Tag Archives: Self-Leadership

Posted on

Moving forward when you don’t know, what you don’t know…

by

As my husband and I prepared for our international move we went to the bank and ordered the currency he would need when he arrived there.  The banker was a young man who had grown up as an expat child in this foreign land.  The currency arrived without incident and my husband had nothing to worry about.

Two and a half months later, as I prepared to leave the U.S. to join my husband. I went to a bank in a different city to order the same currency.  When the teller asked if I wanted small or large bills, I quickly said small.  (Using my U.S. filters and thinking about how hard it can be to use big bills in the U.S. or in Europe.)

The day I went in to pick up the currency.  Every teller knew immediately who I was.  (I thought that was odd.)  A few minutes later a teller emerged with four large wrapped packages.

iStock_000008219942XSmallAs she opened them she revealed 4 “bricks” of bills.  I was in shock! 

Posted on

Is Your Authentic Self: A Clark Kent or A Superman?

by

Your Authentic Self, A Clark Kent or a Superman

Do you remember watching Clark Kent jump into a phone booth and then emerge as Superman?  Kal-El was Clark’s real name, but because he was an alien and thought he would not be accepted, and at risk, if he allowed others to see who he really was…   He adopted an alter-ego to protect himself.

When we watch him on the silver screen we wait in anticipation for him to jump into that phone booth and emerge as his authentic self!

Bringing passion, strength, justice and intense awe to everyone that he come in contact with!

After reading a recent post by Terri Klass emphasizing the need for leaders to take off their masks, a previous co-worker came to mind. 

She had been hurt many times throughout her life, so much like Kal-El, she had come to the conclusion that she needed an alter-ego to protect herself.  (She just reversed the process…)  Instead of jumping into the phone booth to unleash her greatest gifts she would jump into her phone booth before she came to work to cover them up.  When she got to work she struggled to understand why she could not connect with her peers.

Posted on

Invitation 2013: Will you lead from who YOU are?

by

Have you checked out our NEW POST on the Lead Change Group Blog?

Imagine: 

  • What it would be like to grow up in a family that is always behind on their bills.
  • To live in a home that could be featured on the television program HOARDERS.
  • To have your home burn to the ground and lose everything when you were in grade-school. 
  • Then live in a home without an indoor bathroom through high school. 
  • Being diagnosed with bi-polar, manic depressive disorder before you were 20. 
  • Getting hit one night by your boyfriend and leaving with your car and your clothes.  
  • Becoming a single mom and going through a bankruptcy. 

For Angie, all of this was a reality.  She was living a life of chaos with very few calm, safe, hopeful moments.  She describes herself as insecure, someone with a chip on her shoulder, and a bully.  She emphasizes never being taught to budget, being embarrassed to bring friends home, and trying to escape her reality by forming relationships that many times became the cause of more pain.   

When I first met Angie I did not know any of these stories.  I found her because she is a hairstylist with an online presence and great reviews.  (When you are new to a city, you look for both!)  In our first meeting I complimented her on her online presence and she quickly spoke of her “Marketing Director, Miss Connie. ” 

What follows is a quick look into the lives of two extraordinary women that have been transformed because they have chosen to do what they can, with what they have, right where they are. Read more here.

Posted on

Comfort or Magic? Go? Stay? Stay? Go?

by

A few months ago I received this image from Debbie Laskey.

This simple image and 7 words (Your Comfort Zone – Where The Magic Happens) were so powerful that I was immediately impacted.  Since then I have continually shared the photo to illustrate how our daily choices impact individual lives, families and organizations.

Today I was thinking about:

  • People with dreams that are so big they seem impossible.
  • People that have recently experienced a life-altering event and are struggling to believe that good things will ever happen again.
  • Organizations that are seeking to breathe life into a vision that is larger than any one person or department.
  • People that have lived so long in a comfort zone that can’t yet see how it is killing their imaginations, their dreams, their joy, their health and their relationships…