Leadership Inside Out

I was chatting with a change agent who works in child advocacy the other day and she mentioned "A child's right to play". I think we could all get around this ideas. But it made me wonder... At what age did we lose the Right to Play in our mind? When did we decide to turn play mode off and work mode on? What voice are we listening to that says, "you can return to play when you retire"? Who says, "play is for the weekend, IF you get your work done"? OMG have I been listening the Cinderella's...

Hello Reader, How are you feeling? Is your brain offering you the sense that, "I've got this"; or do you feel like you're in the spin of "I don't even know where to start"? Overwhelm is the state in which your mental and emotional system is overloaded and gets locked in freeze mode. There is a surge of urgent energy to get things done and yet the open ended questions and uncertainty of the situation has you subsciously slamming the hypothetical breaks. I'll be honest, here IS a lot to do and...

Hi Reader, Do you feel the pressure? There's a lot on leaders' shoulders: Balancing the needs of multiple stakeholders (board members, direct reports, clients, community members) Making impossible decisions (cutting programs and staff positions when funds dry up) Figuring out who needs to know what and when That's just the tip of the iceberg. But what I most often see weigh my clients down, more so than any specific challenge is the loneliness and isolation of feeling like they have to figure...

Have you ever found yourself completely baffled by someone's response to something that you thought was completely neutral? "What's the big deal?! Why are they overreacting?!" It's actually not an uncommon occurrence. As humans, we frequently communicate by assuming a common understanding. It works, until it doesn't. A Dandelion - a detested weed, a plant of nourishment, a pesky invasive species, a happy memory, and the most resilient of flowers. One moment you think you are talking about a...

Hello Reader, How are you? Take a minute and check in with yourself. Really. What energy are you holding in your body right now? The practice of simply noticing the emotion and the physical sensations associated with it is a linchpin for accessing more autonomy over how your day goes. If you notice you're holding tension, urgency, or frustration. It's okay. This morning I noticed a mix of emotions, frustrated at my own lack of action, overwhelmed at the opportunities I felt I was dropping the...

Hello Reader, How are you? What's on your to do plate? The one thing I often hear among leaders is the need for more energy. You too? One obvious way to get more energy is to rest... a simple solution is sometimes the best, but as I wrote about last week, it is not always easy. And even if you DO take that nap or vacation, sometimes it's not enough. The moment you return and open your computer to work, it's like your internal battery drains immediately. 'WTF - I felt rested 5 minutes ago.' I...

Hello Reader, How are you? Are you taking any sort of break? Are you feeling fully rejuvenated by it? Last week I was "out of office" - traveling in Alaska with my family, being wowed by wildlife and looooong days, full of sunlight. Keni Peninsula, AK. Photo by me. I found myself thinking about the nature of rest, especially as I work with clients who want to make the most of their time off. What contributes to real rejuvenation? Worrying about being unproductive, feeling overwhelmed by...

This past week I witnessed a transformation within myself. Change happens over time, often without full awareness of how far we’ve come. Today’s personal reflection invites you to consider how a few reframes could lead to breakthroughs for yourself. 📖 Since my first internship at an M&B bank in downtown Denver in the early 2000’s, I saw how valuable connections are in getting a job and making my way into the world of professionalism. "My network” (my aunt’s husband’s cousin) had introduced me...

Today is a reminder that positive change can happen. Through the commitment and fortitude of the abolitionist movement and the inspired imagination of all those who fought for the end of slavery, Emancipation became a reality on June 19, 1865. The end of chattel slavery happened after hundreds of years in which the United States normalized and economically benefited this inhuman system. As change agents we continue imagine, organize, and work towards an end to all forms of inhumanity and...