Lots and lots of thoughts on thinking

thoughts on thinkingOur client work this week tilted toward thinking about thinking – polarity, reframing, Gestalt psychology, cognitive, lateral, systems, and on and on – so please enjoy our thinking skills and types of thought reading!

The Trouble with Binary Thinking  (John Michael Greer, The Archdruid Report)

Loved the provocative thinking here (did struggle with the spelling though) about the negative impacts of binary thinking on marketing, mass media, politics, popular culture and magical combat (yes, that too).

Take action right now to convert negative to positive thinking (Hara Estroff Marano, Psychology Today)

While the article was written for those suffering from depression, we stumbled on it doing research on reframing thinking. The six action strategies offered are helpful and applicable to individuals and leaders everywhere.

How to Manage Your Inner Critic (Susan David, HBR Blog Network)

If your inner critic is working overtime to drag you down, you’ll enjoy the tips offered here for  developing “a balanced relationship with it: to not ignore or avoid it and the emotions it raises, but to also not allow yourself to be bullied by it.”

The Psychopath in the C-Suite (Nicholas Bray, Insead Knowledge)

Is your boss or CEO an SOB?  They may be that, too, but a new definition – Seductive Operational Bully – is served up here. Pretty interesting stuff. Good food for leadership thought.

6 Symptoms of a Self-Made Saboteur (Les McKeown, Inc.)

“Some leaders will sub-consciously create an environment in which others will fail, solely so they can ride to the rescue and ‘fix it.’” Worked at a few places like that!

Our fav quote of the week: “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”  ~Albert Einstein

 

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Role models, confidence, self-esteem and other leadership stuff

leadership role modelOur leadership research and tastes were eclectic last week, ranging from giving praise to happiness to the impact of role models.

Enjoy!

The Praise Paradox: Why Praise Doesn’t Always Lead to Confidence (Tara Sophia Mohr, The Glass Hammer) Continue reading

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Confidence, Curmudgeons and Other Fav Leadership Reading

Boosting your self-confidence, dealing with curmudgeonly bosses and leading up were some of the reading topics that captured the fancy of the BIG team over the past week. Please share if any of these topics grab your fancy, too!

When you feel inadequate  (Mary Jo Asmus, Aspire-CS) Continue reading

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Fav Leadership Reading: Communications and Connection

Communicating, networking and the power of vulnerability were leadership topics that struck a chord with the BIG team this past week.

Believe in yourself and enjoy!

Take 5: Why Men Should Care (Ilene H. Lang and Jeanine Prime, Catalyst) Continue reading

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Leadership reading for corralling inner critics

Overcoming fear and failure was a pervasive theme in our research and work this past week. If you’re too tough on yourself or your inner critic has taken over, you’ll find good insights here about regaining control and pushing through to success. Enjoy!

Successful Women Make All the Right Mistakes (Rania Anderson, The Way Women Work) Continue reading

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Monkeys, Duct Tape & Other Assorted Thoughts on Leadership

Leaders doing good, getting creative, and managing monkeys were just a few of the leadership posts that snagged the attention of the team at BIG this past week. Enjoy…because it isn’t every day one sees the words “duct tape” in a piece about leadership!

10 Creativity Tips From The World’s Greatest Scientists (The Bacharach Blog)

Creativity was cited as the single most important leadership quality Continue reading

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Fav Leadership Reading

Our work was fun, fun, fun this past week as we encountered so much fine reading material. Topics snagging our fancy included leadership with soul, the perils of group think, improving coaching skills and proof that there’s more to life, love and leadership than money…please enjoy!

The Leadership Gap (Lolly Daskal, Lead from Within) Continue reading

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Leadership Reading Favs

Our research and reading tastes were all over the map this past week:  from learning to emotions to dreams and on to possibility…enjoy!

Are You a Bully? Are You Sure You Aren’t?(Colin Gautrey, Colin Gautrey on Influence)

Feeling introspective? Colin offers up a thought-provoking list of 31 bullying behaviors along with a five-step process to assess whether or not some adverse behaviors have crept into your leadership style. Continue reading

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Leadership Reading Roundup

In our work and research over the past week, the BIG team was drawn to articles about taking stock, being happy, having character and keeping things in perspective. May you be inspired!

Finding Meaning at Work, Even When Your Job Is Dull (Morten Hansen and Dacher Keltner on HBR Blog Network) Continue reading

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Sacred cows, essay tests and other leadership reading

Sacred cows, life as an essay test, having unthinkable thoughts and success as a catalyst for failure were among the eclectic leadership topics hitting the BIG’s team radar this past week. Please enjoy!

Beyond Either/Or (Ted Coine, Switch & Shift) Continue reading

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