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A few weeks ago at the Intel Agile and Lean Development Conference in Hillsboro, Oregon I had a chance to talk to an audience about Pervasive Leadership. It’s always good to be able to do this as [...]

WHETHER I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show. – David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Life presents us with a [...]

When I was a child, my family tended to move house every few years.  My mother hated hot, dry weather and loved the rainy days common in a coastal climate.  My father hated dark, dreary days and [...]

I have been writing, speaking, and teaching about collaboration for over ten years now. However, one of the most interesting and crystallizing moments I have experienced in relation to [...]

All kinds of amazing things seem to drop into my email inbox. Lately, there’s been a flood of collaboration topics. One that left me with a bit of a sardonic smile stated boldly that agile’s [...]

It’s been somewhat silent on my blog this last months while I work on other writing projects.  One project that may interest the readers of this blog was published today on InfoQ, a go-to [...]

A few years ago I was asked a startling question.  “Do you really enjoy going into environments where people aren’t getting along, things aren’t going well, turning things around and [...]

Something interesting may be happening. Actually, of course, something interesting is always happening. But in this case, I’m referring to a conversation that appears to be starting around the [...]

I am an itinerate problem solver.  I walk into organizations in various roles to solve various kinds of problems.  Not uncommonly when I walk around a new organization I notice things like “No [...]

My last post, Courage— Learned or Innate, seemed to generate some interesting conversation in several forums.  I know the responses certainly caused me to do some more thinking. First, for those [...]

Over the last couple of years, courage has become more and more interesting to me.  I have come to understand that people move to compassion more easily than they move to courage.  I see a [...]

Many years ago I had a client that I just loved.  Well, I didn’t always love them in the moment, but when I was consulting with that organization, I knew I would definitely learn new things. [...]

I’ve found myself involved in conversations about performance reviews and evaluation of others.  At the same time, I have watched certain of my colleagues betray themselves and their values [...]

Last week the first Lisle Mason story was published on AgileConnection.com.  Some people think they know who Lisle Mason is.  Maybe they think she is a thinly disguised version of themselves or [...]

Recently, I sat across the table from someone who is taking on a really tough leadership challenge.  He’s confronting entrenched conflict in the organization he cares so much about.  I listened [...]

Lately, every day seems to bring new opportunities to meet someone somewhere doing some form of experiment with leading differently. Sometimes, though, it seems like what I see is the same old [...]

Several years ago I took a friend of mine for tea at the tea house in the local Chinese garden.  Lan Su is one of my favorite places in the city, and I have spent many happy hours sitting alone [...]

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and writing about leadership history and models lately. And, for a long time now, I’ve been coaching and listening to people who are in positions of nominal [...]

I have a colleague who beats the drum that, “We do not do project management. We do project leadership.” I tend to agree with him. Though I do think there is an element of management to what [...]

When people waste my time, I can get really ticked off. I tell them: “Time is the only thing I can’t get more of. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.” I can get more money (though wasting that leaves me [...]