a blog by John P. Schuster
All the world’s a stage; And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances; And one man in his time plays many parts …Shakespeare’s As You Like It Summary: We are the chief actor in our life play. At some point we find that we can be the director of the play too. And we can keep going: we can more knowingly become the playwright as we mature, self-authoring[…]
Read moreEnjoy this ICF webinar I presented on February 7, 2016. If you want to coach leaders with a sense for meaning and calling as central questions of life and work, and an appreciation for the ethical/spiritual dimensions of leadership, then you may want to check this out. Deeper Coaching, Better Outcomes The Bigger Thoughts Behind Our Everyday Thoughts A little offering in a new way to coach: As the coaching field continues to grow,[…]
Read moreAs we witness the United States’ process for selecting its next leader, we’re struck by the over-coverage, and at the same time fascinated by the endless character analysis of the candidates. Among other things, we look for who is the wisest of them all, not the brashest or the coolest or the best debater, even. It is wisdom we most want and need. The world of coaching, with its endless angles on self-reflection, promotes wisdom[…]
Read moreSome teachers of human awareness start with the language we used a long time ago, before we knew what a synapse or neuro-science was. One of our great teachers, with one foot in modern anthropology but with her heart in the wisdom traditions, needs to be better known. I invite you to learn more about this teacher, Angeles Arrien, whom we lost this spring, via this piece I recently wrote for my Psychology Today blog. Image[…]
Read moreCoaches and therapists work in the same two energy fields—the first, those cognitive places where we think, and the second, the those pre-verbal, old brain places from which our core energy emerges. Coaches and therapists have different terms and ways of working with these inner energy fields as we interact in the world of work, families, and communities. The article “Therapy, Depth Psychology and Executive Coaching” is my attempt to describe how these two professions[…]
Read moreThe leaders I have been around fall into 3 categories…mentors, nice but neutral, and tormentors. Real mentoring is a high bar: an unwavering faith in people mixed with toughness and wisdom. It is the only real place to shoot for. Tormentors have their own skills: ego-centric and playing a power game they think they understand but don’t. Not the real power. And our friend Hafiz about 900 years ago in Persia said it well: The[…]
Read moreTwo quick thoughts dear friends, Here is a link to a blog I think is worth your following: Meta-Reflections. Dan Pesut is a leaders’ leader in healthcare. He happens to mention my books in this post, the impetus for me linking with him, permanently, but I look forward to whatever he has to say. He is one thoughtful and thought-leading person. He is among the super well read, and I know a lot of well-read[…]
Read moreWe are all taught to use, and teach others, to set SMART goals. This busy time of year, we are “making a list, checking it twice.” So much to do, so little mistletoe. But maybe you need some dumb goals to balance out and enrich your holidays. This SMART acronym, one of the more universally known in the world of organizations – but as a reminder – stands for: Specific Measureable Achieveable/Attainable Realistic Timebound Managers[…]
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