Category: Curiousity

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365 Coaching Tips: 310th, 311th & 312th

November 6th Coaching Tip: Loyalty Matters.

When I started living in Naples, I had a great Uber driver who took me from the airport to my home. Ben was nice, not nosey, and had a calm demeanor; he was pleasant and mentioned that he’s from the Midwest (Rockford, IL). Then we got to talking about my many years in Central IL, and the bond began. Fast forward a few years later, I don’t even use Uber when I’m in Naples. I leverage Ben; he’s been loyal and available to me, and I’m loyal to him. It matters; loyalty brings a comfort factor that is hard to describe, but you know it and feel it. Ben’s parents are similar to mine; his dad recently passed, and his mother is still very much alive. Loyalty matters; keep those close that are helpful and who always show up.

Another loyal person in my life is my painter, Carlos. He traveled two hours north to paint a lake home for me eight years ago and recently traveled an hour south to paint a property there. He doesn’t complain; he always says “yes” when I ask him to complete some painting for me personally in my summer home or for my real estate business. I don’t even get other quotes; Carlos is fair, and we both are loyal to one another. Loyalty matters.

November 7th Coaching Tip: Invites Work.

Since we have the remodeled farm house now all completed and almost fully decorated, I’ve been inviting friends and family to come visit. Tonight, one of my IU women’s basketball teammates came to visit. It was so fun to see her reactions, as she was one of my friends who saw it late in 2024 when I had just started this huge remodel project. As they say, “she got it.” Then we loaded up in the car, went out for dinner, and headed to an IU women’s basketball game. The gals won, and we snuck out of the game in the fourth quarter. My friend was home just an hour later; she’s now sharing with my teammates that we all need to get together there for a game and full weekend together. We are now inviting them for a weekend in January 2026.

We still have work to do on the landscape around the home and one of the barns still needs attention, but we are getting there. And inviting people to come visit is already creating memories…and it keeps me focused on getting more work done.

November 8th Coaching Tip: Play Til The End.

Today, the undefeated IU football team played on the road at Penn State University; PSU fired their coach a few weeks ago, and this was their first home game since that firing. My gut had me a bit nervous about this IU vs. PSU game. IU was up 17-7 at halftime, so I decided to drive somewhere for about an hour. Sure enough, it quickly turned into a tight game. PSU closed the gap in the third quarter to 20-10, and then in the fourth quarter, took the lead 20-24. IU got the ball back with less than two minutes remaining in the game, and they marched down the field with a number of outstanding passes thrown accurately by our quarterback. With 36 seconds remaining, IU scored a touchdown on an amazing catch that the receiver was able to catch way up high, control his body, and tap his toe to score the TD. That received got redemption, because he did miss a catch with 1:51 remaining. He stepped up, controlled his emotions and his physical abilities, and made the catch of the year in college football. He played to the end.

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365 Coaching Tips: 307th, 308th & 309th

November 3rd Coaching Tip: Be Advanced.

When you quit learning, you’re dying. The coaching tip for today and these next three days all weave together around these three questions: are you advanced and want to stay advanced in a skill that you have? Do you want to attain mastery and become elite? How are you continuing to learn?

This week I was able to be around the best talent in our financial industry, learn from them as well as share tips that we felt were relevant for their teams and the practices. The talent was advanced; they showed up at 6:30am in the morning and were learning/sharing over dinners that went to 9:00pm. Choosing to be advanced is an intentional decision to be better than average. That takes dedication and discipline. Be advanced!

November 4th Coaching Tip: Be Elite.

Alot of people want to be elite, yet don’t take the time to be elite. Say what? Yes that’s right. To be elite, it takes time to be elite. I worked with two leaders today who are taking time on Fridays to focus on what they want to become as leaders, and how they want to lead their high-functioning teams. It will take time for both of them to think, then write down their thoughts on what they want to become elite at and why is it so important, then clarify it more by sharing it with trusted colleagues, which typically results in further improving it. Most importantly, role modeling that you want to be elite is crucial. Actions speak much louder than words. It will take work, commitment, habits that are stacked for your benefit to become elite, etc. To be elite, be ready to spend time on what it will take to be elite. And then do it…daily.

November 5th Coaching Tip: Want To Learn.

