Project Management
Projects = Doing the work right = Performing
Programs = Doing lots of projects = Managing
Portfolios = Doing the right work = Leading
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- Stop Managing Everyone’s ComfortThe leadership clarity that emerges when you stop chasing consensus “Consensus wanted convenience. Alignment chose clarity. The difference between the two might be the most important leadership shift you make this year.” Most leaders aren’t exhausted by their actual responsibilities. They’re drained by decisions that were never theirs to carry in the first place. When you become the ...Read more...
- Honoring Conviction Before Clarity ArrivesThree disciplines for trusting what you sense before you can explain it “Conviction and clarity don’t always arrive on the same timeline. Sometimes you sense something matters long before you can explain why. Honoring that gap—rather than forcing premature answers—is a discipline worth learning.” You know the feeling. Something keeps returning—a pull, a sense, a quiet certainty ...Read more...
- Sharpen Your Leadership Perception Before You InterveneA conductor’s lesson in seeing the whole picture “The problem you think you’re solving is rarely the real problem. Leaders who pause to ask what they’re missing save time, strengthen trust, and avoid fixing the wrong thing.” A string section that wouldn’t blend taught me something I’ve carried ever since: leadership perception is a skill, not a ...Read more...
- Attention Management: The Skill No One Taught YouWhy protecting your attention matters more than managing your calendar “I performed one of the most profound works in Western music two dozen times—and barely experienced it once.” One winter, I performed Handel’s Messiah twenty-two times in a single season. Timpani, choir, conducting—I did it all. My calendar was flawless. My execution was precise. But somewhere along ...Read more...
- How One Question Restored My Leadership ClarityThree reasons every leader should reset their leadership clarity each season “If you don’t pause to find leadership clarity, the season will re-orient you. And by the time it does, you’ll be too exhausted to lead well.” In my early years leading a struggling music department, I believed harder work would produce better results. Longer hours. Higher ...Read more...
- Leadership Overwhelm: Why It Feels Heavier Than It ShouldThree practices that replace noise with wisdom and lift the weight of leadership overwhelm “Excellence doesn’t require you to adopt every new system.” Leadership overwhelm isn’t weakness—it’s what happens when capable leaders chase too many frameworks. You don’t need another system. You need permission to ignore most of them. Leadership wasn’t supposed to feel this heavy. You’re capable. ...Read more...
- Clarity for Leaders Who Carry More Than Others SeeA weekly rhythm bringing clarity for leaders who carry the weight You don’t need another email cluttering your inbox. You need clarity for leaders like you—a dependable moment each week when the noise stops and you can see clearly again. Some leaders never announce the weight they carry. They step in, keep going, and hold things together—often ...Read more...
- Why Wise Leaders Choose Wisdom Over UrgencyCreating space for wisdom in a world that rewards speed The loudest voice in the room is rarely the wisest. Yet we keep letting volume set our agenda. Years ago, I adopted a simple discipline: each morning, I identify three priority tasks for the day. Not ten. Not fifteen. Three. It sounds limiting—but the opposite is true. Naming ...Read more...
- Leadership Clarity: What Happens When You Remember Why You LeadHow leadership clarity transforms urgency into wisdom Most leaders know the feeling: buried in details, managing a hundred fires, reacting to every crisis. You’re capable. You’re working hard. But somewhere in the blur, you’ve lost sight of why you’re doing any of it. Leadership clarity doesn’t come from working harder or faster. It comes from stepping back ...Read more...
- Four Commitments That Quietly Steal Your Best WorkBurnout hides in the almost-right commitments. The wrong commitments don’t announce themselves. They don’t arrive as obvious burdens or impossible demands. Instead, they creep in as well-meaning additions—obligations that look good on paper but quietly erode the rhythms you need to do your best work. If you’ve ever ended a season feeling drained despite doing meaningful things, ...Read more...