I started 2020 with what felt like big plans for my personal and professional growth. When March hit, everything ground to a halt and I found most of my expectations for the year had gone out the window. Now, I’m waking up in 2021 ready to kick-start my growth and development with a simple tool.
Halfway through 2019: look forward by looking back
I can’t believe we have reached the mid-point of the year. It feels like 2019 just started and like 2020 is right around the corner. I’m wondering how it got to be Bastille Day and why summer is halfway done (a summer I am savoring after a long Minnesota winter). The arrival of July also […]
Let go of should to find balance
I think about balance often these days. Not only because I experience imbalance in my body (I’m working through a knee problem with limited success). But also because my day to day life isn’t balanced. I lead an unbalanced life Some weeks I am on the road for days on end, traveling, taking meetings before […]
The challenge of leading in the arena
At the outset of the year, I reflected on my new role and recent roles I’ve held. I considered the three-year arc, and one thing I realized with the help of my mentor (and manager) is that I made a big move out of advising and into the arena. Advising offers comfort and certainty I […]
Five questions for a better self-appraisal
Performance management. Self-appraisal. Assessments. No one enjoys performance management These words strike fear and dread into the hearts of corporate warriors everywhere. I have yet to find anyone, even my friends in HR, who enjoy going through the annual process of evaluating performance. A few reasons why this is such an unpleasant associate experience: […]
Reflections from the road: 10 hours in Hollywood
I’m coming to you from a ten-hour layover in Fort Lauderdale. You read that right, ten hours at Hollywood International Airport. Landed at noon, leave at 10pm. You may be expecting to hear a travel horror story about being stuck in an admittedly non-glamorous airport (even though it is called Hollywood) for so long. I admit […]
Leave your comfort zone in 2019
Much has been written about the donut – the comfort zone / learning zone / terror’s edge. The best results come from spreading yourself across comfort zone and learning zone. Changing too much at one time can land you in paralyzing terror and not yield the desired outcome. Long live the comfort zone I (and […]
Four inclusion strategies for the holidays
Many people look forward to the winter holiday season as a time to connect with friends and loved ones. For some, the holidays may bring a different set of emotions to the surface. It might be otherness because they celebrate differently from the people around them. Or, like in my case, it might be that they […]
Reflections from the road: traveling and capital-P patience
I started traveling frequently for work. Nearly every week I head to an airport, a hotel, and possibly a rental car pickup. I’m in a cycle of packing and unpacking, spending some time at home and leaving again. People ask me ‘how is traveling so much?’. And my answer is – largely, it’s fine. I […]
Addressing the elephant (or donkey) in the room
Given the impending midterm elections, I have politics on my mind. Over the past few years, politics has gone from something happening in the background of day-to-day life to this thing that shakes us awake in the morning and surprises us mid-day. It is the dominating overtone of media, culture, and conversation. And yet – […]