My mother continues to learn, nearly every day. She’s pushing 85 years old, and watching PBS about the Revolutionary War, Finding Your Roots, and Rick Steves travel documentaries on places that she’s never visited. She has the desire to learn; this keeps her relevant and her mind engaged. When someone in our family or her friends group mentions something about going to Scotland or Italy, although my mom has never been to either country, she can be a part of the discussion because she probably just watched a show or educational series on it.

I am wanting to learn more and more about AI; there is so much money and focus on AI right now, and I want to be on the leading edge of learning how to use it and understand the benefits that it can provide. Want to learn, whether it is a new technology, about a new person, or a new location on our beautiful planet.

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365 Coaching Tips: 304th, 305th and 306th

October 31st Coaching Tip: Treats for Kids & Adults.

Halloween is now turning into a fun evening and treat for all ages. As a kid, I remember it being all about the kids, making outfits, competing in outfit contests, counting all the good candy, weighing how much candy we got, etc. Now it’s a full-on family affair; the parents are trick or treating WITH the kids, walking behind them or pulling them in wagons or pushing them in strollers. The parents are festive, happy, and in outfits as well. It’s time now to step up your treats: adult size candy bars for the adults? or free beverages? And for the kids, the same good ole treats always work. Give ’em treats, no matter if it’s just kids or kids with their parents.

November 1st Coaching Tip: A World Series for The Ages!

Game 7 of the 2025 World Series had the Los Angeles Dodgers playing the Toronto Blue Jays, in Toronto. The Dodgers were trailing most of the game, got it tied in the 9th inning with a couple unlikely plays. The game headed into the 11th inning, and the relief pitcher (Yamamoto) was actually a starting pitcher ALL year for the Dodgers. Yamamoto somehow had pitched the evening prior. Now he was again pitching three full innings (9th, 10th, 11th) in this 7th game of the World Series. He was able to easily get the Blue Jays out in the bottom of the 10th (three up, three down). In the 11th inning, with a couple runners on base, the Blue Jays hit into a double play. Dodgers WON, 5-4.

Players stepped up and made highly stressful plays. Viewers all over the world were watching, some 25 million viewers watched late into the evening; Nov. 1st coincided with the time change, too. The stressful plays came from unlikely players; the Dodger’s 2nd baseman (Rojas) homered in the 9th to tie the game, 4-4; then in the bottom of the 10th, he threw home on a fielder’s choice and got the runner out at home plate. In the bottom of the 9th, two Dodgers’ outfielders ran into one another, but the taller outfielder who had just been subbed in for defense made the play. Then in the 11th inning, Dodger’s catcher Smith homered, to give the Dodgers a 5-4 lead. It was a world series for the ages; unlikely people stepped up. And the Dodgers’ manager made some critical decisions that worked to perfection. He believed in his players and trusted in his key decisions.

November 2nd Coaching Tip: Check Your Tire Pressure.

We have a couple cars that we keep in our garages in our north and south homes. Therefore, a couple of the cars may go a couple months without being driving. Today, I took one of the two cars for a drive to charge up the battery really good, fill up the gas tank, and ensure that the air pressure in all four tires was 42 psi. Of course, all four tires were NOT at 42 psi, so I spent two dollars after filling up the gas tank and aired up all four tires. “Safety first” was on my mind, before I drive across the state tomorrow morning for three days of business meetings. Don’t wait; check your tire pressure. (Note: if you don’t know what tire pressure is correct for your car or truck, there is a sticker inside the driver’s side door to indicate the preferred psi.)

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365 Coaching Tips: 298th, 299th & 300th

October 25th Coaching Tip: College Football Coaches Are CEO’s.

Top college football programs are multi-million dollar businesses. These football programs and coaches can transform people’s lives, universities and towns. This can work both ways; if the program wins, the benefits extend to an unmeasurable impact. If the football program loses, there are less visitors and fans, economic development, and merchandise sold.

I’m feeling it and witnessing it as an alum of Indiana University. Our football program has been average to poor since our football team went to the Rose Bowl in the 1960’s. Sure, IU Football has gone to some other bowl games, but the fans haven’t been flocking to IU’s Memorial Stadium for decades. Now they are. Why? Because IU made the commitment to the football program, fired a nice head coach who did average to poor, and then hired a winning coach who had been overlooked for decades at numerous other programs.

