Tag Archives: Self-Leadership

Posted on

Leading in the Midst of Downsizing

Taking Care of People, Performance and You!

by

A little over a month ago I spoke to a group of senior level business leaders. Toward the end of our time together, one man said his wife was working for an organization that has downsized several times in the past 12 months, the workload is increasing and morale is tanking. He wanted to know how to support her at a higher level.

Two weeks ago I watched another leader navigate the 4th layoff this year.

  • He shared how one man cried, how some sat in surprised silence and how others expressed anger.
  • He shared how the rest of team that loves and trusts him – couldn’t look him in the eye.
  • And then shared how decisions have been based almost entirely on cost savings – not about who is needed to cover all of the job functions, who is the most dedicated or the best team player or who they will need to reinvent the future.
Posted on

Are you ready to pack dreams and reinvent?

A new year! A new you!

by

Earlier this week movers came to the home of our dear friends and packed everything they had to prepare for a move to another country.

  • It’s a great career opportunity for him.
  • It means more daily freedom for her.

But it’s still stressful.

  • Anticipation, doubt and fear swirl together about the unknowns.
  • And at the same time they process the emotions of an ending before the new beginning…

As 2015 comes to an end, you may be considering a new beginning, a fresh start, a change or a reinvention…

Posted on

Uncomfortable Questions and Leadership…

Do you encourage them, consider them and ask them?

by

I was leading a small team in a culturally diverse city in the U.S. when two of my employees asked why all the titled leaders on our leadership team were white.

I was raised in a part of the country that was not culturally diverse, today – nearly a decade after their question 89% of the population in my home state is white and 95% of the county that surrounded the town I grew up in was white.  As a result, it was a question I didn’t see coming and one I did not have a good answer for.

[Tweet “If you seek to lead well… You will consider uncomfortable questions.”]

My reactions:

Posted on

Would you say yes, If…

by

I published an article a month ago, about how our international move altered the path I thought I was on to my big dream. In that post I shared how much I trust in this altered path, even though it doesn’t make complete sense yet.

About the time I published that article I heard this quote, [Tweet ““Your perspective will become your prison or your passport.”~ Steven Furtick”]

Two weeks ago my husband and I took a vacation to Africa. On the plane I read Nelson Mandela’s book The Long Walk to Freedom, deeply considering how a wide variety of good and bad experiences changed his perspective, caused him to seek truth, ponder deeply, and shaped the man he would become. At several places in his story I thought of different struggles that others have faced that have taken them to their knees and challenged their perspectives and then changed their futures. In the midst of those reflections I wrote these words…

Would you say yes, if you knew:

  • That great risk would lead to a greater reward?
  • That a job loss would lead to a new career in a new industry?
  • That a heartbreaking betrayal would make you softer and stronger and wiser?
  • That learning to forgive would help you experience uncommon peace? 
  • That years of unwanted change and confusion would lead to growth? 
  • That an uncommon sacrifice would create the change you’ve dreamed of?
  • That an ending would create a better beginning?
Posted on

Maximize Your Purpose with an Altered Path

by

The Dream GiverYears ago I read a book called The Dream Giver.

It’s a beautiful little book that emphasizes that each one of us is born for a purpose. As children we often see this as our big dream.  Often between childhood and adulthood we forget the dream or walk away from it because it seems impossible.  And then one day we are reminded of the dream again and we make the choice to pursue the dream or to let it die forever.  Then the book helps you anticipate and prepare for the challenges you will encounter as you journey from where you are to where that dream is.

I purchased the book in 2003 shortly after it was published, simply because I liked the author.  As soon as I opened it I was hooked, because I had a dream as a child. It was a dream that I forgot all about as life happened. And then in 1999, I it came back full force. In 2001, I took my first very clear step toward the dream.

Since 2003, I’ve referred to that book several times a year. It’s highlighted, filled with notes, scribbles and pages that are bent back.  In October 2010 I referred to it constantly as I launched a new consulting business in a city I had never lived in and knew no one but my husband.

In November 2012 just as my new business was gaining momentum, my husband was asked to accept a position a half a world away, and this quote from the book filled my mind…