I was delighted to read the email below from a former student. You can tell that English is not her native language, nor is America her native culture. Yet you’ll see she turned a standard business meeting assigned to her into a meaningful connection. That’s the value of technique: it works even when you wouldn’t know what to do. You can fall back on it. The more you practice and[…] Keep reading →

The host of a podcast we just recorded emailed: Again, I so enjoyed our conversation today. Thank you for bring your whole self to the table. … I loved it. (and I know my audience will love it too.) I never used to hear that I brought my whole self to anything. On the contrary, as I’ll share below, I spent the first few decades of my life only able[…] Keep reading →

Leadership is about more than business and politics, where people associate it most. Leadership applies to all relationships, including with yourself, to family, school, and significant others. Especially the kind of leadership that my book, Leadership Step by Step, develops: based on understanding, empathy, compassion, listening, connecting their passions to the team, teamwork, support, and similar social and emotional skills. More.com is more for the next generation, but they caught[…] Keep reading →

Laura Coe, host of The Art of Authenticity podcast, posted today our second interview, “Joshua Spodek: Becoming The Person Others Follow,” which covers Leadership Step by Step, along with authenticity in general. Laura is a wonderful interviewer who genuinely cares about her guests. A second interview means more familiarity and comfort, which means covering perspectives and details beyond what a first interview can cover. Listen to the interview! (scroll down)[…] Keep reading →

A reader wrote with some questions common enough from other readers to share. His second message is the common one. The first sets the context of dealing with a difficult person. Here’s the first message: I’d like to know how to deal with the type who is indifferent to the possible adverse repercussions for his actions (or lack thereof) and may actually want to deliberately trigger you to intervene and[…] Keep reading →

Take my 4-session in-person course in influence, persuasion, and creating and closing deals! I’m offering this course by popular demand, organized by the students who took my leadership class in-person last semester. They knew I’ve offered this class and wanted to take it so they took initiative to make it happen. How could I refuse? I often call it Entrepreneurial Selling, but it’s deeper than “just” sales. It’s about creating[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of responses to the New York Times’, The Ethicist, without imposing values, here is my take on today’s post, “Should Parents Be Expected to Donate to a Public School?” Our granddaughter is in kindergarten at a highly ranked elementary school: Test scores average in the top 1 percent of the schools in the state. Only 1.2 percent of the students are on a free or low-cost lunch.[…] Keep reading →

Continuing my series of responses to the New York Times’, The Ethicist, without imposing values, here is my take on today’s post, “Is It O.K. to Find Sexual Satisfaction Outside Your Marriage?” I am married and have three children with my husband. For the most part, our lives are happy. My husband and I have a good relationship and are active in our children’s lives. However, I am utterly unsatisfied[…] Keep reading →

My reasons for teaching leadership experientially today are mainly To enable people to create meaning, value, importance, purpose, and passion in their lives and in the lives of people around them Because the challenges the next several generations will face require changing behavior on a global scale, which are social and emotional challenges, not technical, and I hope to help create a community of people with the skills to overcome[…] Keep reading →