In less than two years being on IU’s campus, Coach Cignetti has lit a fire under the IU students and alumni with the team’s winning performances last Fall and again this Fall. In fact, Coach Cig has the Hoosiers ranked #2 in the USA, only behind undefeated Ohio State and last season’s National Champ. Coach Cig isn’t just coaching college student athletes, he’s leading assistant coaches, trainers, volunteers; he’s in front of the media regularly and getting his “winning” viewpoint across to everyone. The IU alumni are now attending games, buying merchandise, paying attention, creating hype, etc. This may drive the University to add more high-quality seats to the 58,000 seat Memorial Stadium, which is 40,000 to 50,000 less seats than at Penn State, Tennessee, Michigan and Ohio State. When the new high-quality seats and suites are added, the fans will expect an upgrade in hotels, housing (Air BnB), restaurants, tourism, shopping and safety in the area nearby Memorial Stadium. The impact of an elite college football program and how it’s coach leads, wins, and communicates are BIG MONEY. (And I haven’t even mentioned all the NIL deals for the student athletes, which is multiple millions of dollars to attract top talent now.) Change is happening in college sports; in my opinion, there’s not a more important leadership decision than WHO is your college football coach. Do the math: 50,000 additional seats x $100/seat x 6 home games = an incremental $30 million dollars per year in revenue. Yes, there will be infrastructure costs to get those extra 40-50,000 seats, but the revenue is undeniable. Donors and some businesses may fund that infrastructure.

October 26th Coaching Tip: VO2 Max Matters.

What is VO2 Max and what makes it so important to longevity? VO2 Max is the maximum amount of oxygen your body can consume during exercise. In other words, it is your cardiovascular fitness measurement. My wellness goal is to have VERY good and elite level VO2Max. I learned how important it is when I read the book by controversial author, Dr. Peter Attia, “Outlive.” It’s now a favorite wellness metric for me and I have it “pinned” on my Apple iPhone “Health” info app. (free, on your iPhone)

Currently, my VO2 Max is at 35.8. For my age of 61 years old, that’s in the high range. This summer, I achieved my highest VO2 Max level (since I’ve been measuring it) of 39.8, as I prepped for the National Senior Games. How did I do it? I was doing regular high intensity interval training, with sprints, fast walking, and rowing for over 18 months. Since August, I have taken a bit of a break from the HIIT training that I was doing for 18 months. My brain was telling me to give my hips and Achilles tendons some relief. So I have done that, and my VO2 Max has dropped four points. Now that I’m more rested up and fully recovered from a September cold, I’ll be doing the HIIT training again soon as I head to Naples for the winter.

October 27th Coaching Tip: Practice, Practice, Practice.

Next week, I’ll be speaking and sharing tips to some of my colleagues five different times. Although each time is 30 to 50 minutes and I’ll be sharing the “stage”, it’s important to prep, know what you’re going to say, what topics are relevant and on the mind of the audience, and how to engage the audience. All of these are very important as we prep.

The best speakers make it look easy, and it’s because they know exactly what they are going to say, when, and with the right tone and pace. They know when to smile, to pause, to raise their voice, and to use their hands to reinforce a point. This is because they have practiced. Some of the best leaders are the best communicators. When a leader can articulate clearly and simply, it’s very helpful for the audience/team/company that you are leading. If you’re going to speak, take time to intentionally practice, practice, practice.

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365 Coaching Tips: 295th, 296th & 297th

October 22nd Coaching Tip: Get Caught Up.

As I drove home from work today, I realized that I forgot to update my notes today and leverage our CRM tool for my key activities. When I got home, I grabbed my work cell phone and put 30 minutes on my calendar first thing for tomorrow morning to quickly get done what I had forgotten to do today. We all forget to do things from time to time; it’s how you handle them moving forward. Get caught up, quickly. This will help declutter your mind and will also build confidence with your colleagues and clients, indicating that you have integrity and are reliable and dependable.

October 23rd Coaching Tip: Quick 15 Minutes.

Today I visited with two women who needed clarity on their business growth and organizing their work week. In a matter of 15 minutes with each of them, we jumped in quickly. They gave me an update on what they had been working on since I visited with them for one hour each over the last couple weeks.

I was proud of these women, because they both are committed to personally growing their businesses, and I could feel their willingness to get better. They both emailed after our 15-minute efficient session today and were so happy to be coached. They are already starting to feel the progress that they were desiring. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a quick 15-minute accountability check-in.

