Productivity and Performance

“The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” — Stephen Covey

One of the most rewarding aspects of Groundwork is hearing from alumni who have taken the practices we've taught and adapted them to transform their personal and professional lives. This week, I...

"We cannot lead without feeling the pain of living, because the things we do to avoid feeling pain result in poor leadership. We don’t acknowledge others. We try to control everything. We lose our temper and criticize others disproportionately. If we don’t feel our emotions, we are controlled by the...

"Fret not where the road will take you. Instead, concentrate on the first step. That is the hardest part and that is what you are responsible for. Once you take that step, let everything do what it naturally does and the rest will follow. Don't go with the flow. Be the flow."
– Rule 19, Forty Rule...

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone, there will be nothing. Only I will ...

Read time: 3 minutes

We’ve all been there—your calendar is jam-packed, and it feels like there’s no room to breathe. Back-to-back meetings, constant firefighting, and absolutely no time to focus on the bigger picture. For most high-performing leaders, this becomes the norm. There’s a sense of accom...

Read time: 4 minutes

“Without leaps of imagination or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning.”
– Gloria Steinem

From Dreaming to Doing: How to Make Room for What Matters Most

I’m doing a Monthly Review and looking at all the things I can’t get...

“The job of a leader is to consume uncertainty and transmit clarity.”
-Yamini Rangan, Chief Customer Officer, HubSpot

The Heavy Burden of Leadership

Leaders carry heavy responsibilities, which inevitably means they face significant challenges.

Being a leader is not for the faint of heart. It’s a c...

Earlier this year, I was honoured to train a team at a world-famous nonprofit. I felt that Groundwork would be a perfect fit for them and it was a significant opportunity with some big challenges to address.

As I learned more about their team's challenges, it was clear that they faced common pain p...

In a recent coaching session with two very busy co-founders, this important question came up:

"How do we make sure we accomplish our priorities when our calendars are already so full?"

For those who are not familiar, Focus Areas is a simple one-page document we create each quarter inside the Groun...