Be an Encouraging Developer How can we develop others to create community? Develop those around you by cheerleading, complimenting, challenging, and displaying gratitude. Sometimes, we simply forget to point out what people are doing well.  If we maintain a culture of “catching people doing something right” and pointing it out, it will have a ripple […]

Can we be done dogging Millennials now?  Thank you. We’ve heard them all – Participation ribbons.  Super flexible work schedules.  Asking for promotions way too soon…Snowflakes, right?  If this sounds like your mindset on Millennials, you’re taking a big risk and missing a huge opportunity.  The key to your organization creatively overcoming future challenges lies […]

Everyone wants to be liked and respected. Often Leaders fulfill these desires by surrounding themselves with people who are like us, who like us, and avoid people who cause of trouble and disagree with us. However, there is a danger in only surrounding ourselves with like-minded people. No one likes to be told “no”. Nothing […]

So we’re all super messy, right?  It sucks, and I hate it, but it’s true. In the constant quest to leave a big, positive impact, I struggle with this idea a lot.  I used to think that you could follow certain rules and easily glide through the hiccups, but it never works.  So that means […]

I had been taking my dad to Hardee’s for karaoke night, and realized that the church group regulars reacted negatively when a homeless person came in. I started greeting each homeless person who came in. It was hard for me to sit with this group week after week, but my dad enjoyed it, and I […]

When I graduated from college I was ready to tame the world. I was brimming with knowledge, and ready to show people how intelligent I was. I quickly learned that the book knowledge I had gathered was a great foundation but “experiential knowledge” is what propelled me forward along the skill set path. Most of […]

Career goals and 5- or 10-year plans are important to your development, but often times young professionals box themselves in too tightly based on plans they have before launching their careers. One of the beautiful things about the beginning of your career is the ability to occupy many different roles quickly to gain exposure to […]

You never know which relationships will support you later in life and in your career.

From the onset of my professional career, I was always looking for the corporate, stable job. I worked at a 1,000+ employee business to begin my career and then a company that had been in business for 50+ years. Both seemed to have good track records, obviously. I learned a lot at both of these […]

  I have learned many valuable lessons in my life through teaching, coaching and mentorship.  These came primarily from my upbringing and from my experience as an assistant men’s lacrosse coach at Division III lacrosse program in Lexington, Kentucky. As I have reflected on my life and how my life has lead me to this […]