Archive for April 22, 2017

I just got off the phone with someone who has a lot more experience in a particular area of leadership that me. It was a humbling and important conversation for me. He pointed out a couple of my blind spots. Fortunately, I was in a healthy frame of mind, and receptive to his suggestions. Upon reflection, here are a few of my observations.

How open am I to feedback? It’s critical that my attitude is wide open to suggestions, criticism, and new ideas. If I’m projecting some sort of judgement about

I recently had a fascinating experience “trapped in a mine shaft” in an escape room with six other people. Escape rooms are physical adventure games in which players are locked in a room solving a series of puzzles trying to escape within a 60-minute time limit.

Being “trapped in an abandoned Utah mine shaft”, I began thinking about how we all can get “trapped in a mind shaft”. Here are a few leadership observations from the experience:

Curiosity. Age and experience are not always helpful in problem solving. Ross, a curious 13-year

March 27, 2017

Recently, I was asked to chair a committee whose job it was to gather information, provide information and ultimately, make some recommendations back to a governing body. The topic was one about which some people have deeply held and passionate beliefs. It’s also one that has caused some deep divisions in our society. Let me share a few of the personal leadership learnings from the past year. 

When asked to chair the committee, my intuition screamed, “Say no, say no!” And then the words, “Yes, I’ll do it” came

March 10, 2017

I recently spent two days with five colleagues interviewing candidates to be the next executive director of a nonprofit, Lutheran Music Program, where I sit on the board of directors. LMP is a sort of Interlochen music program, but add a Christian faith component. I was feeling a little overworked going into those days of intense volunteer activity, and then, fortunately I had a change of perspective.

I realized that I could turn this time into a great learning experience as we listened to highly capable leaders tell us

February 28, 2017

Did you happen to watch Viola Davis’ Oscar acceptance speech recently for Best Supporting Actress in Fences? It was passionate, articulate and moving. I was totally with her right up to the point where she said, “We (actors) are the only profession that celebrate what it means to live a life”. Really? I thought.

Don’t get me wrong. I think she’s an amazing talent. But really? Is Hollywood the only place that celebrates what it means to live a life? Aren’t there any other people who fully live life?

Yes,

February 15, 2017

I’m Invisible (Culture)

I recently met with a friend, we’ll call him John, who is very skilled, passionate about his work, a self-starter, a real producer in his organization…and he’s dusting off his resume. He described how, in spite of being a high producer, he feels “invisible”. His supervisor has her nose buried in numbers and reports with no recognition of productivity or affirmation for creative, extra effort that’s paying off for them.

John described the culture of his workplace as one “with no pulse”. In my opinion, culture is

Brian Becker’s New Blog – New Story Endings By Brian Becker

February 1, 2017

Welcome to the first of what will be a twice-monthly perspective on leadership. My hope is to provide relevant reflections based on 25+ years of experiences of either consulting with or working in some very interesting organizations. Let’s get started.

New Story Endings

Monday evening I attended the funeral of the son of one of my best friends. Danny was 26 years old and he died in his sleep from a brain aneurism. The funeral was a beautiful tribute and