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Last week, the guest speaker of SheForward shared one of her favorite quotes: “To thine own self be true…”, William Shakespeare. This in follow-up to the question: What advice would you give a young manager beginning to develop their leadership style? Her response, be yourself, be genuine, be authentic. I have to admit, it’s easy to veer…

While watching both of my children diligently perform their homework one evening, I couldn’t help but conclude that homework provides each of us with our initial leadership practices. Practice is defined as repeated performance or systematic exercise for the purpose of acquiring skill or proficiency. And as students of life, just as students in school we need to…

Think about a time when you felt most free.When was it? What were your life circumstances? For me it was during my college days. Although I didn’t own much then, in fact everything I did own fit comfortably into the 1968 Chevelle that I inherited from my grandfather. But this was a time when I was free…

I’m done with feeling guilty! I’ve discovered that feeling guilty is really about a limiting belief I’m holding about myself, others, a situation or an event. It’s a fictitious expectation – a bar I’ve set that’s unsubstantiated. Here’s a new twist: guilt is a reminder that something has temporarily clouded the vision of who I…

Perhaps my interest in meditation started with my own need to slow down and sit still and to just develop more patience for what is. Or maybe it is rooted in my need to be a peaceful being. But in the end my intention is to assist myself and others to gain perspective. Sometimes in my search…

I was observing some casual conversation recently where everyone is doing great. The business is great, the family is doing well, just returned from a wonderful vacation, blah, blah, blah….. While I am confident that some of what people were exchanging was true, each of the interactions seemed to lack some level of authenticity. It is almost…

Lately, I have been intrigued by a concept that a coach on our team used during a recent strategic planning session.  “The answer to how is Yes!” I have been noticing with myself how often I begin thinking of all the answers to the “how” questions. When a new idea or concept comes into play…

I was having a conversation with a client recently regarding the topic of initiative. We were wondering about the ways in which we could create conditions by which people would take initiative. We kicked around a lot of ideas when it occurred to me that what I am looking for in people is for them…

“Gifted leadership occurs where heart and head – feeling and thought – meet.  These are the two wings that allow a leader to soar.” – quote from Primal Leadership, Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence”, Daniel Goleman. I believe there’s a natural tendency in all of us to lean more into the thought of leadership,…

Inspired action is action that is derived from the “why.” It is strongly linked and influenced by our purpose and passions or reasons for being. It does not have to be a BIG step, but it does have to be a step forward, a baby step if you will. Think of it as something that is…

I read an article in the Sunday paper a few weeks back titled “The world is your oyster – if you pry it open”, written by Bruce Ramsey of The Seattle Times. He begins with advice to graduates, “Some time in your life, live outside the United States. Not only will you be in another…

My mama bear spirit surfaced this weekend. And, she was in full attack mode. Protective of her cub, the claws came out and the teeth were gnashed! And yet, my cub was fine…in fact, he was better than his mother. How do we reconcile the “less than perfect” facets of ourselves with our vision of…

As coaches, we speak a lot about the importance of energy renewal in four important areas: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. In training, we brainstorm about different options for each. When we coach individuals, we continually go back to “what are you doing to renew yourself?”. We personally commit to renewing ourselves in each area…

I was recently shaken by some tragic news. And while not all that familiar with the facts leading to this tragic event, I couldn’t help but think of how many of us are battling silent demons each day. Sometimes these battles are so troubling that it becomes so difficult to look inside that we are…

Making anything stick requires going beyond the intellectual understanding to embodying the change through constant practice. It is with practice that we move through the four levels of learning ultimately ending up at the level of unconscious competence. At this level of unconscious competence,  we have created the neural connections in such a way that…

Much of leadership success is based on one’s ability to recognize the context of a situation and to adapt your behavior accordingly. Context agility is critical to long-term leadership success. Context is also critically important in life success. Content without context is a sure recipe for failure and is the reason that many time management techniques just…

Nothing changes if nothing changes. And the most important thing that needs changing from time to time is our thinking, While behavior and action are important, they are not even close to being as important as your thoughts and feelings. It is these thoughts and feelings that inhibit or enhance future growth and development. Unfortunately…

I was re-listening to a course that I participated in a few years ago with Jerry Stocking. The subject of the course was intuition, an area that I was intending on developing or connecting with more strongly. I had what seemed to be many “aha” moments throughout the three day course, however the concept that…

Ever since I was a young kid, I was fascinated with how things got created. And while I never was really good at doing it myself, I was intrigued with the process of having an idea and eventually turning that idea into something tangible. Fast forward approximately forty years or so and once again I…

“Simplify, simplify, simplify, make the affairs of your life number one and two.” – Henry David Thoreau So what do you  think Thoreau means by this? I don’t think he literally means one or two. However this sage advice from the 19th century philosopher may be quite timely for those of us in the 21st century…

The word surrender often times implies giving up, or perhaps giving in, and the negative connotations associated with quitting. But what I think we are really doing when we surrender is stopping the ego from resisting “what is.” When we surrender, we stop the struggle and the fight and we turn the issue over to our…

I had a wonderful opportunity to share my perspectives on an integrated approach to leadership to a group of college juniors and seniors recently. It was inspiring to see their energy and interest for the topic, particularly their interest in the role of spirituality in leadership. Sometime during our conversation, I realized that everything I was sharing…