Jim Bolton

I hadn’t heard the term “social distancing” until a couple of weeks ago. Now, social distancing is changing the way we work, live, and connect. If early-wave countries like South Korea and Singapore offer any guidance, this trend will be with us for months, perhaps the rest of the year. This pandemic isn’t just a global disruption; for many it’s

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This is the second in my “Learning Leader” series; last month’s interview with Rick Brandon, is here. This month’s conversation is with Marie Pettingill. I’ve known Marie for at least 20 years. Even so, she still surprised me in our conversation, thinking like a marketer to reach an audience on a large scale and actually change the culture of her

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Ever feel this way when you’ve been interrupted? If only all interruptions were so obvious. Most of the ways we interrupt others aren’t, especially when it’s us doing the interrupting. I define an interruption as inserting my frame of reference into a conversation before the speaker has finished saying all they want to say. If it’s a low-stakes conversation, casual

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Problems get a bad rap in business. They’re so negative! So much so that in some organizations there are no problems, only euphemistic “opportunities.” Another common refrain employees sometimes hear from their managers is, “don’t bring me a problem without also bringing me a solution.” The intention behind these sentiments is understandable. Problems are easy to call out without taking

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Most of us aren’t great at appreciating others. Were better at seeing what’s wrong than what someone is doing well. That’s not a surprise; throughout our lives our teachers, coaches, bosses – even our loved ones! – are far more likely to point out our mistakes than our successes. Its natural for us to do the same. In informal polls

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I recently read a book about the coaching methods of Silicon Valley’s legendary “Trillion Dollar Coach,” Bill Campbell. Campbell was the behind-the-scenes coach and confidante for the likes of Steve Jobs and many other tech executives, especially those at Google. There he coached the founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page; long-time CEO and Board Chair Eric Schmidt (who is the

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I’ve been privileged in my career to work with clients who have taught me a lot about training and performance change, individually and organizationally. Rather than hoard these insights, I asked these learning leaders if I could interview them and share our conversations with others. To that end, I’ll be sending out a new interview monthly throughout the year. And

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A mentor of mine, the late Gordy Myers, was a master of organizational change. Over the years he watched leaders create change plans that presumed the people impacted by the change would be on board or get on board quickly. Rather than get dazzled by the plans or the bright future ahead, Gordy was a “commitment” guy. Knowing that change

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Last month I saw an article about a courageous flight attendant in the UK who noticed ice on the plane’s wings as it began take-off and alerted the pilots at the last moment, potentially saving the lives of everyone aboard. As the article makes clear, what made this act courageous was that the flight attendant spoke “truth to power,” potentially

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If there’s been a theme to the conversations I’ve had with clients this year, it’s the growing cost they’re experiencing related to this bail-bruise dynamic. For one client, it undermines their inclusion and engagement efforts, effecting their ability to retain and compete for talent. With another, it undermines their innovation efforts. For a third privately-held company, it is complicating an

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