Allow me to congratulate myself. I have hit a parenting milestone. I am officially finished with the college selection process. 🙌 This past weekend, my youngest son and I took a whirlwind road trip to The Ohio State University, where he has decided to spend the next four years studying Computer Science in the College of Engineering. Almost four years ago, I took both of the boys on our first trip to visit colleges. Timmy Read more…
Last week a client told me she didn’t want to comment on LinkedIn posts because she was afraid of what people would think. This is a fear to which I can definitely relate. I only recently started writing publicly, and it took a while to get over the worry about being judged or criticized. It helps that I had my first nasty comment on one of my LinkedIn posts a few weeks ago. And I Read more…
One strained relationship can completely decimate team dynamics. Have you ever had that ONE person that completely rubs you the wrong way? Let me tell you a story of my colleague from years ago; we’ll call her Janice. Janice was a member of the leadership team at a small organization and when Randi came on board–and BOY did they butt heads. Randi came into the organization like gangbusters–approaching the work as if she had something Read more…
I wrote about networking in one of my earliest posts. Since then I have worked with a few clients who are going through career transitions. Some are looking for a new job in the same industry, and others are looking to make a complete shift. In either case, networking is essential. The subject line today is a quote from one of my clients 🤣. She followed it with, “I have to TALK to people?” She Read more…
What is the most consistent challenge I have experienced over my entire career? Saying yes to too many things. As an individual, and as an organization. At a mission-driven organization, it’s hard to say no. There’s so much good work to do. When a customer, client, or partner presents you with a need, and it’s something you can help fix, it’s hard to turn down the work. As a colleague who thrives on collaboration and Read more…
Accountability is such a critical aspect of a healthy culture. Accountability builds trust, and trust is the foundation for a functional and healthy organization. A few weeks ago I wrote about a vision for an ideal school/organizational culture that included having a culture of accountability. Recalling various discussions with clients and colleagues over the years, I have heard comments such as: I’m always left with these questions “What do you mean by accountability? Which aspect Read more…
One of my clients is struggling with a pretty dysfunctional leadership team. It’s a small team, but they have all the classic characters: My client and I have been working through some different approaches, and this week we talked about one of my favorites: a shared learning experience. Sometimes, when the team gets to a certain level of dysfunction, we get buried in defensiveness and it can feel like there is no way out. Instead Read more…
Here we are. It’s a new year. I’ve got to be honest: I think the whole new years’ resolution thing is overdone. There’s really nothing special about the calendar. There is no magic in the new year, no perfect time to set new goals, to set your intentions. In reality, the right time to reflect and refocus is whenever you are moved to do so. All that aside, it IS true that lots of people Read more…
I love reading. I honestly don’t remember when it started. I don’t think I was a huge reader as a kid – maybe just your average reader. The first time I remember getting lost in reading was on our annual summer vacation when my kids were old enough to entertain themselves on the beach. (Not completely unsupervised, they just didn’t need my constant attention.) I would take a stack of 5-10 books from the library Read more…
I am trying to listen to more podcasts. Almost every time I listen to one that is recommended to me, I find myself thinking about the content for days to come. It’s not a medium I have incorporated into my regular routine. Then I look at how many podcasts there are and I get overwhelmed. I don’t have a system that works yet, but I’m trying. I recently listened to an episode of Women at Read more…