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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Feelings: Entertain Them All
The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they are a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing…
Read MoreA Business-run Family
In my business, our direction and priorities for the next year are quite clear. We know what we need to do to execute on our plan and commitments. And we don’t know what we don’t know so we go forward with openness to learning as we go. I find myself longing for a similar framework for my tiny family of…
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The Space of Trust
A while back, I promised a blog post on confidentiality, a topic I hold dear. As you may recall, I was struggling with coming across as sanctimonious. I had set a June deadline though, so here goes… Moving home to PEI has been a great move. Personally and professionally, I am thriving and enjoying the benefits of small city living.…
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The Bar is High
Dear Leader, The bar on your leadership is exceptionally high. Do you have any idea how high? You know you’re expected to set the vision and steer the ship. You know you need to set clear business growth targets, communicate them and motivate your people. You know you need to give them the skills and tools to enable growth. But…
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The Monster That is Procrastination
There’s a blog post brewing in my head. Working title: “Loose Lips Sink Ships”. It’s about confidentiality—a subject I feel passionate about. THIS post is not THAT post. I’m putting THAT one off. I want to write about the importance of confidentiality and I am having trouble writing it without coming across holier than thou. Until I find a new angle,…
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Leadership and Life Demand Resilience
Years ago, my cousin’s wife wanted to know what our parents did to create resilience in my siblings and me. She felt we all demonstrated resilience in the face of adversity. As a parent, she was looking for a formula to grow resilient kids. I didn’t have a clear answer. The question has stuck with me through the years. I…
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The Monkey That Hijacks Your Leadership Authenticity
In the Chinese zodiac calendar, it’s the year of the monkey. In the spirit of the zodiac, here are a few “monkey types” that hijack your leadership authenticity. The Controlling Monkey is driven, ambitious, directive and a perfectionist. If you’re this monkey, these are your gifts. Just don’t expect to score high in authenticity. Your people have seen you put…
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Leaders: Your Lenses Dictate Your Reality
Canon recently conducted an interesting experiment on the power of perspective in portrait photography. They called it Decoy (See video footage). They engaged six photographers to independently shoot portraits of a man named Michael. The twist: each photographer was given a different back story about Michael. And Michael, an actor, took on the role of each character as best he…
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