October 24th Coaching Tip: Thinking Ahead.

Knowing that I had a one on one with my boss today, I got her my update a couple days ago. When we met today for 30 minutes, we both were prepared. Thinking ahead, in early November, I’ll be heading to a conference in Florida to learn from national experts on a wide variety of topics; I’ll also be speaking in three different breakouts on three different topics. Yes, three. Today, I really took some time to prep on how I would be organized with my thoughts, focused on being easy to understand for the benefit of the audience, and be relaxed as I’m getting ready now to help reduce any stress.

As a professional that others rely upon, are you thinking ahead? Are you prepared? Are you remaining relevant or are you falling behind? Think ahead. You’ll thank yourself. Always stay present when you are with your clients. Do both: think ahead AND be present.

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365 Coaching Tips: 292nd, 293rd & 294th

October 19th Coaching Tip: Let It Rain.

We finally got some rain. The ground was very dry; as the farmers harvested their fields, the dust was heavy. I was thinking about planting some trees and perennials, but it had been too dry. The rain sounded so pleasant as it hit the metal roof that I even got up to open the windows to hear it rain. Sleeping with those windows open was good; I slept a bit longer and also deeper. Let it rain, let it all soak in. The good Lord has perfect timing with all things and the rain today was one of many perfectly timed things.

October 20th Coaching Tip: Embrace AI.

It’s here and it’s not going away. What? AI. It’s here. It’s everywhere. For example, when you order something on Amazon, pretty soon, you then get similar products recommended. If you ask Siri a question on your iPhone, you soon receive relatively accurate info on the topic that you asked about. Here’s what happened to me today: 1) I looked at an advertisement for a piece of jewelry, 2) clicked on the 15% and provided my email. Within minutes, I was receiving ads of similar looking jewelry but by different brands. It happened within seconds.

At work, our company has made the decision to rollout Microsoft Teams and AI is included via “Copilot”, which is like having a virtual, personal assistant on your laptop. Those who are utilizing it are getting work done much faster and it is saving time on projects, processing, and handling client inquiries. My thoughts are if you don’t embrace AI and others do embrace it, you’ll be far behind and it’ll be hard for you to catch up. BUT, always remember that humans want to be noticed and loved. So do both, embrace AI and love others.

October 21st Coaching Tip: Racism Is Roaring.

Both of my godsons have let me know that in the last few days, they have been subjected to racial comments. These men are now in their mid-30’s, and they both are indicating that they have never heard comments like they are hearing now. For example, one of them said a black lady yelled at him and told him to go back to Mexico. The other said that as he was bartending, and a white man was saying racist stuff that he had never heard. He was speechless.

As racism roars, I’m proud of my godsons for not engaging with those racists. I’m proud they both just moved on. Racism comments are unacceptable, and yet leaders in our country think that it’s ok to be selectively racist. Be better. As our mothers and grandmothers taught us, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” Be intentionally better, treat others with respect and kindness.

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365 Coaching Tips: 286th, 287th & 288th

October 13th Coaching Tip: Check The Weather.

As I was packing and prepping for the work week, I repetitively checked the weather forecast for New York City. Flying there on a Tuesday, walking to work across Manhattan to three different buildings, I wanted to ensure I had the right clothing for comfort and warmth, and of course the Fall breezy days. I also was checking the weather for the weekend, since we have football tickets to a home game for Michigan State at Indiana University.

I packed efficiently and noticed that as I went thru the entire week with work and dinner clothing needs in NYC, as well as working out and sleep gear, I had packed just one extra tank top. The two extra scarves that I took worked well, as the sun went down in the evenings and I wore them to stay warm as I walked back from work and taxi drop offs.

As for the IU football game, intense weather alerts had been issued for game day. However, as I kept an eye on the weather very closely, it appeared to me that there would be no rain or threat of bad weather until about halftime. Sure enough, that’s exactly how it played out. I went to the game, stayed til halftime, then drove to our newly remodeled home nearby to watch the second half. Meanwhile, as I was making the short 12-minute drive home, IU officials postponed the game and had all of the fans leave their seats and take cover under the stands. Check the weather; it can be a simple check on your cell phone to help you be safe and sound.

October 14th Coaching Tip: Business Decisions.

