by Tom Esch | Feb 21, 2013 | How to Handle Polarizing Topics and Challenging People, Blog
Recently I attended an open forum on gun control. There were over 150 people in the room. It was really intense. The person moderating the conversation did a great job introducing the topic and giving many of us a chance to speak. And though the meeting went fairly...
by Tom Esch | Dec 11, 2012 | Using Your Power Effectively, Blog
I recently moderated a conversation on clergy abuse with 64 people at a local Catholic university. Part of our vision was to begin to restore trust and safety for people within the Christian/Catholic community impacted by the particular pain that comes from the misuse...
by Tom Esch | Aug 29, 2012 | Using Your Power Effectively, Blog
I used to be a Catholic priest. It was a good life in many ways. The work was meaningful and rewarding. The people I worked among were dedicated, kind and generous. And I received free tickets to world class college football games! I was living my dream. But the...
by Tom Esch | Dec 10, 2012 | Using Your Power Effectively, Blog
There are lots of ways in which power is misused. Sometimes it looks like unethical business decisions or sexual misconduct (as I wrote about in Misuse of Power—Part I) and other times it looks more benign—like a leader who is lost in their ego-self or taking up too...
by Tom Esch | May 29, 2012 | Interpersonal Communication, Blog
It was a hot summer. We had the windows open on many nights. Our neighbors, who live about 15’ from us, had a variety of dogs living at their house that summer. This one particular week I think they had three dogs staying with them. One of the three was a...
by Tom Esch | Apr 14, 2012 | Interpersonal Communication, Blog
Not long ago I was having lunch with a friend. I asked how his business was going and he said it was going real well except that one of his managers was having a bit of a hard time. Three of his direct reports had quit on this manager in a fairly short period of time,...
