Author: Rachel Hanson

You have an identity. We all do. What we don't all have is an identity by design. For many of us, we have an identity by default. Life has informed how we view ourselves - outside views, hardships, good times, friends, bosses - and we've drifted along, content to default to the identities that life … Continue reading Default or design

Curiosity is a (perhaps THE) powerful tool for leaders. The more curious you are, the more you deeply understand your people, your problems, your performance. The more curious you are, the more clear your people become. Rather than telling them what to do, you're discovering the path forward with them. You're equipping them to make … Continue reading Get curious

"All the fear in the world doesn't prevent death. It prevents life." - Unknown A finely tuned dosage of fear is not a bad thing. It can even be a good thing. Fear of walking down a dark alleyway in a crime-ridden part of town - healthy fear. Fear of toddlers playing unsupervised near a … Continue reading Get busy living

Slow down. Not to do less but to do more of the right thing. It's not the going fast that's the problem. It's the going fast on the wrong things and in the wrong direction. If you don't know who you are, what you value, why you're doing what you're doing, what/where the end destination … Continue reading Speed

We humans struggle to sit alone in a room and face the hardest internal things. We'd rather put the pain in a nice little internal box and not open it up. We tell ourselves that it's contained and doesn't need to be revisited. The problem is that that pain likely created beliefs that now effect … Continue reading Whack a mole

Distrust is a tax on any system. It slows down everything. Decisions are second guessed. Hard things are not discussed openly. There are far too many meetings after the meetings. Trust greases the wheels. It allows you to make decisions faster, move in sync, level up. Many brilliant strategic leaders have been hamstrung by missing … Continue reading Distrust tax

What were the money lessons learned in your formative years? What did you learn from your parents? All debt is always bad? It's important to keep up with the Jones' even if that means borrowing more than we can afford? What'd you learn from the economic milieu? Someone graduating college in 2008 has a markedly … Continue reading Money beliefs

If you have a performance edge, you will be seen as an ass at times. By that I mean that you will be an irritant and will make people uncomfortable. You will agitate others to achieve their best and they will not always enjoy or appreciate that. It's a natural and unavoidable byproduct of creating … Continue reading Ass or ?