Who are you? Minus what you do, what you produce, minus your title; who are you? It’s a big question, can you be still enough to answer it? Will you remain quiet, uncomfortable, and open to all that floods into your brain like a freight train out of control to sit with the question? For the doers, the list makers,…
I’m an early riser. Barring a series of days where I’m without enough sleep, my natural timing is to wake early. It’s the same with my family. My husband is a night owl. Barring a series of days where he’s without enough sleep, his natural timing is to stay awake into the wee hours of the night. It’s the same…
You’ll always find the evidence you’re looking for. I was having a conversation recently about excellence with my son. He told me other people aren’t like me, they think good enough is good enough. Fair point and true. Further into our discussion, I told him years ago I had seen a video of Tiger Woods describing excellence in his habits.…
We’re busy people. We are goal setters and problem solvers and doers. These are my people. They run businesses and lead people. Sitting still is not something they do well unless truly fatigued. So how do we truly become content amidst all we’re accomplishing? My theory is this: you have to create space in order to have the space to…
When we moved to our lake home, I had no clue what I was in for. For us, coming home is now an experience of letting go, releasing, forgetting the busyness of the day and week. Our pontoon boat is a source of peace. There’s something magical, ethereal, and calming about puttering around our lake. We enjoy friends, music, and…
Frequently in my work with leaders and their leadership teams, I facilitate dialogues they are waiting to have. They may not always know it, but they are. The beauty of being an “outsider,” a consultant, someone paid to help them gracefully work through the tough stuff, is that you must be willing to be fired almost daily. Some days are…
When working with clients about setting goals, chunking them down to manageable pieces and mastering accomplishing them in 90-day increments, I use stories and metaphors to make the point. I often ask teams what portion of a plane trip is the plane “off track.” Guesses from leaders range in the 10% – 50% range with a few people occasionally guessing…
As a leader, you have the honor of caring for the tone of your culture daily. Some days, that may feel like a privilege and other days it may seem a burden. What’s the difference? It’s how you’re relating to the complex beings around you and the interpretation you have about how they “should” be versus how they “are.” I…
I love being active outside in the summer. I wake up full of energy and excited for the many things I could be doing. While on the water, my mind can wander, and I find clarity in the meditative repetition of the waves, birds, and paddling. While paddleboarding yesterday, it occurred to me the activity is a great metaphor for…
Journaling. It’s something all great leaders practice. Not the good ones, the great ones. Most good leaders think they can skip it, or at the very least, dabble at it. Nope. It’s about consistency and perspective. Why? Here are three of the best reasons: Don’t know where to start? Try our Maximizing Success Journal. We designed it for people who don’t…