Blog
Team Performance -- love in bloom!
February 14, 2012Happy Valentine's Day! I’m returning from the weekend engagement with the Association of Legal Administrators’ Regional Leadership Institute where the 2012-2013 Board of Directors and Regional Officers gathered to prepare themselves for the leadership and team responsibilities… Read More>>
Titans, A's and Giants
February 7, 2012Remember the Titans? The movie was released in 2000, and was based on the true story of a 1971 football team during their first season of being racially integrated. The star was Denzel Washington, and the movie is full of examples of the stages of teams. More recently there is… Read More>>
Super Bowl = Super Teams?
January 31, 2012Last week I mentioned how the Miami Heat focused on building their team quickly, and talked specifically about what to expect in the first stage of team development. This week I'm taking you into Stage 2 - commonly called Storming. And this week we focus on the Super Bowl. Maybe you're… Read More>>
Building Teams
January 24, 2012I've been talking to managers and leaders about teams a lot lately. I'm not surprised. There is a growing realization that our capital lies in our people, not our product. Customer service and efficient results are now overtaking a good output as the driving force in client relationships. … Read More>>
I resolve...
December 30, 2011How many of us start the New Year with those words? I've noticed a shift in the last few years, where more and more of us are turning away from the negative and into the positive. huh? Well, think about it...when we declare, "I'd like to eat less Cheetos next year..." - what we are… Read More>>
A 360 View
December 13, 2011When you reach the top of the Eastern Ridge Trail on a clear day you have the most amazing view of Eastern Washington. You can see in all directions without anything more than shuffling your feet. I enjoy hiking, I enjoy the crinkle of the forest under my feet, the fresh air rattling through… Read More>>
Flying & Failing
November 29, 2011Back in 2003 I attended a workshop where the facilitator asked each of us to write down the first thing that came to mind when he asked this question: "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?" Without any hesitation I wrote this sentence: I would own and operate my company. That was a powerful… Read More>>
The Importance of Play
November 15, 2011"The opposite of play is not work. The opposite of play is depression." - Stuart Brown I deliver playshops not workshops - and Mr. Brown's statements offer you the reason why. It's not because we aren't accomplishing really good stuff, or that we aren't achieving really great results. … Read More>>
Story Telling
November 1, 2011"What comes out of your mouth is as important as what you put in it." - Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior I recently attended a conference to further my applications and understanding of the Relationship Awareness® Tools that I use with my clients in building teams, focusing on personal and… Read More>>
Glad Anticipation or Fear?
October 18, 2011Three times this week I've been in earshot of conversations about fear. I've heard people talk about how their business cannot grow in this economy, how they have no opportunities because there is no money, and how "luck" hasn't been on their side. Fear, in different colors or words, and… Read More>>
What do you do?
October 4, 2011As I move through life I hear this question more often than I'd like. I'm guessing you do too. I'm not a fan of the question, and prefer to answer, "How do you impact the world?". There's room in that question. Room for everyone. There's room for moms and dads, grandparents… Read More>>
Picking your Knows
July 26, 2011I just wrapped up delivering the Leading by Strengths program at the MPI 2011 WEC. I am travelling again, and this time around enjoying some lovely conversation with my seatmate as we take in the sites and sounds around us. People are fascinating, particularly in conflict, and travelling… Read More>>
Smashing Beliefs
July 12, 2011"Beliefs are thoughts we keep thinking" - Abraham Hicks It's a simple sentence, isn't it? What do you believe? "This economy isn't going to provide me a new job." "I cannot afford to move." "My weight has always been an issue." "I don't know how to get this done." Simple sentences… Read More>>
Travelling First Class
May 24, 2011I’m on the road a lot these days. That’s good news, because it means I’m speaking and training all over the country – doing what I love to do. It also means I’m building “status” on my airline of choice, and have the luxury of sitting in the “big… Read More>>
Teflon or Velcro?
