Coach Dan Estby

Author: Coach Dan

  • Fan that fire!

    📖 “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” ― Plutarch Today is a great day to kindle the fire of curiosity in your mind. 🔥 Ask questions.🔥 Listen to understand.🔥 Encourage others to share different perspectives and ideas.🔥 Show enthusiasm for finding answers.🔥 Read or follow someone new. If…

  • Empowerment comes from knowing how to think.

    “I want my team to be more accountable.” “I wish my team took initiative more often.” “It would be great if my team thought more ‘out of the box.’” Teach your team HOW to think, instead of WHAT to think. Teams follow your lead, so if you’re looking for improvements in them… why not start…

  • Candle or Fire

      “Do not give them a candle to light the way, teach them how to make fire instead. That is the meaning of enlightenment.” ― Kamand Kojouri   It’s a fine line- balancing between helping your partners achieve a goal, and teaching them the skills (and building the experience) necessary to achieve their goals over and…

  • Mirror mirror on the wall…

     Teams follow the cues of their leader. They will often mirror the leaders mindset, values and behaviors. Observing your teams in action followed by some reflection is a great way to learn about yourself.Ask yourself:❔ What did you see in your teams that you were proud of?❔ What did you see in your teams behaviors…

  • Unchanging principles in changing times

     I received a “leadership quote of the day” calendar over the holidays – today’s quote from the late Jimmy Carter seems to hit just right. In an ever-evolving work landscape, what matters are the values and principles that drive the way we work together to create valuable things for customers and stakeholders. The Agile Manifesto…

  • Misinformation

    “Misinformation is powerful, not because it changes minds, but because it allows people to maintain their beliefs in light of growing evidence to the contrary.”-Charlie Warzel and Mike Caulfield The Internet Is Worse Than a Brainwashing Machine  

  • Listen Carefully

      💡 Quick challenge for today – Assess how you listen.We all know that it’s better to “listen to understand” rather than “listen to respond.” I would suspect that most of us also think that we do a good job of listening to understand. But do we?Assess yourself today – Set your alarm and schedule…

  • High Performing Teams Balance 3 Es

      Struggling with Low Performing Teams? Unit costs going up? Experiencing low employee engagement scores? Seeing an increase in turnover or burnout?It’s easy to chase a single metric, especially when we live in a world where the squeaky wheel gets the oil. Ironically our instinct to “laser focus on solving the problem” which is often…

  • Learning without thought

      Who doesn’t start out the new year with a Confucius quote? Seriously though – this particular quote hits pretty close to home as I reflect on my career, and consider my next steps forward. I’ve been blessed to have worked with so many amazing people, from whom I have learned so much. Wonderful mentors,…

  • Change happens by listening

    Jane Goodall’s quote resonates with me deeply, and is especially relevant when applied to the practice of change management. So often, changes start with the best of intentions, then devolves into a litany of communication plans, stakeholder management lists, status updates, milestones and deadlines. Every change, regardless of size and complexity, ultimately intersects with the…