Coaching The Bible

Yes, we have discussed this topic before, but...

...different time, different crisis, different approach!

Moses vs Korach: The Ultimate Rumble in Desert...

A bit long this week (sorry!), but really valuable discussion on the way Moses handles the disaster that is the story of Korach.

Enjoy and Happy Learning!

Episode 37 is Korach: On Crisis Leadership II

We ALL know of the cowardly lion from 'The Wizard of Oz' seeking only a bit of courage.

I imagine we can name others who we deem as 'courageous' or 'brave' and certainly have many we believe to be cowardly.

The question is: what does it actually mean to be a person of courage, where does it come from, and maybe most importantly, how do we get some?

This week on Coaching With The Bible (episode 36) we go deep on the 2nd of the Three Traits of Great Leadership: Courage

Our focus this week will be the story of the spies and in particular Caleb, the spy of the tribe of Judah.

Can't wait for this one!

Enjoy and as always Happy Learning!

If I asked you what does it mean to be arrogant, you could tell me without issue. You might even want to point out a person or two (please don't!)

If I asked you what does it mean to be conceited or cocky, you could tell me that, too.

If I asked you what does it mean to be humble, what does it look like, I think you are more likely to tell me what it isn't than what it is. Sometimes that is easier because humility is hard to define and explain.

What does it mean to be humble or display humility? 

Is it something we can build and practice or is it inborn?

Why is it important (it truly is!) In every part of life to be humble?

Let's learn from the MOST humble person who has ever lived: Moses.

In this week's episode, we begin to tackle the subject of humility, why it's important for leaders, and how to grow it.

Episode 35: Behaalotecha: On Humility

Fun topic!

How do we create unity on our teams?

To me, this question opens up a long conversation about the concepts of unity and diversity and goal setting and success, etc. It's a BIG one and it is also one that we will only begin to delve into this week. More to come...

So...

Episode #34 is here!

Enjoy!

Hi all!!!

This week's episode is entitled 'Bamidbar: On Harmony'

Harmony is not usually a word we associate with coaching. I get that. We would more often speak of congruence and alignment whether around an idea, a plan, or a goal. However, just based on the way I think about the work and the goals we are trying to achieve, I don't think those terms go far enough, nor do they always get us to where we ultimately want to be. This is why I am partial to the term harmony. When we think of harmony in the sense of flow, being in sync, teammates intuitively knowing where to go, what to do, and how to act, then we can see how this idea fits into Coaching With The Bible.

In this week's first episode of the Book of Numbers, we talk about harmony and how we see that concept built out by the architecture of the encampment of the people of Israel in the desert. We'll go a bit deeper and learn from the concept of 'emergence' as it relates to the way fish swim schools and birds come together as a migrating flock.

We will then touch on an interesting approach to building harmony within our teams based on a structure first introduced by Dr. Bill Tuckman in the late 60's known as 'Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing.'

Ah!!! So much to learn and so little time!

Happy Learning!

Hi all.

As we head into the holiday of Shavuot and the acceptance, once again, of the Torah from God, that we do so with great reverence, humility, respect, joy, and excitement. There is so much to learn and so many ways to grow.

As we did at the end of both Genesis and Exodus, I thought I'd share a short BONUS summary episode for Leviticus entitled:

'Leviticus: Upon Reflection III'

Leviticus included only 7 episodes, even as it contained 10 bible portions!

As I mentioned in both prior 'Upon Reflection' episodes, our ability to reflect provides us with a great opportunity to appreciate, give gratitude, grow, and learn again both from what we did and did not do well the first time through this book. Leviticus holds within it so much depth that I think we barely scratched the surface, yet it did feel as though we hit on some deep insights and ideas.

In our 7 episodes we learned about:

Another incredible list of topics and ideas!

Take a listen for the key summary lesson from Leviticus and looking forward to Book 4: Numbers (Bamidbar)

Happy Listening and learning! Thanks for being with me each week!

Episode 31 coincides with the conclusion of the Book of Leviticus! (That happened way too quickly!!)

Allow me though to continue with the following:

When the Bible describes incredible blessings and horrific curses in this week's reading do we see them as blessing and punishment, and up to God to determine whether we receive one or the other? What happens if we see and understand them as directly connected, for good or otherwise, to what we did or did not do? Meaning to say, if we view them as a consequence, ie the direct result of our actions/inactions, and therefore positive or negative consequence, rather than reward/punishment, how does that potentially impact what action/inaction we take?

In this week's episode, we discuss consequences and by extension, the manner in which we plan, consider, and strategize the actions we take and the ones we skip in bringing about a specific result. How far down the line can we or should we think before we act, and how much better our decision-making practices can be if we did plan this way.

Happy listening and learning and congrats on completing Leviticus/Vayikra!

We have reached episode 30!! Definitely worth a moment or two (or three) of gratitude and appreciation! Thanks for being with me each week along this journey. I know that it's not a given, so I appreciate it. Thank you!

The literature and data are clear: the path to courage, leadership, joy, and (even) creativity all require a dose of being vulnerable. If we want to get to our best, whole-hearted selves, then we need this conversation and self-work.

So onward and upward with being vulnerable! (Do we celebrate that? I have no idea!)

Our starting point will be the story of the blasphemer way at the end of the reading this week and we will then use the work of Dr Brene Brown to unpack the concept and develop a plan of action for ourselves and for our teams.

So this week we went on location! Our episode was recorded live from the local baseball field, and incredibly that fit right into our topic for the week.

This week: On Sanctity & Holiness

How do you mesh work life and spiritual life?

Where does sanctity and holiness fit into the work environment? Or perhaps it doesn't at all?

If you are the leader, is there a way to balance those different aspects of your life and somehow bring that into the office space and into your teams?

Initially, I struggled with this one, so let me know your thoughts on where we end up!

Happy listening and learning. Have a great week!

Have you ever heard the quote: 'The only thing to be doing behind someone's back is patting it'? Well, that idea was shared with me years ago in one of the office environments in which I had worked. Unfortunately, the person who shared it, didn't live by it, but the idea stuck with me and very much rings true to me.

What is it that we are or are not doing behind the backs of our teammates? Are we talking about them? gossiping? sharing personal details either true or worse, false?

What is the impact both obvious and hidden on morale, success, productivity, trust, etc?

This week on Coaching With The Bible we get into the matter of 'The Office Gossip'.

Using the lessons from the Bible's leper as learned in this week's portion of Tazria-Metzora and the deep understandings of the Sages, we'll form an approach to designing and implementing a basic but solid structure to manage the gossip in our work and leadership environments.

Enjoy!