Today I had the awesome privilege of sitting under the teaching of Curt Liesveld, Advanced Learning & Development Consultant at Gallup and co-auther of Living Your Strengths. In our session Curt reminded us of the importance of trust in a strong relationship and the impact it can have on the performance of those around us. […]

Several months ago at a training event a manager at my table was complaining about her team. She said they were “high-maintenance” and they drained so much energy from her that she was completely and utterly exhausted by the end of the day. She would often close her office door to keep anyone from disturbing […]

At the beginning of every leadership development seminar or workshop, I always ask the participants to share with me their greatest challenge. This helps me to customize the content and deliver information that is relevant. While a few people mention specific skills they want to develop (i.e., give better feedback, conduct performance reviews, improve coaching, […]

  Today’s economy demands a new kind of leader. A courageous leader who pokes the box, challenges the status quo, or breaks the rules, even in the midst of an increasingly complex business climate. Anyone can follow a map, but remarkable leaders seize opportunities by designing the map! Innovation. It is not just a business […]

My husband and I were blessed to take a vacation out west a few months ago. We absolutely love spending time in Arizona. We love renting a 4-wheel drive Jeep and going off road to explore the mountains and the desert. It is simply amazing how the landscape changes from the tall ponderosa pine trees […]

In my last blog post I asked the question “Is there a need for civility in social media?” Since my post I have become more aware of the lack of simple human courtesy … and its not just in social media. Once I started looking I saw it everywhere. Whether you are at a restaurant, […]

Over the past few months I have found myself discouraged and frustrated by the barrage of social media attacks against people who hold differing opinions. Whether it is religious or political differences (these seem to be the most common right now), there seems to be no shortage of people who are ready to criticize, condemn, […]

Recently I was faced with the challenge of making a difficult decision. I was torn between continuing to volunteer in a leadership role that I thoroughly enjoyed and where I was successful or to pursue a newly created role that had greater potential to impact more people. While this might sound like a fairly easy […]

On the heels of the tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado, I’ve been thinking a lot about the acts of courage that occurred that day. From the heroes in the theater who gave their lives to protect someone else … or the people who didn’t flee but stayed to help a stranger who was wounded … […]

Throughout my career I have had the privilege of working for bosses who had different leadership styles. Most of them had a direct, hands-on approach, which simply means they told me what to do and I did it. Even though I worked in an office environment, the culture was more like a factory. I knew […]