Image – Nathan Sandberg

Principles of Confrontation

N. Sandberg March 25, 2019 January 15, 2022

Leading people will always be difficult and not everyone will follow. That is natural. It will be impossible to get everyone to follow 100% of the time. People stray. That is in the inherent part of our imperfect lives that we live.

Due to this flaw that is ingrained in all of us, there will always be a time for confrontation in our lives. That could be a confrontation with a spouse (careful guys, this might not work out for you), a family member, friend, or even a colleague. Regardless, confrontation is part of our lives.

At that moment when you know that you as a leader must confront somebody for whatever reason, remember these eight simple steps to help guide you and preserve the relationship.

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Started off the year strong! What happened?!?

N. Sandberg March 24, 2019 March 24, 2019

Oh boy! I started off the year strong. Reading, writing, connecting. All the things important to relationships and our unique human existence. The first five days of the year I hit this blog each day. What happened?!?

Life! As the year progresses, and by year I mean the school year. Things will get away from you that is not part of your daily routine. While I tried to make writing on this blog a daily routine, it just simply got away from me.

Now that we are on spring break, I am getting another opportunity to recharge my batteries and start over. It seems like whenever the busyness of the year gets a break, that is when my mind can refocus and start new things.

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Windshields vs. Rear View Mirrors

N. Sandberg January 19, 2019 January 15, 2022

It is ironic that today’s post is about windshields and rear view mirrors and that I wrote this as we are driving in our Explorer that has a smashed rear view mirror and just seconds ago got a chip in the windshield from a flying rock.

The questions comes to mind as we drive down the highway. Why are windshields larger than rear view mirrors? Forward vision is far more important than the vision that is behind you. While you do need to see behind you to remind you of where you have been so you can use those lessons as growth.

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Manager or Leader? Can you be both?

N. Sandberg January 5, 2019 January 15, 2022

We have all had them. Bosses that we try to avoid at all costs. Supervisors who you feel are always on your back or constantly looking over their shoulders at you. It is reasonable to say that we have all had a supervisor that was not our favorite and then we have had one that was our favorite. How does one determine that? Is your favorite the one that you were able to do pretty much whatever you wanted or the one that you were able to develop a good relationship with?

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Back at it…

N. Sandberg January 4, 2019 January 4, 2019

Today I am back at it. Tonight we have a home basketball game that I will be at to help supervise with our athletic director. I will be heading into the school a couple of hours beforehand in order to get some things done. I have some observations that I need to finish writing up and need to get my office back in order to I can successfully start the second half of the year. It is so hard to believe that we are almost halfway through the school year already. We have done lots of work and there is still lots to do.

As a leader, it is important to remember that while the work is important and we must get down into the trenches, the relationships are more important. Without relationships, we have no work. We are called as a human race into relationships with one another. If you are a leader and you have no relationships, who is following you? If nobody is following you, how are you a leader? Very important questions to ponder as your progress through your daily work.

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You can be grateful for lessons, even the hard ones

N. Sandberg January 3, 2019 January 15, 2022

Life can be tough. Nobody ever said it was easy. There are many trials and tribulations that we all face from time to time but we are always stronger for coming through them. Everyone around you has had them or is currently going through them. If not, they will be. When times get tough that is when we grow.

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Sometimes a little bit of snow makes things a whole lot better

N. Sandberg January 1, 2019 January 15, 2022

A few days ago we got a small dusting of snow on the ground. Not like what we had two years ago (see slider below). That is something that I would never like to repeat again.

There is just something about the fresh snow fall, even when it is only a dusting. It is calm and peaceful. Why is this? How does this different phase of water cause a change in us as humans? Is it the color of snow?

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