Category Archives: Leadership

Titles and desks don't make great managers or loyal employeesLeadership is not about you or your title, your money your possessions, your power, or how much pleasure you can get from life.

Leaders never have all the answers, but they seek them constantly and often find them in the places that others have overlooked.

The articles below will challenge you and inspire you to grow your thinking and your behavior first, and then help you bring your best to the people and the organizations you serve.

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Do you have the courage to let them speak their truth?

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As most of you know, I’m in the midst of my first expat experience, meeting others, sampling the culture, tasting the food, and pondering the lessons that are coming from this experience.

Have you ever considered how much courage it takes to create a family or an organization where people are encouraged to speak and to live their truth?

For the first time ever, I’ve been pondering the wisdom and the courage of the founders of our country when they decided that EVERYONE should be allowed to speak THEIR truth.

Can you imagine creating a country where:

  •  Laws are not mandated by the titled ruler of the land but decided by a group of elected officials?
  • You are allowed to speak your truth about anything?  …Even if it is against the government?
  • You have the right to practice ANY religion you want to?

It sounds chaotic and a little insane – right?

Seriously!  …How do you get people to believe in your truth if they are given choices and allowed to use their brains, and follow their hearts?

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How to Hit A BULLSEYE in 2014!

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Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution?

I remember the first time I ever made one.  I was sixteen.  It was New Year’s Eve and I left the family party before everyone else and walked home to an empty house.

In that quiet space I did some thinking and visualized what life would be like if I changed one of my habits and then I set a personal goal.

It’s the first time I remember being so intentional and so specific about something I wanted to accomplish.

In the months that followed I was so focused on the vision that I never once gave into the temptation to break that promise to myself.

In that process I learned a valuable lesson:

[Tweet “Strategic Quiet + Commitment = BULLSEYE and JOY! @GianaConsulting”]

Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.  Thomas Carlyle

2014 is just around the corner.

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It’s not how much you give, It’s how much love you put into it!

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What are the most cherished gifts you have ever received?

For me that list is easy.  They are the most thought-filled gifts and probably some of the least expensive ones I’ve been given.

  1.  There is the Christmas stocking my parents purchased for me when I was four months old because they could not afford any other gifts.
  2.  There is the memory of the first gift my husband ever purchased for me, after hearing about a song I loved.   (This is years before instant downloads, so he visited every music store possible looking for that tape and finally had to ask if a store had it.)  …It had just come in and had to be unpacked and priced before they could sell it to him.
  3.  Then there’s a special collection of Hallmark tree ornaments, that remind my husband and I of a special memory from our dating years.  In order to purchase all four of them, he had to go to the mall every week for a month…

Expat Christmas TreeThis year I am especially inspired by two expat families who are determined to make Christmas memories for their children in spite of the land that we live in.  For little cost, they have created memories that their family will cherish for years to come:

One named a plant Mohammed, created their own decorations, and turned that plant into their Christmas tree last year.   Their kids liked it so much that this year when they had the option of a more traditional tree, they wanted Mohammed!

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Risk, Conflict, Struggle and a Path Forward

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Last week someone asked how I was feeling about a particular topic.

I answered from the heart.   I was struggling.  I was viewing something with fresh eyes and could clearly see that years of doing something had created a comfort zone where there is risk.  Today that comfort zone is so big that unnecessary risks are being taken without a second thought.

Instead of really listening, this person attempted to explain away my concerns with something that sounded a bit like this, “We’ve always done it this way and we’ve never had a problem…”

When the conversation ended I felt like a puppy dog that had been patted on the head and dismissed.

I felt frustrated about being asked to share my thoughts, when the person asking did not demonstrate any desire to hear them.

As I was tempted to dwell on the frustration I made my mind switch gears and consider another perspective:

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5 Reasons Thankfulness is more than Child’s Play

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5 Reasons Thanksgiving is More Than Child's Play iStock_000027703277XSmall

Although it sounds like something that small children can do, it takes a clear vision of the value of gratitude and a strong mind to practice thankfulness.

Below are 5 powerful reasons for adults and children to practice thanksgiving:

  1. It focuses us on what we have instead of what we don’t.
  2. It frees us from the illusion that we need to be in control to be happy.
  3. It takes our focus off of ourselves and places it on others.
  4. It reflects light like a beacon to dark places in individuals and in our world.
  5. It drives out pride and depression.

Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff.  Max Lucado