In the last few days, I have a rental property that has been available for a few weeks. Surprisingly, we have not had much interest; however, in the last few days, I have received two rental applications after my realtor showed it to them both. Both of these men felt they were going to be selected and communicated well with me. But, business decisions are just that: business decisions.

My CPA helps me with my taxes and making good tenant decisions purely on the data that he reads in the rental applications. Both tenants made alot of money and were going thru divorces. One (let’s name him “Mike”) had a higher credit score than the other candidate. Mike also had nothing on his background check and was less pushy in the process. My CPA recommended that we go with Mike. Although the other tenant had no pets and Mike had a cat, Mike was willing to pay a non-refundable pet deposit, too. Use data intentionally to help make great business decisions.

October 15th Coaching Tip: You have options.

My mom got a recall notice on her Mitsubishi SUV. She called up her normal dealer and they were indicated that they didn’t know how to fix it. So, mom called me; I reminded her that I used to be in charge of warranty and recall notices for Caterpillar. She had forgotten about my warranty experience, so I reminded her that she can take her Mitsubishi to any Mitsubishi dealer to get the recall fixed. 

Today, she proudly called me as she drove home from another dealer and said they got it done in 40 minutes and had been doing them all week. Remember, you have options. Use them! 

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365 Coaching Tips: 277th, 278th & 279th

October 4th Coaching Tip: Full of games.

College football was in full swing this weekend. Lots of games, but for some reason, I kept a close eye on the Baylor game. Down by a bunch, the Baylor football team scored 18 points in the fourth quarter. And on the last play of the game, Baylor blocked a 37-yard punt that allowed the Bears to win the game by one point. Not a lot of commentary was heard about this game; neither team was ranked. However, WHAT AN EFFORT! The Baylor men never gave up…all the way down to the very last play. To win the game, they all knew they HAD to block the punt. In witnessing the replay of the blocked field goal, I noticed that not just one but multiple Baylor players jumped very high into the air to try to block the punt.

Although the day was full of games, it was the extraordinary effort by Baylor that captured my attention.

October 5th Coaching Tip: Patience Worked.

The hunt for frozen blueberries took us all over Michigan today. Although we had been in Michigan for three days, we had only been to one road-side market that had fresh blueberries. As those three days crept in to the fourth day, it was time to switch our hunt to frozen blueberries. And finally, at our last orchard stop, I walked in and went directly to the freezer area and boom, there were two bags of blueberries (2 x 10 lbs). Our patience worked out, especially after we pivoted and changed our search from fresh to frozen.

Be wise. Read the signals. Patience will be rewarded. It worked.

October 6th Coaching Tip: Go See Our Senior Seniors.

Over the past few days of traveling thru Michigan, we visited a 96-year-old uncle in Traverse City and another 81-year-old uncle near Detroit. With all the driving, traffic, hotels, etc., was it worth it? YES. We learned so much history from the 96-year-old about times during his childhood, while he was in the Navy, his work for the Michigan department of Natural Resources, etc. He forwarded photos to us for two days after our visit. He was thrilled that we cared about HIM. And my 81-year-old uncle reminded me that he was a good track and field athlete; he high jumped, ran the 440-yard sprint, ran cross country, and pole vaulted. He referenced 10′ 9″ multiple times, so I’m guessing that he pole vaulted that high. Amazing, that’s almost 2X’s my height.

Go see our senior seniors. I’m 61 years old and a “senior citizen” now. But I view the 60’s as the go-go decade, the 70’s as the slower-go decade, and the 80’s as the slow-go decade. The senior seniors aren’t “me”; they are older and ready to share their stories to those who care to listen. It’s an intentional and kind thing that one can do.

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365 Coaching Tips: 271st, 272nd & 273rd

September 28th Coaching Tip: Pray.

Yesterday during the fourth quarter of Indiana’s road game at Iowa, IU’s quarterback walked out on the field with approximately two minutes remaining, and he quickly prayed. (It was a pressured packed moment. The game was tied, 13-13, after Iowa had just missed a field goal.) I noticed it and I was glad that the TV cameras caught the moment. A few plays later, the IU QB thru a rocket of a pass (with eight Iowa defenders rushing him) to his receiver, who ran straight to the end zone. As soon as the receiver crossed the endzone for the touchdown, the IU QB purposefully prayed again.

When the pressure is high or when you are hurting or need extra help, pray. Just pray.

September 29th Coaching Tip: Find The Positive.

