Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Thresholds That Truly Change Us I’ve crossed plenty of thresholds in my life. Graduations, promotions, marriage, a few plaques on the wall. All those moments came and went, all important in their own way. Despite the cultural significance, and that many of these events are dear to many...
Tag Archives: Mentoring
Living Richly: Music, Travel, Discomfort, and Growth in Tuscany – Psychological Richness Part 3
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Greetings and Salutations! Welcome to the third installment in the psychological richness series. In Part 1, I introduced Shigehiro Oishi’s concept of a psychologically rich life—one filled with interesting, perspective-changing experiences. In Part 2, I put on my skeptic hat and reengaged the theory: praised what works, critiqued what doesn’t,...
Trapped in the Mirrors: Why Leaders Can’t Please Everyone
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Feedback is a mirror. Last time, we talked about what happens when you refuse to look—the cost of ignoring feedback that is valid, actionable, and desirable. But that was a single source of feedback, or multiple sources showing the same reflection. Another trap emerges from multiple mirrors...
Feedback That Actually Lands
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Just throw strikes.” That was the shining pearl of feedback my son once got during a Little League game. He’d just walked two batters in a row. When I headed out to the mound for a chat to help him get centered and figure out what to...
“That’s OK” Is Not OK: The Growth Mindset Rant (Part 2: Mentors and Leaders)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction In Part 1, we explored how individuals sabotage themselves with fixed-mindset self-talk and how honest self-assessment paired with self-compassion opens the door to growth. Now let’s shift the lens: what happens when that same dynamic plays out in a mentor–protege or leader–team relationship? “Some people are not...
“That’s OK” Is Not OK: The Growth Mindset Rant (Part 1: The Individual)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction “Some people are not good at [insert, whatever here]. And that’s ok.” The genesis of this post came from an interesting set of coincidences: That line came out of a podcast I listened to recently, and it nearly snuck past me on a quick listen, but something...
Simple Isn’t Easy…Yet Why Hard Things Get Easier (and How to Make That Happen)
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Some things (2×2 tables for example) trigger an instant “old man shouts at clouds” reaction from my teenage daughter.I can be halfway into what I think is an insightful rant, cue the eyeroll. However, there is an inverse relationship between the rotational force vector of teenage eye-rolling and the...
So, Ya Got Fired…Part 3 Move to Action
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Next take home point: Still fired, so Now What? In our previous installments we discussed an approach to the initial reaction (emotionally) of getting fired, and then discussed an approach to sorting thru the feedback to gain an accurate picture of your current self. Now is the next...
So, Ya Got Fired…Part 2: Feedback and Insight
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP In our first installment, I broached the topic of firing. We started at the beginning and discussed our ground-rules for avoiding unnecessary negative emotional responses, and used that to discuss an approach to managing the initial emotions that come with getting fired. We left off with three steps...
So, Ya Got Fired…Part 1
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Odds are you’ve been fired, cut, dumped, or ghosted—by a job, a team, a person, or an institution—even though you thought you were good/great/vital/pivotal/indispensable. Full disclosure: Me too. I’ll talk about it during this post (and the sequels), but not in gory detail. First off, much of...