Uncategorized – Kairos

A Safe Place to Fall

Leaders often overestimate how likely others are to share important information with them. My own painful experience illustrates this truth. When my firstborn (now 22 years old) was in high school, she woke me up at 2am to share something that was intensely personal and important to her. I got irritated at being awakened. I…

Feeling My Feelings

I used to believe that if I wasn’t happy, then something was wrong, and something needed to change. I’ve come to believe that life is about both ups and downs, and that there are appropriate human emotional reactions to both. Fear, anger, and sadness are every bit a natural part of the journey as joy.

Is it Burnout or your Inner Critic?

There’s a lot of talk right now about burnout (NYTimes, Washington Post, FastCompany). For CEOs/Founders, the pain of needing to be the one to bring the energy and vision to your team when you don’t have any can be especially acute. I’ve experienced cycles of motivation and demotivation over the course of my career and…

Information creates the illusion of growth

Ancient wisdom says that knowledge “puffs up” and that fits with my experience. Getting a hit of new knowledge from a podcast, book, or latest HBR issue puffs me up with false confidence. If I get a chance to pass it along, well then, I get a little more puffed up. I have done this…

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Success-Driven Thinking

I spent three decades in the tech/software development industry with a lopsided fixation on success. Toward the end of my time as a business owner, I experienced a significant period of burnout. I thought the burnout was circumstantial, but after selling my business I came to realize that I had been falling prey to my…