Four Friends and a Basketful of Unmet Expectations

I nearly had a full-on temper tantrum the other night. For real, I thought I was going to explode all over everyone, and it was all because of some seriously unmet expectations. It was the fifth evening of a fabulous vacation: Beautiful resort, perfect weather, and lots of exciting fun combined with plenty of “chill”…

How To Shift An Unproductive Communication Spiral

Ever feel like you are stuck in a frustrating and unproductive communication spiral?  One where you, and the other involved, keep saying the same things but nothing is getting resolved? At times like this, you probably feel like you’ve tried everything humanly possible to get the other person to understand you, but it simply isn’t…

Highly Emotional? Think Before You Speak

Ever notice how complicated and convoluted communication gets when you are in the midst of a highly emotional “discussion”? You think you are making great points, but the other person is not picking up what you are putting down. How about all those discussions you re-play in your head over and over, but with loads…

One Tip For Immediate Stress Relief

As a young, highly motivated, corporate-ladder-climber, I had an urgent desire to establish my credibility as a great manager. As such, I set out to demonstrate my understanding of complex issues, implementing solutions, and getting results.  These were reasonable goals for developing leader, but for me that meant I always had to be right.  I…

Organization and Productivity Go Hand-in-Hand

Believe it or not, organization and productivity really do go hand-in-hand.  I already know what some of you are thinking: There’s a methodology to my mess!” If I move it off the top of my desk, I’ll forget about it.” Or how about this one – It takes too long to calendar and set reminders….

Truths for Consistently Being Your Best

What do we need to do to consistently show-up as our best selves?  For starters, we all know we need to eat right, exercise, and get enough rest. Being your best isn’t about becoming an Olympic athlete, although one could argue the same principles apply. It is about maintaining your health, fostering important relationships, staying…

Self Awareness. Cultivate It or Suffer The Consequences

Just about the time I think I have the whole “self awareness” thing locked down, I get reminded it is an ongoing practice – a journey, not a destination.  Sometimes my reminder comes in the form of a question like “Everything OK?” or worse “What’s your problem?!” (Truly, I rarely get that second one!) Sometimes…

Empathy. So Powerful But Often Misunderstood

We all know showing empathy is an important part of building effective relationships, right?  We’ve also all heard empathy is not the same as sympathy. Most of us even know it is a better interpersonal communication choice than sympathy.  But do we really know what empathy is, how to extend it, and perhaps more importantly…

Free Yourself From Unnecessary Stress!

I love it when my clients share break-through moments!  I’m talking about realizations and actions that create a shift, releasing them from some of the stress they have been hanging onto unnecessarily. This week one of my most seriously talented clients shared a great one with me! For several months this client had been suffering…

One Bad Attitude Could Spoil The Whole Bunch

This is a true story about a bright, ambitious, twenty-three-year-old who started showing up to work every day with a bad attitude.  She’d sigh big, heavy sighs of exasperation, and wouldn’t speak to her coworkers – except the ones who would listen to her complain during lunch hour.  If she didn’t absolutely have to, this…

Self-Development: You’ll Be Glad You Did

Recently, I had a terrific discussion with a successful, respected, high-ranking organizational leader with the Department of Interior.  We were talking about his recipe for success, and what he looks for when considering the potential of others. A passion for self development made his list of top-three characteristics, when assessing an individual’s capacity for success…

Want to be a great leader? Start here

Have you ever had a boss you considered to be a great leader?  I have, twice.  Over the years I’ve spent time considering what made them great, as compared to others who ranged from ‘absolutely horrible, have no business having authority over other people” to solidly “good”. Of course, there are several characteristics that differentiate great…