Chapter SevenStrategizing Your Development Plan

“There’s only one real sin, and that is to persuade oneself that the second-best is anything but the second-best.”

Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook

The last exercise in my leadership classes starts with the question “What will stop you from implementing what you have experienced?” The excuses start with the usual lack of time, pressure to get results, and how they expect their old habits will return. The next layer of excuses includes worrying they will look stupid when trying to coach people so they will fail. Someone will admit to doubting the results. Someone else claims people expect answers from him or her, not questions.

Eventually, someone says that even if she sets goals to practice and ...

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