When you think of skills that are important to list in your CV or resume, you probably think of hard skills.  That is, quantifiable or measurable accomplishments.

Hard skills are important when it comes to tasks where we do not rely on others.

But in team environments and as leaders, soft skills may even prove more important.

You can do all the budgeting you want or data analysis, but if you do not have the communication skills to relay that information so others can understand and...

When we first start a conversation with our team member, they may say they want to solve a certain problem.

But if we allow them the ability to think things through, sometimes the original problem is not the REAL problem.

In other words, what they say they want is not what they REALLY want.

This is a powerful realization, and can mean the difference between having a conversation which results in no action because the root problem has not been addressed, versus one that allows forward...

Are you humble?

And if you say you're humble---does that make you not humble?

We may think we are being humble with our teams.

But many aid worker leaders (myself included) have come to define our validity as leaders with the ability to tell our teams what to do.  

Our ego is tied to our ability to provide the answers.

We are not being humble enough to admit our way is not the only way.

And that although telling others what to do makes us feel important, it doesn't help our team...

Have you ever learned a new skill and did it perfectly the first time?

Probably not... at least if it's a skill like learning a language, riding a bike or delegating to your team.

Even though it is almost impossible to do something perfectly the first time, many of us still think we can do so.

I see it in my coaching students - the desire to do coaching perfectly the first time they try it.

To skip the hard steps of learning.

To simply "know how" without any practice.

The thing is, when we...

Last week we looked at how to become aware of how we are using our time through conducting a Time Audit 2.0 (looking at both activities and energy level). 

Now that you know how you currently use your time, we can start to decide if that is how we want to use our time.  The series of questions in this episode will help you decide how much control you have over your time, where your current actions are leading you and then how you want to intentionally use your time.

Understanding...

"Every action you take is a vote for the person you wish to become." - James Clear, Atomic Habits

This quote captures the topic of today perfectly.  That is, if you compound your actions on a daily or weekly basis, where will they lead you in a year, or even three?  

Are you going in the direction you want to go, or are you going in a direction someone else wants you to go?

Will you achieve your goals as a leader, or even the impact you hope to make?

Part of being able to...

Our entire career as a leader - and in fact, our entire personal life as well - is a measure of how well we solve problems.

The better we are at solving problems, the more we advance.  The more we are able to learn and overcome.  And through the failure along the way, we also grow stronger.

So it's not hard to imagine why learning how to solve problems better is a very valuable skill.  Today I am sharing with you my four step process to solving problems better.  And it...

Asking your team "how can I help?" is a great way to show your support.

But knowing when to ask this question can make it more helpful to your team member - and ultimately to you as a leader too.

In this episode I explore the best way to ask "how can I help you?" as a supervisor in order to empower your team and not keep them from growing.

If you find yourself saying things like "my team knows not to follow my bad example (working long hours, for example)" then this episode is for you.

So many humanitarian and development leaders I work with think they are the "exception to the rule".  That is that their team does not follow their unhealthy work style.  

But how true is that really?

From my experience, it's not.

In this episode I show you how you are influencing your team's behavior more than you think, and what...

It's not always easy to ask others for help.  It can make us feel vulnerable, incompetent or we don't want to burden someone else.

And yet, there are times when it is actually our responsibility to ask for help.

I am talking about when to ask your supervisor for help.

Many of the leaders I work with are reluctant to ask for help, when it is obvious they need it and that doing so would alleviate a lot of worry and anxiety.

In this episode I discuss when is it appropriate for you to ask...