As leaders we are often asked to articulate our leadership style. What would happen if you were asked to describe your leadership style through one of the four elements: earth, fire, wind or water?
I’ve asked this question to many groups of leaders over the last ten years. I’m starting to see some interesting patterns emerge. In general… [Read more…]
Over 2 million people have read the book Crucial Conversations™. I recently read the book and participated in the Vital Smarts training program. Spending two days learning about and practicing crucial conversations is a humbling experience. I recalled so many crucial conversations in my life time and I must admit not all were successful.
I think the there were three things that will stick with me that I will be practicing. First, know when you are in a crucial conversation and “start with heart”. [Read more…]
Over the last few months, several people have mentioned to me that they watch Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday. I have not been drawn to the show until recently when a friend told me about a presentation by Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Pray, Love. I looked it up and was intrigued by her Super Soul Sunday topic: “The Flight of The Hummingbird, the Curiosity Driven Life”.
Gilbert has been a life long advocate for “finding your passion”. She refers to her approach in life as focusing on her passion like a jackhammer. Super focused, never wavering. She has encouraged others to “funnel every molecule of their being” to focus on their passions.
Yet, in this talk she backs away and reflects on what it was like to have someone from an audience in Australia challenge her passion message. This person challenged Gilbert to realize that not everyone has one single passion and to keep telling people to do that was actually causing harm. This jolted Gilbert to evaluate her perspective. [Read more…]
Are you someone that needs time to think? Do you find yourself not saying much in meetings because you are thinking about all the things people are saying? Do you find yourself leaving a meeting and still thinking about the conversations later in the day? [Read more…]
I recently volunteered at a Festival of Lights Event at our local library. The goal of this event was to bring all the different faith groups of our community together to talk about the holiday season through different traditions. As I arrived, I shared with my fellow volunteers that one of my goals for volunteering was to ensure we were teaching people to respect differences and not fall into what I feared was a global trend of teaching people to hate.
I then happened to see Maya Angelou’s children’s book Amazing Peace sitting on one of the group’s tables. I flipped open the book and landed on the page that said…. [Read more…]
Many leaders have been asked to take the MBTI. As noted on the website, the “purpose of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator® (MBTI®) personality inventory is to make the theory of psychological types described by C. G. Jung understandable and useful in people’s lives.” I’ve used it in my coaching and have found it a very powerful tool when helping people to reflect and appreciate their preferences and ways of being at work. [Read more…]
Imagine you are a soldier returning from war. You have been trained to NOT trust and return home traumatized by war. Then you are invited to learn to trust again. You do this by entering a small ring with a 1200 pound horse.
This fall, I had the pleasure of working with Debbie Loucks of Join Up International to understand trust, compassion, kindness, and care. She guided me through the Join Up program to see how engaging with a horse can turn anger, fear, and PTSD into the emerging stages of trusting relationships. Debbie’s convictions, words, tears, and passions about supporting soldiers with PTSD awakened my awareness to this huge veteran issue. [Read more…]
WAFWA is the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Association. Each year regional and national conferences are held to support the professional development of our nations state, federal, and NGO fish and wildlife professionals. This summer the western regional conference was held in Reno, Nevada.
As part of my work with conservation leaders and the Management Assistance Team, I was asked to conduct a four-hour workshop for a group of WAFWA leaders on developing their leadership style through strengths. On July 17, we gathered at the Peppermill Casino and Resort to explore the concepts of leadership style, personal mastery, strengths and personal mission statements. A sunny day, a beautiful pool, casinos, multiple bars and restaurants could have tempted these remarkable leaders away but they came to learn, focus and reflect on who they are as leaders. [Read more…]
When you hear the word fear…what comes to mind?
Can you visualize it? Planes? Oceans? Storms? Conflict? Illness? Loss?
What happens to you physically when you think about what you are afraid of? Can you hear your heart beating louder? Do you feel your muscles tighten up? Are you getting a fight or flight response? Are you screaming? Are you restless? Are you crying? Are you looking over your back shoulder? Are you looking for someone to help you? Look. Listen. [Read more…]
