It was the first cold night in the Fall of 2009 and my family wanted a fire. We did everything as usual, stacked the wood, put paper underneath, opened the chimney flue and started the fire with a match. We were sitting in the family room with the TV off so we could talk. It was probably 5 minutes later, when I heard popping noises coming from the fireplace. I got up, looked carefully, and coul...
Recently, I was asked by our executive business coach to cast a 3-year vision plan for the company. It sounded like an easy task till I realized the deadline for this plan was coming up fast. There were so many questions and doubts in my mind on how to do this well. I started out by doing research on where “the experts” felt the direction of the next 3 years would be going. As I was...
It was several years ago when Steve Scherer introduced the concept of picking a word for the new year. This word would be something you could reference throughout the year. I was shocked how much it meant to me that first year and every year since. You can create goals that help make this word be a success throughout the year. It has encouraged me to see progress made monthly in many areas of m...
How do you respond when someone disagrees with you? We all have different personalities, so responses can vary from each other. My team and I have been taught in the past year the importance of having healthy conflict with each other. Why? How? That is what I thought when we started our training but by the end, I realized the need is critical for trust to be strengthen as the foundation of your...
Happy Thanksgiving!
Is it just me or do you also find it hard to believe that we are already at this point where we have Thanksgiving and Christmas literally in front of us?! I normally love these two holidays but HOLY MOLY this year has flown by way too fast. I am officially old because I say that every year now. Well, this blog is something I needed to write because I am not ready...
Authentic encouragement is a cornerstone in the foundation of trusting teams. It cultivates authenticity, open communication, mutual support, and empowerment. Flattery doesn't.
It was probably nine years ago when I realized I was clueless on how to give myself rest and recover from the grind of leadership. I was in my WI CEO group from the MMAC (Metropolitan Milwaukee Area Chamber), listening to owners and leaders share how they look forward to time away from the office with their family. One guy talked about how he went away, ALONE, to Colorado to recharge his mind. ...
As a mother, I spend a lot of time trying to influence my children to do what I want them to do—get dressed, eat meals, be obedient, refrain from booger mining in front of grandma. I used to think that the reason they wouldn’t listen was because I must not be communicating properly. I only needed to speak louder, say it clearer, say it again, then again, then yell and surely they wo...
