The list never ends. It never truly gets smaller. Sometimes you add an item to the list just so you can cross it off. The day ends with you saying “I didn’t do anything on my list today but somehow I was busy all day long.” The list you created has become the litmus test for whether a day was “successful” or not. Sound familiar? Whether the list is in your head or on paper, it is normal to feel overwhelmed by a list that is never-ending. The demands keep piling up and you fee

When clients tell me about another person or scenario using words like “Always” and “Never” I get excited for them because they have discovered a great opportunity. These statements tell me two things right away 1) my client has an opportunity to move toward greater confidence and autonomy and 2) they’ve unconsciously identified a pattern, and we can DO something about patterns. In my years leading philanthropy operations I learned that patterns are simply feedback. Once the

The part of the country I live in has experienced window-shattering hail, tornados, flooding, wildfire warnings, temperatures in the 20’s, temperatures in the 70’s. All in just the past several weeks! And, despite the chaos, the tulips are resiliently and brightly blooming. If they waited for the invitation of perfect conditions to bloom, they would never grow. What invitation are you waiting for? The promotion, the space for strategic thinking, the new job, the vacation, the

“I’m just not good at networking” is a phrase I hear semi-regularly from the mission-driven leaders I coach and meet in the field; heck, it is a phrase I said myself years ago. When do I hear this? Often I hear this from people in transition, those that feel dissatisfied at their current employer, those seeking to grow into new roles and those that are in the process of launching something new and bold (like a new business!). They see “networking” as the thing holding them ba

I love the experience of being a fan when momentum is on my team’s side. All it takes is one big play and then they cannot fail. Their eyes are locked in and every move they make is smooth and successful. It is clear to all watching they are going to create victory. You can observe momentum at work in sports, the arts, and a colleague’s professional progression. But it’s much harder to observe when the momentum is within us. Many of us have been trained to notice what is wron