Blog
Living the Life of a Leader
By: Kathleen Schafer, Founder of Leadership Connection Are you a leader? That’s a tough question for most people to answer. With many seemingly stalwart organizations and entities crumbling around us, those who we’ve viewed as the “traditional” leaders seem to be imploding alongside the organizations that have been “leading.” In addition to asking yourself if you are a leader, you may even be asking yourself if you want to be. For people who yearn to live their life differently, there is an opportunity in the uncertainty. Leadership is not about your particular accomplishments while in a specific role or position; rather leadership is the way in which you...
Read MoreUnderstanding the Lesson No One Wants to Learn
By: Kathleen Schafer, Founder of Leadership Connection The 2010 midterm election will eventually become like many others in our nation’s history, relegated to a data point in the ebb and flow of political cycles—that is, unless our country has hit a point where it is no longer willing to tolerate radical extremism in disguise as leadership and mudslinging as a substitute for real-world solutions. What has become the greatest travesty of the early 21st Century is our collective failure to understand that the solutions to our problems do not come from either end of the spectrum, rather they come from a conscious desire to integrate the best that both sides have to...
Read MoreThe Leadership Opportunity in Job Loss
By: Kathleen Schafer, Founder of Leadership Connection I was 21 when I lost my first job. After working my way through college at various departments in Michigan government—the administration that I was working for lost the election. It was a shock that a popular governor had lost—and even more so for me personally as my future plans had been radically altered. Twenty years later, I have learned that life often throws you a curve because it has something better for you in mind. The key to recovering from the “setback” is being open enough to discover that “something better.” For me it was the opportunity to uncover my life’s passion and...
Read MoreTen Ways of (Re)Defining Leadership
by: Kathleen Schafer, Founder of Leadership Connection The first question most people ask when they meet someone new is “What do you do?” I sometimes have difficulty answering this basic question. While I am clear about my work, the language I use to describe it doesn’t always communicate its true nature. In large part when we think of leadership, most people still hold images of men wearing pin-striped suits, authoritarian behavior and/or the rare individual who manages to move beyond talk to truly create an impact on the world. In practicing the art and science of leadership development for the past 20 years, I suggest the way to create leaders who...
Read MoreWhat to Do When You Are Unsure of What to Do
How often do you ask yourself, ‘Is this what I’m supposed to be doing with my life?’ You are not alone. Successful people ask themselves this question consistently and use the answer as a benchmark for growth. Checking to make sure you are doing what you feel you are supposed to be doing is a way of validating your life has meaning and purpose. Psychologists use the term “existential crisis” to describe the paralysis that can occur if someone doesn’t like the answer to this basic question. While that can sound a bit disconcerting, the Chinese symbol for crisis reminds us that it has two components: danger and opportunity. The danger is that by...
Read MoreChanging the Picture
By: Kathleen Schafer, Founder-Leadership Connection One of the ways I know when issues people are facing become commonplace is when I hear the challenge being articulated a number of different ways. We read stories about the “enthusiasm gap” among various parts of the electorate. My foreign-born friends tell me about the “stale energy” they feel when visiting the US and how other parts of the world, particularly Asia, are the new vibrant spots. My neighbors bemoan the lack of community and how difficult it is to get people involved in addressing local issues. My clients feel at a loss at how to create meaningful and professionally...
Read MoreThe Challenge of Choice
Share By: Kathleen Schafer, Founder-Leadership Connection During coaching, certain preconceived notions emerge around the issues that keep people from becoming all they can be. An idea that usually comes up early in the coaching process is the long-held belief that work is something you do to earn money while doing what you are good at and what you enjoy is reserved for leisure time. Living life through the paradigm of improperly defined work is one of the main things keeping people from great success and even greater happiness. Looking at the history of the western world, when people left the farm for the factory, their day-to-day efforts moved from sustaining self...
Read MoreHow Do We Get Out of This Mess?
Share By: Kathleen Schafer, Founding Principal-Leadership Connection The only thing people can agree on while discussing politics is that our political system is not working. It’s too big for some, too small for others, not responsive, and ill-managed. Everyone can identify what’s not working and we’re not too optimistic about things changing substantively anytime soon. Our challenge is that everyone sees the problems, everyone claims to want things to change; however, too few of us are actually willing to do the work to create the change we want. Many Americans point to the Tea Party as a hopeful sign of change. While Tea Party activists have captured the...
Read MoreLeadership Myth #1: As a leader, I must change other people
Share By: Kathleen Schafer, Founding Principal-Leadership Connection As I work with clients and students, I have come understand some of the things people think about leadership stand in the way of leading. From time to time, I like to discuss these false notions of leadership in order to debunk the myths that keep us from achieving our full leadership potential. In our current social and political climates we hear a lot of talk about getting people to “do the right thing.” Leadership Myth: As a leader, I must change other people Many prospective leaders believe they have a responsibility to make others do something the leader believes would contribute to...
Read MoreIf We Want Quality Leaders, We Need to Focus on Quality Candidates
Share By: Kathleen Schafer, Founding Principal-Leadership Connection Today is the last day of primaries before November’s general election. In every story I have watched, heard or read about these races and for all the other primary days, the focus is on the supposed “quantifiable”… Who is ahead in the polls? What will a victory for a republican or democrat mean for majorities in the House or Senate? What does the outcome say about Obama and his chances for re-election in 2012? What does this race say about the Tea Party and its chances for future success? Is it any wonder we have elected officials whose primary focus is re-election when the only...
Read More