“Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth." ~ Muhammad Ali

Photo Credit: Cameron Jordan, Jordanelle Reservoir, Heber City, UT, August 2026

Greetings -

I hope you, your families and friends are well as the summer months wind down and school ramps back up (that was fast!). For those hitting the road or taking to the skies over the upcoming Labor Day holiday, have fun, be safe and stay cool. We are looking forward to fun family time with our daughter, who will be visiting us in California over the long weekend!

Earlier this month, I ventured into the blast furnace that is Las Vegas to facilitate two days of leadership development training at the international headquarters of the United Brotherhood of Carpenters (UBC). An annual, multi-day program, UBC brings leaders together from all corners of the country for an engaging and interactive development program. I worked with a fantastic cohort and their energy and enthusiasm to learn, grow and support each other was commendable. I look forward to facilitating this program in the future.

On the service front, I am pleased to share that this past Friday I was unanimously approved to join the Springpoint Senior Living Board of Trustees effective later this year! This wonderful opportunity came about through my ongoing work facilitating monthly meetings of senior executive-level peer groups of HR professionals from around the country. My HR colleague from Springpoint and her CEO approached me about my interest in serving, with an eye toward helping to advance their already robust commitment to the development of their staff and the experience of their residents. I am thrilled as this marries my long-standing interests in healthcare, people development and enhancing the service experience of others. For those unfamiliar with Springpoint, "since 1916, Springpoint has been at the forefront of senior living in New Jersey and Delaware, driven by integrity, innovation, and a deep respect for individuals. Our nonprofit foundation means our commitment is to the people we serve, reinvesting in their well-being and the quality of our communities. This history fuels our forward-thinking approach, providing experienced teams and personalized services that empower residents to shape fulfilling lives, building upon a legacy of trust and meaningful connection."

When not traveling for work, we enjoyed several quality weekends with family and dear friends visiting from my home state of Oregon. What a treat it was to catch-up and enjoy the company of these wonderful folks! We look forward to seeing more of them on our upcoming travels to the majestic Pacific Northwest later this week.

Diverse in content and sourcing, this edition looks at the need for and ongoing benefits of structured and intentional mentoring, especially in the age of A.I. Mentoring has always mattered; when done well, it can have a profound impact on both mentors and mentees. I believe it will matter even more as the pace and complexity of work continues to intensify. I reflect on my own experiences and I offer an array of perspectives and insights from a variety of contributors. I hope you find applicability and benefit.

There are also several interesting studies and analyses in this month's Research section. Of note, recent research demonstrates that women outperform men when it comes to negotiating for future relationship growth. This updates previous conceptions of women's negotiation abilities and highlights women's ability to achieve economic returns comparable to those of their male counterparts. And Fast Company highlights the continuing trend of workers across industries declining promotions and increased responsibilities largely due to potential negative work-life integration impacts. I have seen this in my own work and will be curious to see how this trend continues to play out.

With respect and deep admiration for you all, happy reading and listening!

Be well, take good care of yourselves, families and community. 

-kj

PS - (Missed a newsletter? Past editions can be found here: https://www.kevinjordan.coach/blog. And if you hit paywall on an article(s), feel free to send me a note and let me know what you need. I have subscriptions to many of the sources that I cite.)

Featured
Service is the through-line of my career and of many of my clients' careers too.

There's a strong ethos of paying forward the time, energy and perspective we've been fortunate to receive from mentors, advisers and coaches. They play a vital role in helping us define, develop and execute plans to realize our career aspirations.

I've benefited immensely from the insights of my own board of directors. They've listened, counseled, cajoled and challenged me to think critically about how to holistically structure my professional arc. Their analysis of my strengths and my developmental opportunities was specific, contextualized and actionable. Though it was sometimes tough to hear, I always felt that my growth and success were paramount to them.

Intentionality and design are key to unlocking the value of a well-curated personal board of directors. These are current and former managers, peers, colleagues, professors. In short, they can be anyone who's had a material impact on your development.

As A.I. reshapes the work and workforce of the future, thoughtful mentorship will matter more, not less. It will take mentors and mentees building real rapport and clarity of purpose. Curiosity, learning, and a willingness to shift perspective will be key.

Feedback is a gift; we get to choose to receive it.

I (mostly) chose to do so. 

Articles
Harvard Business Review: Why Mentoring Matters More in the AI Era. "AI is not slowing down. Organizations will continue to automate routine work. Employees will continue to move into complex projects faster than any previous generation without all the necessary skills to succeed. The question is whether they will be equipped to handle them...Companies that pair efficiency with intentional mentoring will not just fill a development gap. They will build stronger leaders faster and sustain the talent pipelines that make long-term growth possible."

Harvard Business Review: 3 Questions to Pressure-Test Your Priorities. "The old decision-making frameworks assumed urgency was a leadership failure. It is not. It is the condition today. The question is whether you will prioritize consciously or reactively. With fewer, better, clearer decision-making guidelines, you can exercise sounder judgment without slowing down your team."

USA Today: What is an 'otrovert?' The internet is buzzing about them. "The term describes individuals who are ultra-independent social observers who exhibit empathy and enjoy deep individual connections but lack the ability or interest in belonging to social groups."

