Non-Anxious Leaders Know How to Say No
This post is based on Episode 225 of The Non-Anxious Leader Podcast. Warren Buffett once said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Steve Jobs made a similar point: focus isn’t about saying yes to the things you want to do; it’s […]
Podcast Episode 386: Identity Isn’t Fixed – Self-Definition and Becoming
Self-definition is essential to leadership through self-differentiation. This episode unpacks the challenges and benefits. Show Notes: Resisting Definition — Center for Action and Contemplation by Cassidy Hall. Check out The Non-Anxious Life, a FREE AI Family Systems Coach. Become a Patron for as little as $5/month. Subscribe to my weekly Two for Tuesday email newsletter.
Clarity Builds Trust: The Family Systems Case for Taking a Stand
Do you ever wonder when to take a stand and when to stay out of a contentious issue altogether? Research offers a useful clue, but the deeper insight comes from family systems theory. People respond to a leader who can be a “self.” Ike Silver and Alex Shaw at the University of Chicago were struck […]
Podcast Episode 385: Understanding Symmetry Can Help You Lead as a Non-Anxious Presence (Part 2 of 2)
The Family Systems Concept of Symmetry will help you understand the unseen emotional process that increases anxiety and makes change difficult. This episode explains how you can recognize it and what you can do about it to lead as a non-anxious presence. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin […]
6 Things You Need to Do to Be a Non-Anxious Leader
Note: This post is based on Episode 192 of The Non-Anxious Leader Podcast. Emotional Intelligence is what self-differentiation looks like in practice. Daniel Goleman’s model of emotional intelligence names four components: self‑awareness, self‑management, social awareness, and relationship management. Self‑awareness comes first for a reason. Without the ability to recognize what’s happening inside of you, […]
Podcast Episode 384: Understanding Symmetry Can Help You Lead as a Non-Anxious Presence (Part 1 of 2)
The Family Systems Concept of Symmetry will help you understand the unseen emotional process that increases anxiety and makes change difficult. This episode explains it in understandable terms. Show Notes: Generation to Generation: Family Process in Church and Synagogue by Edwin Friedman* Check out The Non-Anxious Life, a FREE AI Family Systems Coach. Become a […]
5 Ways Self-Differentiation Builds Resilience
Note: This blog post is based on Episode 188 of The Non-Anxious Leader Podcast. Resilience is not a personality trait. It’s a way of relating to challenge, and it grows out of how you manage yourself in the relationship systems in which you function. When you understand self‑differentiation as the ability to self-define while remaining […]
Podcast Episode 383: Values, Ideology and Leadership through Self-Differentiation
If you want to lead through self-differentiation, you need to understand the difference between values and ideology. This episode covers that and what to do with it. Show Notes: The Best Decision-Makers Are Value-Driven But Not Ideologically Committed – Admired Leadership Check out The Non-Anxious Life, a FREE AI Family Systems Coach. Become a Patron […]
Belief, Anxiety, and the Work of Leading Without Reactivity
One of the most important capacities you can develop as a leader is the ability to stay connected to people who believe differently than you. That sounds simple, but anyone who has tried it knows how quickly beliefs—yours or someone else’s—can stir anxiety. Understanding how belief functions in the brain and in relationship systems gives […]