October 9, 2014

How to handle conflict to gain influence [podcast]

If anything 34 years of marriage has taught me, managing conflict is an area I’ve had to really work on. In our latest episode of the Reinventure Me podcast, my co-host Armin Assadi and I talk about how we ...

June 23, 2014

How to cultivate a bias for action

I’m a huge proponent of smart action. As the intelligence researcher Robert Sternberg put it, “The essence of intelligence would seem to be in knowing when to think and act quickly, and knowing when to think and act slowly.” Our ...

June 18, 2014

Valley taught: The stuff that fuels your ascent

I grew up at the foothills of inspiration. Right outside my front-door loomed Colorado’s majestic Pikes Peak. One of the first things I noticed when I moved to Minnesota was that there were no mountains—lots of gorgeous lakes, but ...

June 3, 2014

Five tools you already possess that can inspire another

Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” If true, it follows that the most inspiring leaders will be those who help others become what ...

May 26, 2014

What Memorial Day can teach us about leadership

Memorial Day is the day we remember those who paid the greatest price for our freedom. It is honoring to pause and reflect on those who gave what they could never take back. These are the heroes whose sacrifices ...

May 12, 2014

Don’t be creepy. 10 questions to know if you’re a scope creeper

Scope creep. Project managers know it well. It’s when the expected outcome of work expands well beyond the original agreement. It happens often in business and too often in our personal lives. We enlist others on our idea or ...

April 29, 2014

Would your clone follow you? My clone’s 3 simple tests of leadership

Boy, if I only had a clone. Imagine how much more I could get done. Let’s pull on that thread for a minute. Just imagine that you can make a carbon copy of yourself and put them to work ...

March 12, 2014

Four strategies to bring out the best in another

How do you define a great leader? Here’s my definition: great leaders bring out the best in others to accomplish more than they imagined. Every leader I’ve admired possesses that quality. They inspired me to dig a little ...

February 5, 2014

What I learned about leadership from an introvert

By every definition of the term, I’m an extrovert. I enjoy being around people—constantly. They energize me. And, ironically, my favorite person to be with is an introvert. Even after 33 years of marriage, I can’t seem to get ...

December 31, 2013

10 things I learned about leadership from the Bible in 2013

I just wrapped up my annual reading of the Bible. It was my number one read for 2013. Every year I gain new insights and important reminders to grow stronger in my faith. I’m particularly sensitive to passages that ...

Leary Gates | Venture coach

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Category Archives: Leadership