Leadership

You've worked hard to come up with a great plan that will make things easier, remove frustrations, and even save time for everyone. You're proud of it. It's thorough. It's researched. You've consulted people with more experience in this area. You've taken criticism. You've been vulnerable. Now it's time for the big meeting to unveil it. You're excited. Even a bit nervous. It's your turn on the agenda and... Your excitement is met with a mild, lukewarm reception from the team. What happened?

You're wrapping things up for the day & getting organized for tomorrow when a last-minute email pops in. Not wanting to miss something, you check it out. The tone is a bit confusing & leaves you unsure of how to proceed. What did the last sentence mean? Reply? Wait until tomorrow? You decide to wait. The problem is, this little message has now stolen your attention for the next few hours making it hard to move on with your evening responsibilities... This scenario has happened to all...

Is your goal to have a little success each day? Can probably guess you said "yes"! In one of my favorite Ted Talks , Shawn Achor says every time we experience some success we move the goalpost for what it means to us. AND...if our overall happiness is connected with that success, it's likely we never get there. What? We're undermining our own happiness? In his happiness research, he's discovered our brains work in the opposite way. A "happiness advantage" can occur when we raise our level of...

Monday, 16 January 2022 is the 36th year of the celebration that remembers Dr. King's lifetime of public service. As well as a federal holiday, it's also known as a day of service when Americans are encouraged to volunteer with charities to help their communities. In one of In one of my first semesters in college, the student body was included in a decision about the number of days off we had for holidays each spring semester. Before the decision there were several "town hall" discussion...

How do you know it's time to do leadership development? What would happen if you thought about it as a habit? Get your calendar out and register today! Personal Leadership Bootcamp This 3-part series invites individuals to get to know themselves, choose a path and take action with the power of their personal leadership philosophy! Register here: http://pages.extension.org/bootcamp From "Me" to "We": Values, Trust & Teamwork Discover the value of your values, how to show you’re...

We've talked about this "gratitude" thing before in this post... Get More Gratitude . If you're not able to be together with everyone you'd like, here are some ways to let your friends & family know you're thinking about them. This year, you're more ready than you think to share how thankful you are for the great people in your life. After all, you've had at least a couple of years of practice at this. 😉 Embrace some technology to share your gratitude for the special people in your...

Do you consider yourself a leader? What about a global leader? Usually when this question is asked only a few people respond positively to the first question and almost everyone says "no" to the second question. Why? Perhaps they are hesitant to respond positively because "leader" isn't part of their title, position, or rank. Then when the question escalates they're definitely out. John Maxwell defines leadership as influence. If we use his definition (which I totally dig) then we're all...

The great sports broadcaster Dan Patrick used to host a podcast with the title "Things I think I think". During a presentation to our team, we were reminded of his show and it sparked my own thinking about what I think I think. Here are a few to ponder... Curiosity over Certainty When we remain curious we're open. We have a growth mindset. We see challenges as opportunities. While we can have aspects of our lives we're certain about, like our core values, in daily interactions it often leads...

How well do you know your colleagues? Do you really know them? Our initial response is probably a quick "yes". It's when we slow down we discover quite a few assumptions. Help get to know them better by sharing your self-awareness "manual" in answering just six questions! What’s your style? Strengths, weaknesses OR include descriptors like energetic, compassionate, participative Gets people in touch with how their emotions/actions might affect others What do you not have patience for? Common...

Was reminded of this story Dr. Ken Robinson told in one of his TedTalks... It's the story of a little girl who was in an art lesson. She was drawing. She was six, and at the back of the classroom. The teacher said she hardly ever paid attention but in this lesson, she did. The teacher was curious. She walked over to her, and asked, "What are you drawing?" The girl said, "I'm drawing a picture of God." The teacher stated, "But nobody knows what God looks like." The girl replied, "They will in...

Soldier with children | IStock

"Whatever you do out there in the world do an equal amount of work internally because if you don't your work in the world will not be as effective." - Dr. Gabor Mate' Recently attended a leadership development workshop where a Psychologist spoke and led us in some discovery exercises. He point-blank stated there are not enough Psychologists to encourage positive lifestyle changes. He asked us to implement them in some way and share the value with others! Here are the therapeutic lifestyle...