Research
BusinessWire: Hilton Unveils New Workplace Research Showing That Even as AI Is Reshaping Work, the Real Advantage Is Human. "Purpose, mentorship, flexibility and emotionally intelligent leadership drive retention and performance, with hospitality leadership principles creating the unexpected new blueprint for building workplace culture."

Harvard Business Review: How Men and Women Sponsor Junior Colleagues. "Research has shown that sponsorship tends to benefit junior employees, but its impact on sponsors is less understood. A new study, the first to examine sponsorship from a leadership perspective, reveals that men and women differ in their approaches. Men tend to pursue few goals in sponsorship, and largely pursue those that benefit their own career development. Additionally, men are more likely to leverage sparse, unconnected networks, giving them opportunities to strengthen their own connections alongside their protégé. Women, however, juggle multiple, conflicting goals, which can be mentally taxing. Because of these additional burdens, they also tend to tap close, personal networks that limit mutual benefits. These dynamics create a gender gap in sponsorship costs. To level the playing field, all leaders should consider ways that goals can be mutually beneficial. Firms must also work to reduce the additional burdens facing women to foster more equitable, mutually advantageous sponsorship."

Forbes: Women Outperform Men On Key Negotiation Skills For Long-Term Success. "Women outperform men on negotiation skills linked to relationship-building to generate future negotiation opportunities, while achieving similar economic outcomes to men."

Fast Company: Why so many workers are turning down promotions. "Research suggests many don’t want the stress that comes with advancement, even if it comes with a bigger paycheck."

Blog Posts & Opinions
Seth's Blog: Empathy is difficult. "It requires skill and effort. It can be taught. And it’s worth prioritizing."

Marshall Goldsmith: Feedforward. "[Feedforward] was my counterpoint to “feedback,” the more common term for an exchange of workplace opinion. Whereas feedback comprises people’s opinion of your past behavior, feedforward represents other people’s ideas that you should be using in the future."

Granted: The Truth About People Pleasing. "Saying no is not a display of disrespect. It's an expression of self-respect."

Podcasts 
The Curiosity Shop with Brené Brown and Adam Grant: The Highest Performance Strategy is Caring About People ft. Simon Sinek. "...Together, they explore the state of organizations globally, including the chaos hitting C-suites, the human cost of misaligned incentives, AI-driven layoffs, and leaders playing defense when they should be playing offense. They dig into what makes teams high-performing, why caring deeply about the people you lead isn't soft but essential, and what the military's culture of love and loyalty teaches us about business...This episode is a reminder that the things we've been told to leave out of business, such as love, care, and human connection, may be the most important things we can bring to it."

The Ezra Klein Show: This Question Can Change Your LIfe. "...One of those practices, strange as it sounds, is repeatedly asking the question: “What is this?” It’s a question I got from a book of the same name, by Stephen and Martine Batchelor. In that book, they are describing an approach to Buddhist meditation built on the cultivation of doubt and wonder. You can see that as a spiritual practice, but it’s also an intellectual and ethical one."

TED Radio Hour: Decoding the secret messages of data, biology and music. "It's easy to focus on the nuances that get lost in translation, but what about the insights that are found? ...TED speakers reveal what we gain by adapting and translating information."

Arts, Music, Culture & Humor Corner
The Art Newspaper: Fra Angelico’s earliest surviving altarpiece returns to Fiesole after restoration reveals hidden throne. "Fra Angelico’s earliest surviving altarpiece, created for the convent he had joined as a young man, has been returned to its original setting after a painstaking restoration project. The work on the Fiesole Altarpiece...has brought back into full view the Italian Old Master’s intricate handling of colour, figure and texture; revealed hidden details under the painting’s surface; and highlighted the subtle interplay between the original composition and the additions of Lorenzo di Credi, who “modernised” the work in the 16th century."

The New York Times: After a Decade, Alabama Shakes Has More to Say. "One of the biggest rock bands of its time paused after two albums. A one-off gig led to a tour and then a new LP, 'I Must Be Dreaming.'" 

The New Yorker: Misery Loves Company-If There Are Snacks. "Do “Admin Nights” make people more productive or less lonely?"

Mental Floss: Robin Williams's Most Iconic Improvised Movie Lines That Made It Into the Final Cut. "When the cameras rolled, Robin Williams's imagination took the story in spontaneous directions that shaped cinema history."

Reflections
“You have a song in you no one else can sing.” ~ Charlie Mackesy

"We are not strong or weak. We are balanced. We must remain aware of the liabilities to our strengths, and find opportunities in our weaknesses." ~ Simon Sinek

August Morning
By Albert Garcia

It’s ripe, the melon
by our sink. Yellow,
bee-bitten, soft, it perfumes
the house too sweetly.
At five I wake, the air
mournful in its quiet.
My wife’s eyes swim calmly
under their lids, her mouth and jaw
relaxed, different.
What is happening in the silence
of this house? Curtains
hang heavily from their rods.
Ficus leaves tremble
at my footsteps. Yet
the colors outside are perfect--
orange geranium, blue lobelia.
I wander from room to room
like a man in a museum:
wife, children, books, flowers,
melon. Such still air. Soon
the mid-morning breeze will float in
like tepid water, then hot.
How do I start this day,
I who am unsure
of how my life has happened
or how to proceed
amid this warm and steady sweetness?