by Jane Perdue | Character
My movement from hurt feelings to sympathy happened fairly quickly after a friend had the courage to reach out and apologize for not calling me during my sick leave.
She said she had meant to call or send a card countless times but that something for work always got in the way.
Her remorse was obvious.
What resonated with me so much was how I identified with her good intentions getting lost in the swirl of appointments, endless to-do lists, and dealing with grumpy, impatient bosses addicted to impossibly short deadlines. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Kindness
It was a day of the triple rudeness whammy.
One was delivered in my Twitter stream.
The second and third ones happened in meetings when an individual shared their point of view and was vigorously pommelled with personal attacks. It was brutal, and I wanted out of there. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Be your best you
Rebecca’s presents were always so perfectly wrapped that it felt wrong to open them.
They were works of art with perfectly creased foil paper, artfully draped lace doilies, and exquisitely abundant handmade bows. She would spend hours on each creation. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Be your best you
We joined the conversation just as Matt was defending the right to be quirky and go against the mainstream. He was calm, gracious, and articulate—speaking his mind without being in anyone’s face, urging respect for different values and opinions.
His message of tolerance went unheeded.
As the threads of conversation began anew, anyone who disagreed with the majority opinion was belittled and harshly criticized. (more…)
by Jane Perdue | Women
Many individuals, especially women, struggle with achieving equilibrium between confidence and humility—another one of those life, love, and leadership challenges of getting it just right by avoiding too much or too little of the extremes.
A bit like Goldilocks…
Self-promotion advice I recently read in a leadership enewletter post zoomed right past confidence and into hubris. It’s a busy, noisy world where being heard or being top of mind are precious commodities. Yet tips for creating a five-part strategic plan to showcase winning an award feels to me like over-the-top, calculated conceit. Just sayin.’ (more…)
