Christmas is officially on the way. We put up the decorations in the house, baked some holiday chocolate chip cookies and then it snowed about 5 inches throughout the day and night. I may be in the minority here, but I totally love the first snowfall. There is nothing better than when you can just watch it as it comes down which turns everything white. One of my favorite things is when you first walk outside in the snow…
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Have you ever thought about what kind of advice you would give to your younger self? The advice could be about relationships, career and just life in general. There is a whole long list of things that I would share with my younger self if I could. I guess this is why they say “if I could only go back in time with what I know now.” Would your current experiences, education, and knowledge help you make better decisions and…
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Take out your smart phones or laptops and look at your social media accounts. Many people judge their status on social media by how many friends they have on Facebook or Snapchat, Connections on LinkedIn and Followers on Twitter or Instagram. Hard to believe that not so long ago none of these things existed including the internet. (My children still don’t believe I didn’t have a cell phone or laptop when I was growing up!) Now take a look at…
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“Forget yesterday – it has already forgotten you. Don’t sweat tomorrow – you haven’t even met. Instead, open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift – today.” ― Steve Maraboli This quote is about appreciating what you have right in front of you and being open to it. Don’t live in a world of regret dwelling on what you wish would have happened or constantly wishing for what might be coming next. Take a moment to appreciate what…
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If your company follows a traditional calendar then you and your team are probably preparing for performance review time. For those maybe not familiar with that term, it is the time of year where management will give a formal review of their employee’s performance. Theoretically, if the leader is giving feedback throughout the year, then this should not come as a surprise to the person receiving the review. Unfortunately, many leaders are not doing this on a consistent basis. There…
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I was working with one of my clients the other day and he shared that he didn’t think he had what it took to perform a senior level role. This is a person who has accomplished a lot in his career. Even though we detailed out his background and all the things that he accomplished, he still struggled to feel like he was qualified. This is how strong a belief can be for a person. Even with all the facts…
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“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” -John Wooden This quote was a good reminder to me that leaders have to set the tone no matter what is going on in the organization. Change is a constant and leaders are getting new information to process all the time. They need to discern if it is something to act on, share with their team, communicate to the rest of the organization or keep it to themselves. …
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Have you ever considered the question, what makes a leader a leader? By definition, a leader is “a person who leads a group.” So that would say that when you have a group of people reporting to you, then you are a leader in the most formal sense of the word. How would you describe yourself? Are you a leader? I worked in an organization that felt a bit differently than that regarding the term leader. Everyone was considered a…
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Imagine that this is what is on your calendar this week…3 presentations, 15 meetings with various groups, 6 meetings with your direct team and your kids have two sporting events that you need to attend after work. Some of you may be thinking how on earth can that be real? I can tell you that it is absolutely real and the way that many people will be spending their week. It seems crazy, but this is actually probably conservative…
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I volunteered at our local food bank this past weekend. A friend of mine and I coordinate the event for kids at our school and church to get service hours. It always puts things into perspective when I hear about how many people don’t know where their next meal is coming from in our county. What I like about the program is that it teaches kids and adults how the food bank works, where they get their food, how volunteers…
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