We’ve all had to deal with them at one time or another. Prickly people. And you know what I’m talking about when I use that term. Those people who are just difficult to be around. They may take many forms – the “Negative Nancy”, the “Know-it-All Ned”, “Bill the Bully”, “Wanda the Work Jerk”, and the list goes on. I’m sorry to say, I do not possess a magic wand, and thus, I cannot make your prickly person go away. But wait, don’t stop reading just yet! You may actually pick up a few tips for lessening your stress and keeping your sanity.  Continue Reading

It’s confession time. My writing muscle has atrophied. Yep, it’s true. I have not been keeping my blogging schedule, and therefore, the less I write, the harder it is for me to write. When I was writing every day, it had become part of my routine. A habit. I guess it’s just like any kind of exercise or weight lifting program. When you don’t push yourself to do it every day – regardless of whether you feel like it – you lose strength and muscle tone. You know the old adage, “If you don’t use it, you lose it!” And to work out daily, you must have a certain amount of self-discipline. Continue Reading

Recently, as I sat in a meeting with a client in the manufacturing industry, he said, “You know, our facility is ranked at the top of our company nationwide.” (As if to say “So why do I need to work with you?”.)

And before I realized what I was doing, I blurted out, “And that’s exactly why you need to work with me!” (Oops, did I just say that out loud?) Continue Reading

In a desperate attempt to drop those annoying ten pounds, I recently took up jogging. I know. What was I thinking? It has been one of the more frustrating activities I’ve ever taken up. I don’t understand how some people can just keep running, and running, and running, a la Forest Gump. I have had such a hard time with this. Continue Reading

In coaching leaders and executives, I’ve noticed that our conversations often come down to figuring out how to reconcile the many paradoxes of leadership.

A Paradox is defined as two concepts that are contradictory, yet are both true. An effective and successful leader is often the one with a paradoxical combination of characteristics and behaviors that she exercises, seemingly effortlessly, like most of us roll off of a log. But trust me, mon ami, this is all done rarely without effort.    Continue Reading

I often start off my leadership retreats and workshops by telling participants this statement: “I am responsible to you, but I am not responsible for you.” In other words, I am responsible to you, as participants to provide information and a safe, interactive learning environment. But, I am not responsible for what you do with that information. You are responsible for your own actions. You can decide whether you will actively participate. You will decide whether you will take action on what you learn. Continue Reading

The final touch of our recent (okay, almost year-long) home renovation was to create a flower bed across the back of our house. This was a project that I relished! I loved having the blank canvas to work with and the opportunity to pick out plants in a variety of colors, textures, and heights.

Of course, before I could start planting, I needed to prepare the bed. I had to, as they say, put my back into it. I should actually say “we” because my husband was instrumental in this part of the project. We had to till the soil to make it loose and to create an environment conducive to germination and growth. Continue Reading

When it comes to influ­ence one thing is cer­tain. The abil­ity to cre­ate and main­tain a pos­i­tive rela­tion­ship is a must have skill. With­out the abil­ity to have a rela­tion­ship with some­one, there is absolutely no way to have influ­ence.  Continue Reading

Regardless of your faith or religion (or lack thereof), you’d have to acknowledge that the past week or so has been an important time in history, as Pope Francis begins his papacy.

As I listened (on television) to his homily at his inaugural Mass from St. Peter’s Basilica, it struck me how very humble this man is and how each of us can apply his approach to his papacy to our own secular leadership roles. Continue Reading

In my work with clients I try to operate from the perspective that most people know what to do, but my role is often just to remind them. I recently attended a meeting where the speaker served this purpose for me. Many of the lessons I learned were merely reminders of things I already knew and most would apply whether in speaking, leadership, personal relationships, or life in general. Continue Reading