk about how we can get more clear on our why, and use that clarity to keep our work relevant and...

One of the roughest moments of my early days as a library dean was the realization that to be the best leader I could be and the leader my team needed me to be, I couldn't be a librarian anymore--or at least I couldn't primarily be a librarian.  That shift was necessary, but it was hard. Today I'll give you a roadmap to navigate your own leadership transition. ~~~ To listen to more...

Today I'm discussing one of the top vote-getters in my recent listener poll: Workplace Drama! Specifically, I'll explore toxic workplace drama, healthy workplace conflict, and how a kind leader can guide team members--and themselves--to shift from the former to the latter. ~~~ Related Resources: The Origins of Justice Stewart's "I Know It When I See It" :  Peter Lattman, W...

in a world where colleges’ obligations are growing and revenues are shrinking, how do we as educational leaders keep our institutions sustainable?  Today I'll be talking with higher ed finance podcaster Gary Stocker to better understand the current state of Higher Education funding and explore the biggest concers on the minds of higher ed leaders, students, and stakeholders. Learn more about...

How are you feeling?  No really, how are you feeling? I’m not just asking you about the literal emotions you are having, but how are you experiencing and managing them?    This week, I'm sharing the first lesson from my new course on Emotional Awareness for Leaders, which is only available in full to members of the Kind Leadership Guild. Enjoy the peek behind the curtain, and I hope you learn...

Those of you who have downloaded my Next Steps Checklist know that you get my regular emails with insights from classic podcast episodes, and questions designed to get you thinking more deeply about how and why you do what you do as a leader. However, a lot more people listen to this podcast than receive my emails, so I thought I'd share a recent question I asked my email subscribers:  What m...

It just takes a little thoughtfulness and some small choices to make big shifts in how inclusive we are for our teams and our community. Today's episode will explore some concrete ways we can all become more inclusive leaders. ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps C...

This episode was inspired by a post I saw on social media from a front line worker who was struggling to become friends with their somewhat reserved new boss.  And although that's certainly a noble sentiment, friendships between leaders and team members can open a big can of worms. In this episode, I share what kind leaders should strive for instead.  ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to...

When we talk about managing up, we're usually focused most intensely on our direct supervisors (as we should be). But what if you have an opportunity to advocate for your team higher up on the food chain? Here's some thoughts on what to do.  ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download t...

Leadership is lonely by definition, as well as by necessity. And yet, to build a better world, you need to figure out how to you have to open up to that world.  Today I'll talk about how you can strike a sustainable balance between those truths, and let down your guard while still keeping yourself safe and objective. ~~~ ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! R...

A leader's power doesn't (necessarily) corrupt, but it does reveal. So what does your use of power reveal about you? ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps Checklist! Want a likeminded community of leaders who'll have your back through thick and thin? Learn...

The blessing of being an interim leader is that you know your responsibility has an end date. The curse is that everyone else you have to deal with knows your authority has an end date.   Today we'll talk about how to navigate that blessing and curse so you can leave your team better than you found it. ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today&...

Most leaders pride themselves on their resilience. Being tough and persistent enough to overcome our career challenges is how we got where we are, after all. However, there is such a thing as being too resilient for your own good...  ~~~ To listen to more episodes , head to kindleadershipchallenge.com ! Ready to Take Today's Challenge, but not sure where to start? Download the free Next Steps...