May 10, 2011It's been about 8 years ago since my Dad unloaded about 100 yards of Velcro on me....also known as my Christmas present! He explained himself as having found the new duct tape (don't tell Dan and Chip Heath, authors of Made to Stick) - where anything could be attached to anything, and… Read More>>
Broken Glass
April 26, 2011As I was driving the other day I noticed the crack in the windshield – again. You may know what I’m talking about - the one that’s been there for quite some time, and yet you only catch it when you are in the car and the sun is shining. The annoyance of the sun hitting it… Read More>>
Team Dynamics
April 12, 2011It’s that time of year – where March gets full of Madness, office pools are water cooler topics, and internet connections provide up to the minute scores for all the games. I admit it; I’m sucked in like the majority of you! I’ve been going to the Women’s… Read More>>
Adding by Subtracting
March 29, 2011All my life I’ve been good with numbers. Yep, I’m a numbers geek. Give me the check at the end of dinner, and I’ll get your share to the penny, including tax and tip, in about 2 minutes flat. I dunno how it happened, or where it emerged, but it’s there. … Read More>>
Trees and Branches
March 22, 2011A tree does not try to make all of its branches straight. It is perfect in its imperfection, perfectly imperfect. And yet it changes and grows over time. I aspire to live in the delicate balance between striving to improve in character while celebrating my unique personality and talents. … Read More>>
Bad Decisions make good stories
March 15, 2011I recently received one of those emails where if you don’t forward it to ten friends then your Kharma will meet your Dogma and you’ll end up on the path of no return. You’ve received one of these emails, right? This time out it was a list of “things for… Read More>>
Process and Outcome
March 8, 2011In my program on self-talk I raise the discussion about how our minds can lock in on the process, and the outcome falls away. I know that when I focus on the outcome I desire, and let go of the “how” it will happen, the outcome is even more amazing! I think that’s because… Read More>>
Hostage to Time?
February 3, 2011I'm on a 21 day challenge to change my relationship with time. I'm inviting you to do the same. How many times have you answered someone with, "I don't have time"? How many times has your conversation been about "I'm busy"? In those two statements we're really conveying we are… Read More>>
Kharma at work
July 27, 2010I read Kharmic Management recently. I noticed a lot of parallels between questions and comments from my coaching clients, and the pages in the book. You know - things like finding our purpose, what really rocks our boat and how we contribute to the greater good in the world. Kharmic… Read More>>
I'm tired. I'm really tired.
July 13, 2010Boy O Boy, I’m Tired. I’m exhausted. I’m beyond exhausted. Heard this lately? Maybe even you are the one saying it? I caught myself in that dialogue recently, and then I remembered what I focus on -------> expands. The more I… Read More>>
Questions....
June 29, 2010I’m a coach. Underneath it all, and outside it all, including training and mentoring, athletics and academics, I’m a coach. I question from the place of curiosity, and seek clarity with questions in the moment. My questions engage clients as they move past obstacles,… Read More>>
Fixin'
June 15, 2010I’ve got roots in the deep south. Part of the unique dialect from that region is the “fixin’ ta” phrase. In the deep south, you are always fixin' ta do something. I’m fixin’ ta take a bath. I’m fixin’ ta sign a new client. … Read More>>
Accountability and a Haircut
June 1, 2010I was late. I knew it. I left the house after doing “one more thing”, maybe you’ve been in my shoes before. I completed that last task and then scrambled out the door to make my appointed time in the chair. My hairdresser runs a tight ship. She’s… Read More>>
Create a better world iPhone app?
March 30, 2010The way you do anything is the way you do everything. And the way you do everything demonstrates who you really are. Whoa. That made me pause for a moment and consider the places in my life where I look to blame - where I seek to give away my mistakes and errors to someone… Read More>>
Electric Cello
February 23, 2010I was invited to hear Jamie Sieber (www.jamiesieber.com) last weekend. She plays an electric cello which is an understatement. She ahd the cello make music together which demonstrates pure joy in sound. It was magical to watch her face light up as the vibrations fill the room around… Read More>>
Seeing the Shadow..or the Light?
February 2, 2010For those of you unfamiliar, today is Groundhog Day. It is held every Feb. 2, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If you're unfamiliar with the tradition, it goes like this: If the groundhog, Punxsutawney Phil, sees his shadow, we're stuck with six more weeks of winter. If he doesn't… Read More>>
Adding by Subtracting
January 19, 2010All my life I’ve been good with numbers. Yep, I’m a numbers geek. Give me the check at the end of dinner, and I’ll get your share to the penny, including tax and tip, in about 2 minutes flat. I dunno how it happened, or when it emerged, but it’s there. … Read More>>
Are You Playing to Win?
January 12, 2010You know the difference between Joe Montana and Warren Moon? If you are a professional football fan then you certainly know that one of them has a super bowl ring or two, and one does not. One led a dynasty football program for many years and one bounced through several teams over a career… Read More>>
Incomplete or Incompetent?
January 5, 2010There's a Kenny Rogers song that explains "know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em" and these lyrics apply to leadership as much as they do to poker. We all strive for perfection, to be perfect in our jobs, our families, and our mirrors. When we embrace the incompleteness we truly… Read More>>
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