Five Things I Learned on My Family Vacation
Recently, my family was together for a summer vacation and get-together in my hometown. Some of my family live here. My oldest daughter and her husband and two children came to visit. Additionally, four of our other children who live here got together in some form with the group nearly every day over a 10-day timeframe. There was much laughter, deep conversations, some drama and a lot of love. Â Â
I was a little sad when everyone left to go home to their daily lives. I was a little surprised by some things that occurred last week and questioned why some things are the way they are. Mostly, I felt full - full of being loved and giving love. I will share how I got to this pace despite drama and how I stay there. Even if I wander off the path, I know how to get back on it to get home. Â
A long time ago I read the book The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz and the advice always serves me well.
#1) Be impeccable with your word.
#2) Don't take anything personally.
#3) Don't make assumpt...
One Question
I have one question for you.
Are you where you want to be in your career and personal life?
If the answer is, "yes," go to the next thing that interests you.
If the answer is "not really" or "I don't even think about what I want anymore," then you might want to think try to understand what you might be missing in your leadership and your career search - what other people see that you do not.
It is kind of scary looking at yourself from a different perspective. That's ok. You've already done a lot of firsts in your life. So have I.
✅ First time married✅ First time divorced✅ First time as a single mom of four children✅ First time on welfare, food stamps, medical assistance, homeless and without an automobile✅ First time committing to not be a victim, owning my life and being the role model my children need✅ First CEO role I wasn’t qualified for on paper✅ First time raising $10.4 million on the heels of the largest hospital bankruptcy in US history✅ First time letting my guard down...
You Must Choose One of the Two
Some people get up every morning and love their workout. I’ve been working out five mornings a week for years and I’ve hated it every single day.Â
Hate is a strong word. But I’m pretty sure that sums it up. And the truth is I never expect that to change. So it’s ok. I just do it because I feel, look, and move better with this discipline. I would regret not feeling this freedom otherwise.Â
I’m not a structured person by nature. I never read directions, like standing in line, or understand hierarchy.Â
But I do understand the value of discipline even though it doesn’t come naturally to me.Â
Why?Â
Because I’m motivated by avoiding the pain of regret. I don’t live in regret. It’s defeating.Â
It’s why I track mindful daily practices every day (yoga, meditation, slowly drinking a glass of water) to keep me in the present moment so I can be self-aware enough to control my runaway thoughts and emotions.Â
Because those thoughts tell me I don’t have time for woo-woo stuff like that. Yet I ...
This Misconception Costs Careers, Relationships and Satisfaction
This image illustrates the fallacy that hard work leads to recognition and advancement. That accessories will make you feel important. That salary equals fulfillment.
These are merely coverings we lay over our desire to be valued when we don’t believe in ourselves.
At a certain level everyone is working hard, earns a reasonable wage and has a nice pen or handbag.
Hard work can turn into the treadmill to nowhere if it is your only career strategy or your escape from things that are not working.
Negotiating for salary without a tool belt of signature strengths, how you’ve applied them, your measurable key accomplishments, your value proposition in a new role and a timeline for delivery is far less effective.
And the stuff you buy is a great way to treat yourself as long as it isn’t how you make yourself feel good when you doubt yourself.
Everything on the bottom of this image comes from an internal sense of self-worth.
I see this in my clients. Society tells you what you should wa...
Why Sometimes You Feel Small
Judgment is never helpful. It makes us artificially feel big when in fact it is a covering for feeling small. Life isn’t binary. There is a lot of grey between black and white. When we can be still enough to be aware of the grey we can honor the emotion that needs to be released so that we may see the clearing that calls us. Everyone is not called to the same path. The world is big. We can allow for lots of paths. We just have to be willing to walk our path alone. That’s self-acceptance. That’s knowing that we’re always evolving and learning. That’s being satisfied. That’s peace.Â
We aren’t victims of our lives, we are conductors.Â
We need reminders to help us stay on our path. Mindful routines do this. Each morning I do yoga, drink a slow glass of water, meditate, set three daily goals and set a daily intention. These routines take less than 30 minutes and help me start my day fresh, aware and totally focused on how I choose to live my life.Â
How do you stay on your path? What rout...
