Leadership Blog

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From Incite to Leadership founder and CEO Jo Ilfeld, read the latest on strategic vision, leading change amid complexity, and honing the way you communicate and collaborate with others. Get resources, practical strategies, research, and more.

Amplify Voices on Your Team

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | October 21, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld | Emotional Intelligence | Executive Leadership Coach |Amplify Voices on Your Team

Have you ever been in a meeting where you said something that you thought was really brilliant and no one really seemed to notice and then a few minutes later, someone else said something remarkably similar and everyone piled onto it? That can be pretty frustrating, right? Believe it or not, I’ve heard more stories…

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Less Focus and More Blending

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | October 20, 2021 |

Even in sunny California, the season is changing. The mornings are crisp, I rarely worry about being too hot on my weekly hikes anymore, and often when I wake up now, it’s still dark (never very motivating for a non-morning person like myself!). It’s also a big month in my world. My youngest is getting…

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Ambition vs. Gratitude

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | October 14, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld | Ambition |Executive Leadership Coach| Ambition vs. Gratitude

Ambition vs. gratitude and the tension between the two.  Do you feel that there is so much in your life that is going well and yet you still want something more? And then you feel guilty because you feel you are not grateful enough for what you do have? Many of my clients feel this…

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Are You Tripping Yourself Up?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | October 6, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld | Relationship Building | Executive Leadership Coach |Are you tripping yourself up?

This past summer, I had the joy of spending two summer weeks in Carmel, a place by the ocean I love. It was a working vacation but I made time every morning to walk along the ocean and on the beach. It got me to start my day with a gorgeous vista, it got my…

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What Are You Avoiding?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | September 28, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld |Executive Leadership Coach | What Are You Avoiding?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about how there’s always something we are avoiding but different types of people are avoiding different types of things. Are you a hard-driving, hard-charging personality? Then you might be avoiding rest or taking time for yourself. Or are you facing a really big task that seems overwhelming and you…

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Covid Makes It Take Longer

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | September 14, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld | Relationships|Executive Leadership Coach |Are you tripping yourself up?

Are you that person who gets frustrated by someone so long to do a task that you know will only take five minutes? And are you also that person who’s been putting in longer hours because of all the extra work created by Covid? Then you’re like me and this video is for you.  When…

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Celebrating Endings

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | August 31, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld | Celebrate Endings|Executive Leadership Coach| Celebrating Endings

I posted this video back at the beginning of summer but it’s still relevant now as it seems that many of us will continue to be working remotely as we move toward the end of 2021. When working from home, it seems like we have fewer endpoints in our lives, defined endings to the day…

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Getting the 30,000-Foot View

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | August 25, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld |Executive Leadership Coach |Getting the 30,000-Foot View

How do you get that 30 000 foot view of the lay of the land, that big picture? In today’s world, we seem to be pulled in so many different directions that it can be almost impossible to see the wider view of what’s going on in our work. We find ourselves putting out fires…

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Track Your Turn

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | July 28, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld |Executive Leadership Coach |Track Your Turn

Are you taking up more oxygen in the room than others or are you barely contributing to meetings, such that people are wondering why you’re there. An important aspect of emotional intelligence (EQ) is relationship management. Often this means making sure that there is time and space for everyone to get their opinion and thoughts…

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How To Gracefully Recover When Your Technology Fails During Meetings

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | July 16, 2021 |
Jo Ilfeld |Executive Leadership Coach |How To Gracefully Recover When Your Technology Fails During Meetings

Article originally appeared in Forbes Last week, I was on a working vacation with my daughter and had a planned meeting with a new connection. Let’s call him John. When I jumped off my previous client call, I was already running two minutes late, which, of course, never feels good. I checked my digital calendar…

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