Unified Front
Have you ever been part of a leadership team so aligned that they were able to maintain a unified front even in the face of complex challenges? Lucky you! What a beautiful thing to behold. Sadly, it’s so rare that most of us have never experienced it. It doesn’t have to be. The world of systems coaching gives us skills…
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Plunging Into Feelings
Don’t drink at the water’s edge, throw yourself in. Become the water. Only then will your thirst be quenched. – Jeanette Berson Sometimes we throw ourselves into the metaphorical water and get in over our heads, drowning in failure or loss. Sometimes, even from the water’s edge, circumstances beyond our control wreak havoc in our lives. When faced with…
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A Crack in Everything
Ring the bells (ring the bells) that still can ring Forget your perfect offering There is a crack in everything (there is a crack in everything) That’s how the light gets in¹ ~ Leonard Cohen Our imagined March Break plans cracked at the last minute. Forget our perfect offering… And yet, we found moments of connection and delight in Montreal…
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The Dance Between Purpose and Safety
If you are an average leader (Who wants to be average? I know!), you are likely subject to your thoughts and feelings much of the time. You don’t have your feelings. They HAVE you. You aren’t conscious that you’re often afraid, you just ARE scared. You likely won’t easily see it or admit it though. Since we humans are hard-wired…
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Introducing Heroine Helen
Her most important thing is to be helpful, sweet, caring and loving. She rescues by easing pain and suffering, at least temporarily. She prides herself on making homemade treats for those she loves, who are in “need”; she makes homemade cards too. She’s proud of her listening ear, how her thoughtful deeds will have you feeling special, and how she’ll…
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Lead From Love
For three mornings in a row last week, my little girl Lali woke up as angry as a hornet. On the third morning of fury, exhausted from her highly charged storm clouds, I wept openly in front of her. It happened spontaneously as I allowed her to bring me to my breaking point. About 30 seconds in, I became conscious…
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You Cannot Change Until You Overcome Your Own Immunity
My client, Laura¹, was late for her own wedding. Not traditionally late. Really late. The minister almost called it off. And she’s been late for almost everything for decades since. Lateness has been her life-long pattern. She wants it to stop yet feels powerless. We jumped in by exploring the costs of her lateness habit. For her, there were no…
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If You Really Knew Me…
…that I think A LOT. That I hold myself to impossible standards. …that I often feel scared. Angry. Jealous. Wronged. Blaming. Overwhelmed—there’s not enough time, money, love, whatever. Sometimes I feel powerless to change things. I am below the line often. And it is all fine. It’s perfect in fact. I am starting to truly understand this and believe it.…
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Blame or Shift?
Recently a friend texted for advice about a “hard client he was working with” (his words). He indicated he thought she needed some tough love. He asked me to tell him how to do that. I agreed to have a conversation to explore his situation. He told me that he had spent three hours the night before crafting an…
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Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast…¹
You’ve just hired Selma as your new controller. She has lunch in the staff room on Day 1 to quickly to get to know her new colleagues. She tells one of them that she’s excited to have found a company that develops and promotes their people. After all, she’s been told that by every leader who interviewed her so she…
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