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Parent Resources

Leadership Thought #311 – Both Time and Relationships Are Finite

I watched an interesting movie last night called The Way. It was written and directed by Emilio Estevez and stars his father Martin Sheen. In the movie a straight-laced somewhat taciturn father has to cope with the tragic loss of his 40 year old free-spirited son. The event took place while he was beginning a spiritual trek on “The Way of St. James” or “Camino de Santiago” which is an 800 kilometer pilgrimage (hike) through France and Spain to the burial place of Saint James. The father decides to complete the journey his son started and learns alot about himself and life along the way. As with most of his acting roles, it was a powerful and thoughtful performance by Martin Sheen.

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Leadership Thought #205 – The Importance of New Beginnings

I’ve always like the idea of new beginnings. My mom used to say that every person has 4 seasons to their lives and each one is an opportunity to reinvent yourself and use the wisdom gained up until that point to make better decisions. As I age, I understand more of what she meant. I also believe that within these seasons there are natural changes such as completing your schooling, getting married (maybe more than once), having kids, becoming a homeowner, embarking on a career, being at the peak of your career and having responsibility for other people, caring for aging parents, having your own kids move out and start their own lives, becoming a grandparent, retirement from work and navigating our “golden years” that just seem to happen and lead to new beginnings. I do respect the fact that not everyone opts for all these changes but for the most part they are common experiences shared by most of us.

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Daily Leadership Thought #194 – Children Are a Source of Growth and Inspiration

I’ve always believed that children are a gift from God or whatever higher power you choose to believe in. They are here to teach us as much as we are here to guide them. Sometimes it’s like looking in a mirror and seeing yourself being reflected back through their actions, attitudes, etc. In other cases, you gain entry into the wondrous world of their own individuality. My hope has always been that they will take the best from their mother and me and leave our flaws behind for us to grapple with on our own.

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    Recommended Reading

  • How To Be A Leader

    Martin Bjergegaard and Cosmina Popa

    Book SummaryView the Book

    This book is an insightful guide that delves into the essential aspects of leadership. The book emphasizes that leadership is not merely a position but a choice that individuals make in their everyday lives. The authors argue that leadership starts with personal development, self-awareness, and aligning one’s actions with their purpose. The book is divided […]

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  • Leading with Questions: How Leaders Discover Powerful Answers by Knowing How and What to Ask

    Michael J. Marquardt and Bob Tiede

    Book ReviewView the Book

    In this newly revised third edition of Leading with Questions, renowned global leadership consultants Michael Marquardt and Bob Tiede describe how to ask powerful questions that generate short-term and long-term results and success. They show you how effective leaders use questions to encourage participation and teamwork, foster creative thinking, empower others, create relationships with customers, and […]

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  • How To Be A Leader: An Ancient Guide To Wise Leadership

    Plutarch (translated by Jeffrey Beneker)

    Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Book ReviewView the Book

    The ancient biographer and essayist Plutarch thought deeply about the leadership qualities of the eminent Greeks and Romans he profiled in his famous―and massive―Lives, including politicians and generals such as Pericles, Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Mark Antony. Luckily for us, Plutarch distilled what he learned about wise leadership in a handful of essays, […]

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    Favorite Articles

  • How to identify employee disengagement

    More than half of employees say they’re disengaged at work—with implications for both morale and value creation. Our research shows that better performance and higher well-being lead to healthier workplaces and more consistent organizational performance. Managers who move their employees up the satisfaction spectrum toward higher engagement are therefore making a strategic choice. A final thought […]

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  • From start-up to centaur: Leadership lessons on scaling

    This playbook for founder CEOs on scaling from start-up to standout and beyond borrows lessons from the global B2B software-as-a-service industry. Scaling is no easy feat. Even companies that develop successful products have a greater than 80 percent chance of failure.1 Fast-growth companies face constant growing pains, especially at critical inflection points, and investors attribute 65 percent […]

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  • Why strategists should embrace imperfection

    In a world of rapid change, looking for certainty can obscure opportunity. Taking smaller yet bold steps provides a more sure-footed path through uncertainty. Conventional approaches to strategy have had to adapt in recent years, with rapid technological change and buffeting from external forces. In this episode of Inside the Strategy Room, the authors of the new book, The Imperfectionists: […]

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    Helpful Websites

  • ITR Fed Watch

    Each week, ITR Economics CEO and Chief Economist Brian Beaulieu provides an update on the Federal Reserve Board’s latest actions. Our use of factual rather than emotional inputs is key to our data-driven approach to economic forecasting. Our vigilant watch for Federal Reserve decisions is part of this approach. Catch up on ITR Economics’ latest analysis of […]

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  • Therapist Aid

    Therapist Aid provides expertly designed, research-informed tools and education for mental health professionals and their clients.

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  • Wordtune

    Wordtune was built by AI21 Labs, founded in 2018 by AI luminaries. Our goal is to revolutionize the way we read and write. We design advanced AI tools and language models that understand the context and semantics of written text. These models are what set Wordtune apart as the first AI-based writing companion, moving far beyond […]

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    Video Favorites

  • Virtuous Leadership Part 2: The Four Basic Virtues – Alex Havard

    Alex Havard explains the concept of “virtuous leadership.” In Part 2, he begins to describe the four basic virtues: prudence, courage, self-control, and justice.

  • The Importance of Character in Leadership | Jordan Peterson

    Here is a brief excerpt from a Jordan Peterson lecture on the importance of personal character in becoming a good (noble) leader and the weakness in a society formed when there are not enough examples of admirable leadership qualities.  He uses a few biblical examples.

  • Five Tips for Better One-on-One Meetings

    One-on-one meetings are among the best opportunities for relationship-building that we’re afforded at work. But when run badly, they can feel like an unproductive use of people’s time. Mistake No. 1: viewing these check-ins as another task list item to check off. With planning and forethought, you can take your one-on-one meetings to the next […]

    Reading Excerpts

  • A Sense of Urgency – John Kotter

    A Sense of Urgency – Book Excerpt (Click on this link for the Word document)   Chapter 1 – It All Starts With A Sense of Urgency …Go check, then you find people running, and they are stressed out. But this man (leader), and almost everyone else around him, is mistaking the enormous amount of […]

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  • The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

    The Truth About Leadership – Book Excerpts   The Truth About Leadership By James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner Book Excerpts   Introduction – The Ten Truths The first truth is that you make a difference. It is the most fundamental truth of all. Before you can lead, you have to believe that you […]

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  • High Performance: Lessons From The Best on Becoming Your Best

    Please click on link to download a copy of this summary   SECTION 1 – HIGH-PERFORMANCE MINDSET  Lesson 1: Take Responsibility He (Albert Badura) speculated that when people don’t believe they have what it takes to complete a task successfully, they would see little point in making an initial effort. When these people did attempt […]

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