2021 PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT READING LIST

Last week, a client asked me, “How can I delegate more effectively?” It made sense that she wanted to dig deeper into this. Delegation is a superpower for leaders — it’s one of the most powerful ways to scale yourself and your impact. I strongly believe: great leaders delegate better than average leaders. Part of this is causality, though. If you don’t delegate, you’re probably going to burn yourself out as an average leader and never finish the journey to becoming a great le

The idea of “impostor syndrome” is something I talk about a lot with my clients. It’s this notion that, no matter what we say or what we do, we’ll soon be called out as a fraud. No matter how good we are, we’re not good enough, and it’s only a matter of time before we’re found out. It’s a common phenomenon, especially in leaders who are perfectionists or high-achievers, with some estimates suggesting that around 70% of these leaders will experience impostor syndrome at some p

There’s a beautifully simple, yet powerful breathing technique I want to talk about called the 4x4 breath. Chances are you’ve come across it. There are a lot of names for the same thing. Box breathing, square breathing, four-count breathing, tactical breathing, four-kata breath. The Navy SEALs get a lot of credit for developing this, but as ex-Army I’ll never admit it. How did one breathing technique get so much attention? I mean, I breathe every day, what’s the fuss? Well, e

Oh no, another listicle on random things to do! I know, but this one’s pretty great. Yes, I wrote this because it’s top-of-mind for me and my clients during this coronavirus / COVID-19 pandemic, with some people in quarantine or self-quarantining. But it’s applicable to boredom in general. As someone who’s been working from home for a while, 90% of this comes from my own idle ponderings. So, you want some ideas on how to reframe your boredom when you’re stuck at home? Let’s g

How do you make difficult decisions? Benchmarks, experts, experiments? Do you tailor your approach or see what sticks? In reality, it’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. Different situations benefit from different approaches. And one way to really clarify this is through the Cynefin framework. What it is The Cynefin (pronounced kuh-NEV-in) framework offers a way to think about the problems and decisions in a very helpful way. It’s changed how I think about everything from human

Who needs a coach? What does coaching look like? How does it work, or does it work at all? This article is for people who might want a coach, people who have coaches, and people just curious about the craft. The coaching industry is booming. Depending on how you categorize the service of coaching, its total market size is anywhere from $2B to $15B. The International Coach Federation estimates that coaching in North America alone grew 35% from 2011 to 2015 (updated study numbe

This morning, my wife asked me what my plan was for the day. I started telling her about the call I had at 9:00, the meeting I had at 10:00, when she stopped me. “No,” she said, “what’s your plan for the day—what do you want to accomplish?” It was a simple but poignant question. After reflecting, I had a much different way of thinking about it. “I want to convert two new coaching clients today,” I said. “I want to finish designing my team workshop and draft an outline for one

Three years ago I was working 90-odd hours a week and in the process of finalizing my divorce. I was drinking every night and feeling at my lowest ever. I was fundamentally out of balance and really had nobody to blame but myself. I hadn’t tried to sabotage my life, I hadn’t meant to be so oblivious to what I was doing. But I was. It was startling to realize just how little I knew about myself. Balance in life is actually about control. Not control in the “I need to make sure