Brenda’s Blog
Explore Brenda’s latest thinking on leadership, coaching, and branding. Each post offers practical insights and immediately usable tools to help you succeed — both as a leader and in life.
The New Year / New YOU™ Self-Leadership “Stillness” Challenge
Happy New Year! I hope that 2017 has started wonderfully for you. Are you a New Year’s resolution kind of person? I personally like the idea of setting new intentions when a new year begins. But this year, I decided to take it up a notch – to forego a traditional new year’s resolution, and challenge myself […]
Which of these self-leadership mistakes have you made?
Author Anais Nin is quoted as saying, “My ideas usually come not at my desk writing, but in the midst of living.” Of all the books I’ve written, both Leading YOU™ and its companion book, Would YOU Want to Work for YOU? are the two for which this quote holds most true. More than a […]
How to Demonstrate Good Self-Leadership During the Year-End Holiday Season: Create Your Own “Holiday-Season Mantra!”
To celebrate year-end holidays, millions of people around the globe will soon be traveling to reconnect with loved ones. Whether the trip is just across town or half-way around the world, reunions with friends and family can make this time of year a time of joy, laughter, and peace — or just the opposite. Crowded airports, […]
Bonus for Leading...
Do You Fall into This Trap? When Strengths Become Weaknesses
Ahhh, September! Depending upon where you are, this month may mean dropping temperatures and leaves turning various shades of red and orange. For others, it marks the advent of spring, flowers blooming, and the anticipation of warmer weather. Here in Singapore, no matter the date on the calendar, we are so close to the equator […]
An Excerpt From My Next Book, Leading YOU™
My new book, Leading YOU™, will be released before year’s end. You may have read another one of my books, Would You Want to Work For YOU™?” which focused on the top 15 damaging behaviors I see when coaching leaders of others. Well, this new book – Leading YOU™ – outlines the 15 damaging self-leadership […]
What Do All Great Leaders Need? An Objective Perspective
It’s that time of year again when the world celebrates International Coaching Week, which is next week, May 16-22. It’s exciting to see how this relatively young profession has grown by leaps and bounds! If you’ve worked with a coach, you will hopefully have experienced what a difference coaching can make, both in your career […]
Celebrate International Coaching Week with Me in Person!
If you’re in Singapore, come to the International Coaching Week events which will be taking place May 16-20! I’ll be giving the keynote speech to kick off the all-day Symposium on the morning of Wednesday, May 18 – “Value in Coaching: The Choice is Yours” – followed by a full day of enlightening presentations. The […]
The 15 Most Important Characteristics of Executive Presence
I am often asked, “What is the most popular topic clients request when it comes to leadership development?” My answer? “Presence” — specifically Executive Presence. I have found that Executive Presence is that “special sauce” which separates good leaders who “do well” from outstanding leaders who catapult to the top of their organizations. Let’s face […]
If you like the reality TV show “The Voice…”
… then you might want to attend the finale of “The Speech” which will be held in Singapore later this month! Back in November of 2015, budding professional speakers auditioned for a mentor at a meeting of the Asia Pacific Speakers association in Singapore. Just like on the reality TV Show “The Voice,” the mentors “competed” […]
The Secret to Avoiding Failed New Year’s Resolutions
I spend a large part of the year in Asia, so this is one of my favorite periods of time. We’ve come off of the busy-ness of calendar year-end holidays and we’re approaching the end of the festivities of the Chinese New Year. The energy is great – people are having fun, celebrating with family, […]
Discover Top Techniques for Time Management
“My two toughest time-management issues are (a) dealing with emails and (b) juggling meetings. Can you help?” This is a very common question I get asked when working with leaders in my Executive Coaching practice. If this resonates with you, too, click here to listen to a radio interview I did a few months back. […]
Does Being the Boss Mean You Get to Tell People What To Do?
Does Being the Boss Mean You Get to Tell People What To Do? It’s 7:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening, and you’re still at the office preparing for a presentation you’ll make to top management early the next day. You have just hung up the phone after speaking with your spouse, and the annoyed […]
The Top 10 Branding Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make
When you’re growing your own business, every error you make means money out of your pocket. So, why learn the hard way (which is also the expensive way)? Why not learn ahead of time which pitfalls to avoid? Below are the Top 10 most costly branding mistakes that I have regularly seen entrepreneurs make. Getting […]
The Single Worst Question You Can Ask at Work: The Power of Eliminating “Why”?
Asking direct reports or coworkers questions rather than always telling them what to do is an important way to develop their abilities, help them grow, strengthen engagement, and improve relationships. But, there is one question-word in your tool chest that I suggest you eliminate entirely: “Why?” If you think about it, the very nature of […]
Don’t Just Sit There!
SITTING is big news – well, at least the detrimental effects of too much sitting, that is. The scientific community has coined a new phrase to label it — “sitting disease.” In short, as a friend of mine says, “Sitting is the new smoking.” But as leaders, our jobs often require that we sit for […]