Lots of people around us right now are negative. Negative about life, politics, fairness, etc. Meanwhile, I’m choosing to be aware of the negativity, and embracing the positive side of life. For example, I woke up this morning, read my devotionals, took a shower, drove my car, got a haircut, worked at a consistent pace all day helping others, celebrated a colleague’s retirement, learned from others, took some training, went on a walk, talked with my mom and partner, and am looking forward to tomorrow. That’s a good day, full of positive vibes.

Did I climb a mountain? No. Did I win the lottery? Nope. Did I solve brain cancer? Absolutely not. But I had a full day. I’m embracing what is good and positive. Are there bad things happening? Yes, every single day. I’m very aware of it; two mass shootings yesterday by former USA Marines. Government shutdown is a potential this week. Our human brains are not taking the time to read about nor understand history, which may indicate that bad things from the past may indeed happen again. Find the positive, be aware of your surroundings and make the choice not to focus on only the negativity.

September 30th Coaching Tip: Quarter End Results.

It’s that time once again, the end of another quarter. What are you most excited about for the future quarter and 2026? What are you most proud of that you have accomplished in the last three months? What got in the way of achieving a goal? How do you reset for this next quarter? What will you celebrate and who will you celebrate it with?

As I reflect on these questions, I’m most excited about picking up new coaching clients and traveling to Michigan and Naples, FL. I’m most proud of maintaining my coaching workload and picking up new clients from two colleagues who retired recently. Yes, I did get that darn cold in mid-September, which set me back two to three weeks on my fitness and ability to attend some fun events. With this quarter ending, my resetting is in motion; we are planning travel, warm weather fun times in Naples, an early Thanksgiving, a couple work trips and a strong focus on staying healthy. Soon we will celebrate with one of our neighbors, as she is working on her PhD; and we will celebrate my accomplishments at the National Senior Games in basketball shooting and sprinting. Those are my quarter-end results and reflections.

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365 Coaching Tips: 265th, 266th & 267th

September 22 Coaching Tip: Stuck? Change It Up.

Numerous coaching sessions are about my clients being “stuck”. They are doing ok, but they seem to be stuck and not really growing but not losing business either. Most times I will ask them, “when you have been stuck in the past and what did you do?” I ask those two questions to get them thinking positively about a time when they became unstuck and progressed forward. They usually share that they changed things up a bit, i.e. they hired a coach, they changed their office and included a dashboard somewhere, they created a competition on their team to reward the new behavior, they took a vacation and came back with clear thoughts, etc. Bottom line, they changed things up a bit.

It happened to me recently. I was stuck on a design project; I kept going and doing the same thing for 2-3 weeks. Then I did something totally different, really got feedback, and changed my thinking. I’m already feeling the new feeling, and it’s invigorating.

September 23 Coaching Tip: Turn Them Loose.

Talked to a couple of my coaching clients recently about their experience with their interns this summer. They both were absolutely blown away by how thorough and helpful these interns were for their teams. Both leaders mentioned that these interns were professional, got projects done quicker than the team expected they would get them completed, and that they asked for more work that could truly help the team and the clients.

In my experience of leading interns since our group hired 100-200 interns/year when I was at Caterpillar in the 1990’s-2000’s, we found that if you give them big projects, get them to critically think about the potential results, learn how to go ask questions from experts, and grow from feedback, they were quite valuable “part-time hires.” Some of our high school interns would work for us their junior and senior years in high school and then would add another three to four more internships while they were in junior college or college. By the time these interns were graduating from college, they were very familiar with many of the facilities, the processes and systems, numerous employees, the work culture, and the performance expectations.

If you have interns, give them direction and projects, and turn them loose. They’ll get stuff done for you quicker that you had imagined.

September 24 Coaching Tip: Get Both Sides of the Story.

Ever have someone call you and said that, “you said this, you said that…” and yet they have never talked to you nor asked you what you actually said? That happened to me recently by a leader. This leader launched into what I did, without remaining curious, and never asked me for my input on what I did. So being the wiser of the two, I chose to listen to them opine on what I did…then I calmly summarized what they said, and then clearly slowed down and said the following, “now that I think I understand what you are saying, let me tell you what I actually did.” It was interesting how what this leader had heard was very different than what I did and said.

As a leader, it’s your responsibility to 1) support your people, and 2) get their side of the story. Don’t just think what someone else says is correct and accurate.