Handling Conflict: Bloody Mouth to Flying Cans

by Star Dargin | Oct 26, 2022 | Conflict, Difficult, Leaders, Leadership

The first rock I threw hit the bully in the mouth. There was blood. He wailed loudly and ran home. I was nine years old and playing Barbies outside with my sister and a friend. The bully started by taunting us and saying mean things. He wouldn’t go away despite our...

If Only: Success and Failure in Leadership

by Star Dargin | Mar 17, 2022 | Coaching, Communication, Difficult, If Only, Leaders, Leadership

Here are two, IF ONLY stories. Only one had a successful outcome, the one who knew and worked on what their if only was. In both cases, my intuition was screaming that these IF ONLYs were important.  If only I had listened to my intuition and been more assertive. ...

15 Gratitude Challenges: What Gets in the Way

by Star Dargin | May 7, 2021 | Business, Communication, Difficult, Gratitude, Leaders, Leadership

You may think it’s simple, just be grateful. But, there are many challenges in consistently using an approach of gratitude. Some of these challenges might surprise you, as they did me. Because of these challenges, telling someone to be grateful, generally, does...

Gratitude Challenge:  Inability to Feel Grateful for a Situation or Person 

by Star Dargin | Dec 8, 2020 | Difficult, Gratitude, Leaders, Leadership, Teams

It can be hard at times to feel real gratitude. I do not mean the polite socially acceptable kind where you must say “thank you” or risk raised eyebrows. You might find yourself in a tragic situation, or dealing with a toxic person, for whom you feel a strong dislike...

3-Step Shift to Gratitude: When the Boss Belittles

by Star Dargin | Feb 22, 2019 | Communication, Confidence, Difficult, Gratitude, Leadership

Despite knowing that his manager supported his position and gave him regular raises, and promotions, Paul despised the person in charge over him. (In full transparency, Paul is not his real name—or any one person, for that matter—as some variation of this story plays...

Stop Being Nice and Save Lives!

by Star Dargin | Oct 15, 2018 | Communication, Confidence, Difficult, Leaders, Leadership

In extreme scenarios, being nice and not speaking up can result in death. A failed O-ring seal was blamed for the Challenger space shuttle disaster that killed seven astronauts, even though NASA engineer Allan McDonald knew of the potential disaster and didn’t sign...