Archive for coaching

Bringing Buried Treasure to the Surface: Creating the MRG Knowledge Base

“Content.”  It’s a word that has taken on a different meaning in the digital age. In marketing, it’s come to distinguish content marketing – information people actually want to have (expertise, instruction, research, guides) – from the junk they’d rather do without. When I arrived at MRG a…

Whenever (and Wherever) we Gather, it’s Like a Homecoming

There’s a lot to love about being headquartered in Portland, Maine – fresh seafood, gorgeous summers, beautiful views, an amazing food scene (…we won’t discuss the winters). But being an international business located in our small city does have a downside: we rarely get customers dropping in to…

Taking Smart Risks: Leadership Effectiveness in the Insurance Industry

I remember being perplexed by things like home, car and even medical insurance when I was a child. In my young mind, it seemed like an unnecessary gamble to pay for something you hoped to never need. With age and life experience I have come to understand it…

What Curious Coaches Want to Know: the Top Research Topics of 2019

Somehow, bewilderingly, we’re already entering the final month of 2019. The year’s end always offers ample opportunity for reflection – what did we accomplish? What did we learn? What are we still seeking? Unsurprisingly, MRG is a particularly reflective environment, and as we close out the year, we…

Against All Odds: What Successful Leadership Looks Like in the Humanitarian Sector

Leadership is a complex and often frustrating experience. Having the ability and poise to sift through endless – and frequently contradictory – information to lead effectively may feel like more of an art than a science. And while leadership in any capacity is difficult, leadership within the humanitarian…

4 Types of Derailing Leaders (and How to Get them Back on Track)

Looking for the post-webinar Q&A? Find it here. Watching a once-successful leader derail can feel a lot like watching a bicycle crash. By the time you can see the wreckage start to happen, it seems like it’s too late to stop it. And like a bicycle crash, the…

Tales of Terror: Three Scary Moments in 360 Feedback (and How to Fight Back)

Ideally, every coachee could start the development process feeling confident, open, and ready to achieve deep self-awareness – fearlessly. In reality, though, the idea of candid 360 feedback can strike fear into the hearts of even an experienced leader. Finding out how you are perceived by others could…

5 Reasons to Make Open-Ended Questions Part of Your Assessment Strategy

One of the things I’ve always loved during my many years at MRG is talking – by phone, by email, or especially in person – with the coaches who are using our assessments. Part of this is my own curiosity – I’ve been doing this work for a…

A Delicate Balance: How Effective Consulting Leaders Manage the Needs of Clients and Business

Working in the consulting industry myself, at first I found it a little ironic that it was so challenging to write this post. Flipping the switch from client calls and content development to writing was daunting, and I kept putting it off. Then I realized it was fairly…

When Looking at Gender Differences in Leadership, Start with Data (Not Anecdotes)

The conversation about gender and its impact in the workplace began before women even entered the workforce in significant numbers. Today – whether in fiction, in journalism, in self-help books, or in the speeches politicians and pundits – the conversation about gender dynamics in the workplace continues to…