Posts by Micah Ray
Courage to Overcome The Internal Struggle
(The following is an excerpt from our regular newsletter. If you want to get insights like these delivered to your inbox on a regular basis, subscribe here.) The Internal Struggle No doubt everyone of us can think of something we would like to change about our current reality. So why is it that days can…
Read MoreCommunication – the Lifeblood of Relationships
In a former career, I did a fair amount of pre-marriage and marriage coaching. I was not licensed as a counselor, but I could serve as a coach based on my own experience, workshops I had attended, and books I had studied and taught in marriage classes. One principle that I came back to time…
Read MoreSimple is Good
“Simple is good.” When I think of this phrase, it takes me back to a time early in my career. I had moved into the information technology department of a fast-growing company, and I was responsible for software configuration. It was a robust warehouse management system that was new technology to the world and to…
Read MoreMissing Annual Goals
If you’re like me, you take some time at the end of a year to reflect back on what you accomplished — or didn’t. (It’s my Creative Pioneer voice combination that struggles to believe that anything can be “good enough.”) A few years ago, I heard a leader give a talk, and in it,…
Read MoreA Leadership Essential
If you spend any time on our site or others about leadership, you can easily be overwhelmed. There seem to be so many methods to becoming a good leader. But there are some things that are more important to remember than others. We believe that self-awareness is one of those. To become a leader that…
Read MoreThe Best Way to Support
Good managers or leaders are able to provide the right support and the right challenge at the right times. That’s what we call calibrating your leadership to the situation. (To download a free instruction guide and the Support Challenge Matrix tool, check out this page.) It’s important for you the leader to show support to…
Read MoreThe Best Way to Challenge
As a manager or leader, it’s important to calibrate your leadership approach to include support and challenge. (To learn more about The Support Challenge Matrix, check out our free instruction guide and tool.) But they can’t be generic. Both have to be specific in nature and feedback if you are going to develop into a…
Read MoreWhy Do We Not Train New Managers
I came across an article recently that caught my attention for more than one reason. The article was “Do We Still Need Managers?” published in Fast Company in February 2022, and the answer to the question was “Most workers say ‘No’.” Interesting. The subtitle on the article was “What we need from our managers has changed. But…
Read MoreKnow Yourself To Lead Yourself
“The toughest person to lead is always yourself.” – John C. Maxwell “You never graduate from the school of self-awareness.” – Steve Cochram Know Yourself to Lead Yourself These two concepts come together in a tool called “Know Yourself Lead Yourself.” I find it to be the foundation of so much of our work in…
Read MoreGradual Learning Is Best
Our impatient human nature often leads us to want to get the answers as quickly as possible. That’s why I think all-day training events can be tempting for us. However, research has shown that the best approach to learning is to acquire knowledge in smaller units and to learn to apply it as you…
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