Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Feedback is a mirror. Over the past two posts, we’ve looked at two ways leaders stumble with feedback: ignoring it altogether (Ignoring the Mirror) and overreacting to every reflection (Trapped in the Mirrors). Both leave you stuck. But there’s a third trap, and it’s sneakier because it...
Tag Archives: Personal Development
Ignoring the Mirror: Why We Resist Feedback and Growth
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction We previously defined feedback as the key enabling behavior of true mentorship. Good feedback acts as a mirror, reflecting something about us that we may not see on our own, and provides a pathway to change, grow, and improve. But what happens when you don’t like the reflection?...
“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 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, You 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...
The Resilience Rant: Reclaiming and Reframing
Part 4 – Resilience Isn’t Just Bouncing Back (Eggs Break, Tennis Balls Bounce) Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction There’s something quietly seductive about the phrase “bouncing back.” It conjures images of recovery, strength, even speed: someone knocked down by life who springs right back to where they were, untouched and unchanged. It’s...
The Resilience Rant: Reclaiming and Reframing Part 2 – Resilience Isn’t Victim Blaming
Christopher J. Colombo MD, CEC, CMC, CPP Introduction Let’s start with one of my favorite catchphrases from the feedback side of my coaching work: Any feedback that can be restated as “Stop sucking, be more better” is of limited value. That, in a nutshell, is what gives resilience such a bad name in some circles....