by Shelley Row | Jun 14, 2015 | Leadership
Everyone has biases. The only thing worse than having a bias is not realizing that you do. It is in the knowing that there is opportunity to manage unintended bias. Humans are designed to crave relatedness. Millions of years ago your tribe was key to survival. Quickly...
by Shelley Row | Jun 6, 2015 | Leadership
Money, prestige, power, promotion. These are rewards that matter – right? We tend to believe that employees must be rewarded with money. That’s the default. Not so fast. The way businesses are rewarding their employees are changing as more managers are looking...
by Shelley Row | May 30, 2015 | Leadership
It’s inevitable. At some point you make a decision that doesn’t go well. The astute leader takes time to assess the decision-making process and determine what worked or didn’t. To appreciate why self-evaluation is essential, we need to understand more about the brain....
by Shelley Row | May 26, 2015 | Leadership
The deadline for a big work or study project is approaching. The deadline creates just enough stress to focus you on the task. But the stress doesn’t stop there. While working on the big project, three others show up with imminent due dates. Or, just as you were...
by Shelley Row | May 13, 2015 | Leadership
Setting strategic goals is the job of a leader. And not just any goal will do. We are implored to set stretch goals or a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal). But is that really a good idea? Neuroscience shows that falling short of expectations launches a downward spiral...
by Shelley Row | Apr 30, 2015 | Leadership
(Hint: Some are better than others!) Hot buttons: Some arrive unexpectedly in an instant and others you know well. In either case, hot buttons issues have a serious impact on your ability to make effective decisions. A hot button issue is a memory stored in one of the...
by Shelley Row | Apr 26, 2015 | Leadership
In leadership positions it’s inevitable that situations arise that generate an emotional reaction. Some emotions are low grade but others are like five-alarm fires. We are taught to control our emotions in the workplace to be credible, strong and unshakable. “Don’t...
by Shelley Row | Apr 21, 2015 | Leadership
Have you noticed that some situations trigger a negative voice in your head? Perhaps it is, “I’m not good enough,” I have to achieve to be worthy,” “They won’t choose me,” “I’m not smart enough.” It’s a stuck story and it hits quickly and powerfully. Stuck stories are...
by Shelley Row | Apr 12, 2015 | Leadership
Does information seem to pass through your mind like a sieve? Do you find that the information from that conference call this morning escapes you this afternoon? Research in neuroscience is providing clues to how your brain encodes, stores and retrieves memories. The...
by Shelley Row | Apr 6, 2015 | Leadership
You know when it happens…that flash of insight, moment of inspiration, the proverbial aha moment, or the solution that pops into your head when you’re not expecting it. It feels like magic and hopefully comes at just the right moment. But can you encourage that moment...
by Shelley Row | Mar 28, 2015 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
Stop Shooting Yourself in the Foot! Learn to Recognize and Manage Triggered Reactions We all have them…those hot-button issues, things that get under our skin. When one of them happens it triggers an over-reaction that is emotion-filled, quick and is probably not in...
by Shelley Row | Mar 1, 2015 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
You know what it’s like…constantly seeking more data. More data leads to more analysis. More analysis brings up more questions. More questions provoke the need for more data. And so it goes, round and round…like a dog chasing its tail. It wastes your time, your...
by Shelley Row | Feb 4, 2015 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
For Effective Leaders…5 Reasons why “Feelings” is Not a Dirty Word “There’s no place for feelings at work!” I heard it frequently as a young engineer. Thankfully, I learned this admonition was impossible to achieve and very bad for my career. Today, after interviewing...
by Shelley Row | Jan 1, 2015 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
Does the thought of New Year’s resolutions fill you with anxiety or exhilaration? Personally, setting New Year’s resolutions feels like breathing in the fresh, crisp air of possibility and hope. It’s as though a gleaming new road is spread out in...
by Shelley Row | Nov 30, 2014 | Leadership
Still. Quiet. It is 7am on Thanksgiving morning and not a creature is stirring. Well, that’s not completely accurate. Overhead, a seagull squawks and there’s a woop, woop of wings beating against the air as a flock of smaller birds zip past. I’m running along the...
by Shelley Row | Nov 6, 2014 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
To clap, or not to clap. That is the question. Mike and I attended opening night at the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. The newly renovated Maryland Hall was filled with expectant energy. They really did sound amazing! They must have used something akin to the Graham...
by Shelley Row | Oct 5, 2014 | Leadership
“You’re doing what?” The question came from my girlfriends during our morning run. I had explained my plan to attend a weekend meditation retreat. It wasn’t the meditation retreat they reacted to. It was the plan: Friday night concert (we already had tickets);...
by Shelley Row | Sep 1, 2014 | Leadership
One-and-two-and-three-and-four… My dad sat next to me counting out the beats as I practiced the clarinet. Night after night he taught and I learned. I was good but was never going to be the next Bennie Goodman. Nonetheless, I read and play music and appreciate...
by Shelley Row | Jul 31, 2014 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
The computer locks up; you groan in exasperation. A new assignment is plopped onto your already-full plate; your shoulders tense. A crash on the drive home snarls traffic; your chest tightens. You feel like a pin cushion that is constantly pricked by tension-causing...
by Shelley Row | Jun 26, 2014 | Business Skills, Leadership
There it is – a tea kettle. Shiny and copper. It sits quietly until the heat is on. Suddenly, unexpectedly, it erupts, “Eeeeeeeeee!” There you are. Sitting quietly at home or at work doing what you’re doing. Something happens – a cross word, a sideways glance, an...
by Shelley Row | May 26, 2014 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
I’m intrigued but not surprised. The a-ha moment happened as I discussed the pitfalls of over-thinking with a group of 70 transportation leaders. It could have been any group of leaders. Perhaps it is evident: Leaders develop good and bad decision-making habits and so...
by Shelley Row | May 4, 2014 | Business Skills, Decision-Making
Four Ways Leaders Use Intuition Think, think, think. We live in a culture that values thinking. We have big thinkers, deep thinkers, creative thinkers, out-of-the-box thinkers. There are think tanks and a sculpture called, The Thinker. We think out loud; we think to...
by Shelley Row | Apr 9, 2014 | Decision-Making
Do you want to make more insightful decisions? As you move from management into leadership you face increasingly complex decisions that are filled with ambiguity, uncertainty and risk. The number of variables to be considered grows from few to many adding...
by Shelley Row | Apr 1, 2014 | Business Skills, Decision-Making, Leadership
Generational change, technology disruption and shifting expectations of the workforce are pushing some leadership skills into quicksand as others find a foothold. These well-grounded leaders of the future are more relational, adaptable and self-aware. They think,...
by Shelley Row | Feb 23, 2014 | Decision-Making, Leadership
After 75 interviews with leaders, it’s clear. Leaders rely on intuition for decision-making in complex situations. Making decisions in the face of ambiguity and uncertainty is part of the job. There is neither the ability to know all the facts nor time to find enough...
by Shelley Row | Jan 8, 2014 | Business Skills, Leadership
Yes, you read that correctly: Leadership lessons from Janis Joplin. I know. I’m surprised, too. My husband and I, along with several friends, saw “One Night with Janis Joplin” at Arena Stage in Washington, DC. I never expected a lesson in leadership from a...
by Shelley Row | Dec 27, 2013 | Decision-Making, Leadership
Are you in a management or leadership position? Or, perhaps you moved from a specific technical position into a management or a leadership position. If so, you know that the higher you move in an organization, the more you experience increasingly complex decisions. ...
