Sustainable Change

Why I Use, Coach, and Teach Energy Leadership

Why I Use, Coach, and Teach Energy Leadership

In the U.S. it’s that time of year when parents are getting ready to send their kids back to school. Children anxiously awaiting who their teachers will be, parents back to school shopping, and getting ready for the change are all top of mind.

Along with the new school year comes new knowledge and learning. As an adult I’ve quite enjoyed the latter. You could say I’m a life long learner, and the subjects I study are diverse.

Now that being said, one of the areas I definitely gravitate to is why people do what they do. In other words, what makes people tick. And I am all about root cause, whether it’s a process, an organizational issue, or a person’s behavior. So when I came across Energy Leadership in 2009 it had my attention.

Click Read More to see:

  • Why it caught my attention

  • The impact it’s had on my own life

  • What benefits it’s brought others, both at work and in their personal lives

  • Why I continue to use it, and now coach and teach others on it

How Fast do You, Your Organization, and Team Learn?

How Fast do You, Your Organization, and Team Learn?

Happy Easter Everyone!! Watching Covid cases surge again in Massachusetts due to more contagious variants, looser restrictions, and unvaccinated people feeling a false sense of security and moving about more, reminds me of a pattern a lot of humans have. This pattern is the tendency to repeat an issue over and over, whether it be at work, in their relationship, in their family, with their friends, etc., before finally facing the problem, figuring out how to break the cycle, and learning the lesson.

As change agents and leaders, we frequently see this pattern of an organization, team, or individual repeat an issue over and over. Unfortunately a lot of times it takes the organization being in a lot of financial pain, the team being in great distress, or an individual being in a lot of emotional pain over the issue having repeated several times before they’ll finally face and address the problem. The question is, how fast do you, your organization, and team learn? How many times does an issue repeat before the problem is faced and addressed?

What are some examples of an organization, team, and individual repeating an issue over and over?

How Addicted to Work are You?

How Addicted to Work are You?

Happy Labor Day everyone!

As we honor the American labor movement and the workers who have contributed to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country, pause and ask yourself:

  • How much are you working to live vs. living to work?

  • How much is your identity wrapped up in work?

  • When was the last time you took time off from your job?

  • If you were to be laid off, how full and satisfying would your life still be?

If you’re feeling discomfort thinking about these questions, your answers are uncomfortably surprising you, or you’re feeling the heebie jeebies just thinking about the last question, then it’s time to acknowledge you may be a work addict (i.e. workaholic).

What has Congressman John Lewis Taught You?

What has Congressman John Lewis Taught You?

What a change agent and Civil Rights Leader Congressman John Lewis was. He has been called the “conscience of Congress” and spent his life fighting systemic racism. On Jul 27th 2020, the country watched his funeral at the U.S. Capitol. As I listened to “Amazing Grace” echo through the chamber, never have the words of that song resonated more for me than for this individual.

Despite more than 40 arrests, physical attacks, and serious injuries, he remained devoted to the philosophy of nonviolence. He spent his life overcoming adversities such as:

  • Organizing sit-in demonstrations at segregated lunch counters as a University student

  • Participating in the Freedom Rides

  • Marching across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma for voting rights

  • Being beaten severely by angry mobs

  • Becoming one of the Big Six Leaders of the Civil Rights Movement


Control the Process - Part 5 of 5

Control the Process - Part 5 of 5

Last week in the fourth of this five-part series, I covered improving the situation by mitigating or eliminating the root causes will keep you on the path to ensuring the change you’re making is a sustainable solution for your organization (Click here to revisit Part 4 - Improve the Process).  The third step was to analyze the process and identify the root cause(s) of the defects (Click here to revisit Part 3 - Analyze the Process).  The second step was to measure the critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics of the process you think is causing the problem (Click here to revisit Part 2 - Measure the Process).  And the first step was to really define the problem using voice of the customer (VOC) and critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics (Click here to revisit Part 1 - Define the Problem). Now comes the fifth thing you can do to ensure your change is here to stay in the organization.   

Improve the Process - Part 4 of 5

Improve the Process - Part 4 of 5

Last week in the third of this five-part series, I covered analyzing the process and identifying root cause(s) of the defects will keep you on the path to ensuring the change you’re making is a sustainable solution for your organization (Click here to revisit Part 3 - Analyze the Process). The second step was to measure the critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics of the process you think is causing the problem (Click here to revisit Part 2 - Measure the Process). And the first step was to really define the problem using voice of the customer (VOC) and critical to quality (CTQ) characteristics (Click here to revisit Part 1 - Define the Problem). Now comes the fourth thing you can do to help ensure your change is here to stay in the organization.

Be Seen, Be Heard, Be Effective in Bringing about Change