Leadership Lessons for Any Occasion
First Lessons, Lasting Insights
Nearly all of us have stories of advice given by the mom or mother figure in our lives. Mom is our first teacher and coach. For those of us who become leaders, teachers, and coaches, her guidance has a special value.
In Leadership Lessons for Any Occasion: Stories of Our Mothers, executive coaches and authors Ed and Nila Betof have collected stories from a wide range of leaders, teachers, coaches, and talent development professionals about how their mothers guided their paths to helping others lead resourceful, meaningful lives. Stories have unique power to give us perspective, engage us with the empathetic aspects of coaching and leading, and approach problems from a new angle. This book offers bite-size anecdotes about how a mother’s wisdom shapes the lives of leaders, coaches, trainers, and each one of us.
Explore these stories as a way to reconnect with your own mother’s legacy—or as a source of insight to share with your mentees and learners. Refill your tank of self-reflection, or use this book as inspiration to encourage others to dive deep into their own past and rediscover how their earliest childhood lessons could continue to help them grow today.
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Full ProfileEd Betof, EdD, is a leader, teacher, coach, mentor, and author. As president of Betof Associates, he does C-level executive and leadership team coaching. He also serves as executive coach for the Center for Creative Leadership and teaches for the Institute for Management Studies. In 2007, Ed retired as worldwide vice president of talent management and CLO at Becton, Dickinson and Company. In addition, he served for eight years as the program director for the Conference Board’s Talent and Organization Development Executive Council, and was a founding senior fellow and an academic director for the doctoral program designed to prepare chief learning officers at the University of Pennsylvania. Ed is the author or co-author of five books, including Leaders as Teachers: Unlock the Teaching Potential of Your Company’s Best and Brightest, Leaders as Teachers Action Guide, and Just Promoted!: A Twelve-Month Roadmap for Success in Your New Leadership Role. He is a frequent speaker on leadership and career topics and a former ATD Board member.
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![Nila Betof]()
Full ProfileNila Betof, PhD, is chief operating officer of the Leader’s Edge/Leaders By Design. She has held several corporate C-suite and executive roles, including chief operating officer, chief human resources officer, and head of strategic planning. Her executive coaching work is primarily focused on senior leaders and emerging leaders. Nila was the recipient of the 2011 Smart COO Award from Smart CEO magazine. She also served as president of the Forum of Executive Women, and currently serves on the Thirty-Percent Coalition and NextMove Dance boards. Nila has authored numerous articles on leadership and is frequently sought as a speaker on leadership issues, especially on developing and retaining high-potential women leaders. She co-authored Just Promoted!: A Twelve-Month Roadmap for Success in Your New Leadership Role.