No More Doubt - This is for You!
Everyone is carrying their own version of, “I’m not good enough” which deep down means “I’m not lovable.” Some people have had this message reinforced more than is reasonable.Â
What if you could turn down the volume on that message to allow for a message to emerge from your core, not your protected self?Â
What if you could stop identifying with things that happened in the past and allow for who you are without that situation to step forward and direct your thoughts?Â
What if you could be the one person who shows a difficult person that they matter today?Â
Thoughts lead to feelings that lead to actions. Honor the feelings so as to release them. In that space you are the creator of new thoughts. Â
Thoughts are not edicts. They are energy. We choose our thoughts. New thoughts will lead to new feelings. And there’s no limit to the actions you’ll take there. You’re ready.Â
When you put down the heavy load you've been carrying you can move much faster toward what you want. That’s freed...
Managing Staff in Today's Culture
Every office is struggling with hiring and employee retention. I read and study it with fascination. The Industrial Age left employees with few options and they stayed because it was safe. The Information Age inspired a standard of living that employees aspired to and climbing the corporate ladder was what kept people motivated. After the economic crash of 2008 the Social Age emerged where people want quality of life because the economy and jobs are too unforgiving and unstable. We have to adapt because creating cultures that play to past Age dynamics are not working.Â
Create an environment where employees have an opportunity to learn, grow, expand, explore. Options are abundant for employees. Contracts and incentives to stay don’t work. Don’t expect their loyalty or that they need you because your company is the biggest, or that the safety of their secure job will keep them. They’ll leave for a better opportunity to challenge themselves. You must be their “always better.”Â
I bring m...
When People Around You Are Quiet Quitting
How many of you have seen this? You work in a culture where mediocrity is the norm. Where there is no incentive to be more dedicated because the underperformers are allowed to do the minimum. Where much is expected and there is little appreciation or reward.
There is a term for people who want to do the minimum of what is expected and nothing more. "Quite Quitting." I've seen this term debated and justified many times. Some cultures are so toxic that people quiet quit just to maintain their sanity. Other people become so disgruntled with their boss, having been passed over for promotion, an unfair distribution of work, or some other practice that they become tired, burned out and angry. Quiet quitting is intentional and becomes a survival mechanism.
My take on it is this - We don't get chosen for employment. We choose employers. We apply, interview and accept a position. We aren't entitled to work anywhere. We choose to. If we aren't happy there we can choose to have a discussion wit...
Two Phrases to Use When Giving Your Boss Negative Feedback, According to a CEO and Executive Coach
    Your boss is driving you crazy. You feel as if they don’t understand what it’s like to actually do the work. They aren’t considering the consequences of their words or decisions. They play the political game too often to be trusted. And their vision is self-serving or flawed.
    Collaborative teams where character rich colleagues work in alignment with servant leader bosses are ideal but not often the case. Everyone has an ego and bad bosses usually have the biggest.
    Managing the dance with ego is essential at work and in life. There are two egos in a boss/direct report relationship – theirs and yours. You want to anticipate theirs and regulate your own. This requires subduing your need to be right. You don’t need to be right, just get it right.
    Negative feedback is a misnomer in todays’ work environment. The purpose of feedback at work is to help a person improve interpersonally and strategically so that they can be more productive. For someone to grow, they have t...
So Much Tension
Do you ever look out at the world and wonder why with so much beauty there is so much tension? Why at work there is a sound mission yet there are personal agendas, bureaucracy, posturing and cynicism.Â
Why at home and with friends there is love yet there are interpersonal struggles.Â
Why with your free time there are interests but there never seems to be enough time to get to them.Â
I took this photo on the beach recently because it reminded me that when we slow to a standstill we can actually canvas the landscape to notice not only what we need but more importantly what we want.Â
You think you need a new job. You think you need a different partner, more love, new friends. You think you need more time.Â
What you really want is to show up at work with confidence, influence and strategic execution that matters, gets noticed and opens opportunities for you to serve in a stronger capacity.Â
What you want is to go home, not reach for cookies or wine, but for a hug from a partner or fa...