It started at dinner with eight of us discussing stories of fixing a starter relay, or how we always make sure we have an extra impeller in the boathouse, or sharing challenges we have had trailering our boats. Eight WOMEN talking about the normal things that happen when water skiing is your addiction. It’s Women’s […]
“If you want to be a leader, you have to learn to accept help.” Those words hit me square between the eyes. Spoken by a coach soon after I had assumed the biggest leadership role in my career, I wanted to deny the truth of it: Leadership means asking for – and accepting – help.
It happened again. There I am, in the middle of a 19 second, six ball pass through the ski course, and at the 4th ball, my intensity went down. Letting up was not a conscious decision – it’s such an old habit, that it’s almost “natural”. Too natural. This time, the coach watching in the
Sitting in a high school graduation ceremony recently, I found myself in tears from beginning to end. Was it because I was proud of my child walking across the stage? Nope, she’s 34, and while I was quite emotional (relief mostly) 16 years ago when she crossed the stage, it didn’t compare to the emotions
When giving a, TED or TEDx speech on anything, you can expect people to watch you to see if you are actually living your subject. So was the case with me last week. I was doing a short workshop with a group of Women in IT (Information Technology) at a Fortune 50 company. First, I
He turned to me and asked “Do you think I am too vague when giving someone an assignment?” Just as I started to answer we got interrupted, so it was the next day when I brought up his question, with a question of my own. “What are you hoping to learn by asking that question?”
When he knocked at my door asking for a few minutes, the resentment rushed from head to toe. I was gleefully buried in a budget spreadsheet, playing the annual game to beat the system, keep everyone on staff and avoid layoffs. “Can’t he see I’m busy?” I thought while slowly turning a fragment of my
Washing windows during spring cleaning, I was feeling all happy and proud that I found a perceived shortcut using my new microfiber rags. Cleaning the windows seemed as simple as wiping them down. No visible streaks at all. Until there was light. Once the sun shown on the “clean” windows the next morning, streaks and
Note: I’ve been thinking a lot about creativity recently. Today, I’m republishing a blog from my art site Creative Spirits Unleashed, because sometimes, you just have to start. Originally published February 2015.Recently I drove by a Michael’s craft store that I visited only once. It brought back memories that made me smile and helped me remember that
The lesson of power of context keeps coming back to me. One of my first experiences in seeing how context can change everything came when living in Charlotte, right after I got my first car with a key fob that unlocked my car. (Ok, this was a long time ago!) I asked my husband “Is