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Tom Andrews
Tom Andrews

141 Followers

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Jul 5

Are you the author or the character in your stories?

We are always scripting the stories of our lives to make sense of the world and assign meaning to it — defining what we like and dislike, who is a friend, who is an enemy. Our stories take an unpredictable world outside us and make a narrative that is predictable. …

Leadership

3 min read

Are you the author or the character in your stories?
Are you the author or the character in your stories?
Leadership

3 min read


Apr 4

How much do you hit the brakes?

The trails of New York’s Blue Mountain in Peekskill are riddled with bumps and rocks, unexpected holes and trees that appear “suddenly” in your path. If you watch the best mountain bikers ride down them, it seems like an effortless flow. They allow their bikes to move fluidly with the…

Leadership

4 min read

How much do you hit the brakes?
How much do you hit the brakes?
Leadership

4 min read


Mar 10

Palatable messaging and finicky rats

I read some talking points recently — supplied to a client by their HR business partner — that were engineered to help an executive feel less upset about a decision that did not go in his favor. The comments were clearly designed to butter him up. …

Leadership

3 min read

Palatable messaging and finicky rats
Palatable messaging and finicky rats
Leadership

3 min read


Feb 21

Who says I can’t?

At the US Army’s Airborne School, candidates learn to parachute in rapid succession out of a c-130, 1,250 feet over a drop zone. Before they go up for their first jump, they learn to land properly (“Never look down at the ground!”). They practice drill after drill. And then they…

Leadership

3 min read

Who says I can’t?
Who says I can’t?
Leadership

3 min read


Jan 28

Are you speeding past the signs?

Have you ever been in such a rush to get somewhere, you miss your exit and make yourself late? A client said he was speeding to get his family to dinner on time. He missed his exit and added half an hour of rumbling bellies and recriminations to their journey…

Leadership

4 min read

Are you speeding past the signs?
Are you speeding past the signs?
Leadership

4 min read


Nov 20, 2022

It’s not Thanksgetting

Imagine Thanksgiving is now Thanksgetting. You have a whole day in which you dedicate time to getting as many thanks from people as you can. Are there some people you’ve been hoping to get approval from? Hey, now’s the day to get it! Don’t forget who owes you some gratitude…

Leadership

2 min read

Leadership

2 min read


Aug 12, 2022

Are you crashing because you’re trying not to?

If you fixate on where you don’t want to go, you’ll end up there. Once upon a time I set out on a misty morning for a ride in the Marin Headlands of San Francisco. I cycled across Golden Gate Bridge up to Hawk Hill and began a descent down…

Leadership

3 min read

Are you crashing because you’re trying not to?
Are you crashing because you’re trying not to?
Leadership

3 min read


Apr 10, 2022

You talk yourself out of leading

Last week I talked about the duality of following and leading, two sides of the same coin. For that newsletter, click here. But I left with a question: if following helps leading and vice versa, how do you know when to lead, and when to follow? …

Leadership

2 min read

You talk yourself out of leading
You talk yourself out of leading
Leadership

2 min read


Mar 18, 2022

If you follow better, you lead better

Leading and following are a duality — you cannot have one without the other. But people get fixated on leading as somehow superior to following. That’s nonsense. If you want to be a better leader, you also have to be a better follower. When you think of leading, do you think of it being better, somehow, than following? I remember once working with a CEO…

Leadership

3 min read

If you follow better, you lead better
If you follow better, you lead better
Leadership

3 min read


Apr 11, 2021

Listening is so powerful. So why do we limit it?

“You’re forgetting that the act of listening is healing. So few people have been genuinely listened to, that when they are finally heard they start to heal.” So said my mentor in a recent conversation. I had expressed frustration at my inability to provide insights to a client who was…

Listening

6 min read

Listening is so powerful. So why do we limit it?
Listening is so powerful. So why do we limit it?
Listening

6 min read

Tom Andrews

Tom Andrews

141 Followers

Founder and President, TJALeadership.com

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