“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” – Attributed to Buddha

In my work with leaders, and in my own life, I keep noticing how different things feel when work aligns with who we truly are. There’s a flow to it, a sense of meaning, contribution, even joy. There’s less striving and proving for worth. What a relief! That kind of alignment takes gritty, non-linear, inside-out […]

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“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” – C. S. Lewis

I’m noticing a subtle yet important theme in my work with leaders and teams lately. Our conversations are moving beyond strategy and results into how people are with each other on the daily. There’s a growing intention to strengthen communication, hold tension well, make thoughtful decisions with rising pressure, and choose getting it right over […]

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“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” – Rabindranath Tagore

Whether ‘acts of service’ is one’s love language or not, I’ve come to a place of believing that leadership is a precious form of service. This gives great meaning to leadership. If we accept the assignment, we get to support people in expanding their gifts and contributions. In doing so we sometimes feel a direct […]

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“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” – Shunryu Suzuki

Sometimes we think we’re supposed to have this figured out by now. The inner narrative strikes: we should be further along, more certain, and less unsure of ourselves. Without meaning to we add pressure, doubt, and stress. Along the way, we may lose touch with what’s here and available in us right now. I see […]

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“One must still have chaos in oneself to give birth to a dancing star.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Last night was the first session of a new professional development community of practice. As we shared wishes for the next six months, I named an interest in bringing real working tensions for peer coaching, learning, and growth. Those who know me know I’m always developing something and I better be to have the great […]

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“Between the stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.” – Viktor E. Frankl

This season can stir a lot. For some, it sparks joy and inspiration. For others, it awakens grief, pressure, or the subtle ache of “too much.” I sense many of us carry a mix. And when we’re stretched, our animal brains love to sprint ahead of our wiser selves. The truth in a pause helps […]

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“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama

“Be kind”. I love seeing this on t-shirts. Yet I’m struck by lack of kindness we see and experience daily. Any one of us might be unkind without meaning to. When we notice it, we often see it began in an animal-brain moment, a surge of sympathetic activation. Stress narrows our awareness, the prefrontal cortex […]

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“In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

We don’t have to use a hammer to get a point across, to be heard, to influence. When was the last time any of us used or experienced aggression and it worked? Assertiveness can be gentler and more effective. Assertiveness can be expressed as naming needs and wants with clarity, conviction, emotional and relational intelligence. Assertiveness […]

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“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.” – Rumi

As fellow humans and leaders we discover with time (and a few gritty experiences) the most meaningful shifts we may need to make start on the inside versus outside. When we slow down, reduce the noise, tend to the stirs and whispers from within, our decisions, relationships and presence naturally evolve. Growth from the inside […]

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