In most crowds it’s easy to pick out the people who regularly work out or play. Others can see it and even sense it in their energy and relaxed ways. Being able to calm yourself down is a little like that. If you practice regularly, you get good enough to do it well both when you choose to and when you have to: when you’re scared, stressed, angry, upset or even panicky. Here are my...

As I work with smart, successful and motivated leaders, I’ve noticed that every one of them wrestles with an inner critic. This is a little nagging “gremlin” of a voice whose job is to resist real change. I bet you have one too. Here are five common messages I hear from my clients’ “gremlins.” 1. “You’re not that (good, smart, disciplined, loveab...

Sometimes the Holidays have a tendency to be more external than internal—more busy and superficial than about our hearts and relationships. Of all the Holidays, I think our best chance to get it right is Thanksgiving. Here are my “Top 5” ways to practice Thanksgiving out-loud in your relationships. 1. Acknowledge them. This means commenting on their character: the core that h...

Welcome to my Monthly “Top 5.” Every month my goal is to roll out five tried-and-true ideas, observations, suggestions or hunches that you will find creative, useful and brief. At Christmas, I turn into a committed softy. Over time, I’ve learned that it’s best to just indulge my sentimentality by whole-heartedly and intentionally watching, reading and listening to stuff t...

It’s Super Tuesday and, like you, I’ve been listening to the candidates’ speeches—listening for the stuff I can get behind. No one candidate has a corner on my personal market, but these are some of the convictions that get my Coach-like attention when I hear them: 1. The world, and our individual lives, works best when we each take personal responsibility for our “...

Have you ever stayed in a job just a little too long? Ignored your restlessness? Here’s how you do it Staying too long usually begins with some great experiences: Good people, opportunity and challenge, maybe some interesting travel. But you keep growing and changing—and maybe your company doesn’t grow and change in the same direction or depth. So you get a little uneasy and re...

Last month one of you guys wrote to ask, “Patty, I get the difference between coaching and mental health counseling. But what do you think of as a ‘coach-able’ issue?” Instantly, a bunch of well-loved faces (and their “coach-able” issues) came to my mind. Here’s one of them . . . New client Dave called me last month feeling derailed on his career path....

I’m an executive and personal coach. And business people who long to be more accomplished communicators keep showing up in my office—managers, marketers and masterminds. I love their imagination and energy, their devotion to their craft, and their commitment to employees, colleagues and customers. And I get it when they’re frustrated and stuck–when their internal and/or e...

I listened a few days ago to an interview with an 83-year-old self-described geezer (aka “sage”) in the world of leadership development, Warren Bennis. He is currently Professor and founding chair of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California, and the author of 29 books. He brought up a subject I’ve thought about for at least thirty years: What can I do now...

My Golden Retriever Banner passed away this morning and I wanted you to know because if you knew her, you loved her too. She died like we’d all like to—happy and taking old-dog walks on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday and Friday she slept and received visitors who sat on the floor with her, touching her, and telling her repeatedly how good she was. The last part to slow down continu...