Leadership Companion Blog

Women leaders face a unique set of challenges in the workplace. Sadly, one of the most significant obstacles is navigating toxic work environments. These environments can be harmful to anyone; however, women often face additional barriers due to gender bias and discrimination. The other day, I was in a coaching room with a group of c-suite women discussing the topic of burnout. One woman said that burnout and toxic work environments go hand-in-hand for her. Just five months earlier, we saw her get fired from her c-suite job. The immediacy of her job loss came as a shock to her

I have a client who landed a vice president position with a fortune 100 company last spring. All year, she would tell us that she was excited for the Celebration of Failures. She had no idea what this would look like; however, so many employees shared excitement about it that she knew it was not to be missed. And, she was right. At our meeting in January, she told us that the celebration was an amazing event that lasted most of the day and truly created a culture that wasn’t afraid to fail. She told us that she identified a

Women leaders have been breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings for decades, paving the way for future generations of strong, capable women. GET MY GOAL COMPANION However, one trait that has been consistently overlooked is authenticity. Authenticity is often seen as a vulnerability, a weakness that can be exploited by others. In reality, it is a strength. Authenticity allows leaders to connect with their team on a deeper level, build trust and respect, and create an environment where people feel comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas. When it comes to women leaders specifically, authenticity is even more important. Women have

As we celebrate Women’s History Month this month, it’s important to recognize the incredible contributions of women leaders throughout history. From political pioneers to groundbreaking scientists, women have made significant strides in every field imaginable. GET MY VISION COMPANION Political Leaders Women have been making waves in politics for centuries, from suffragettes fighting for the right to vote to modern-day politicians breaking barriers and shattering glass ceilings. Some notable political leaders include: Kamala Harris: The first female Vice President of the United States and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history. Rosa Louise McCauley Parks: An American activist in the

I’ve been coaching a woman for almost a year and about once a quarter we coach through her time management. GET MY GOAL COMPANION She always starts off strong after coaching on this topic and then tells me that she notices she starts to backslide and needs help getting back on track. So this post is for anyone looking to better manage their time. 1. Clarify your goals and strategy Be very clear about your aims and ambitions, both short and long term. Write them down. Once you know what you really want to achieve (and why) it’s easier to

It’s hard sometimes to be almost seven weeks into the new year and already feel like we’ll never accomplish anything this year. GET MY VISION COMPANION We’ve already given up on the goals we made at the start of the year or we were laid off and going after a goal seems so hard right now. I talked with a client recently who was laid off at the start of the year and she said she had to dust off her goal setting muscles again. These are her five easy ways to accomplish any goal: 1. Establish a definite date

Recently, I was struggling with how to achieve success with something I had agreed to do. Ultimately, I had to eliminate three beliefs and wanted to share them with you. To set the stage for you, here’s the background about my struggle. My daughter’s high school takes a break between semesters and all students do something different. Some go overseas and build homes in impoverished areas while others stay more local and serve communities in need. Still others take courses at school that they ordinarily wouldn’t have the opportunity to take. The goal is to develop students into lifelong servant

A boundary is not about telling another person what to do. It is about telling another person what YOU will do in the face of the other person’s continued unkind or undesirable behavior. While it is hard for most people to accept, we cannot control another’s behavior. What we can control is our own response when faced by someone’s behavior. Often when I talk about boundaries with others, I like to use a picture of a “No Trespassing” sign. We don’t walk around with a fence around us and a no trespassing sign on it. Instead, we need to use

Everyone I have ever talked to that is a leader has had to come face to face with their fears. I have had to as well. I want to share with you some of the techniques that I have used to face them. The first step is not to be in denial. You have fears even if you don’t readily acknowledge them. They sometimes take the form of that chatter in the back of your head that says you can’t do it. Fear is such a huge issue preventing people from becoming leaders. Here are some of the techniques I

I know a number of my clients have set the goal of being a better leader so they can be more successful. An important part of success in life is the ability to lead. It is important that we not only be able to lead others but be willing to lead ourselves. No one succeeds in life by simply following others. Sometimes we must strike a bold new path for ourselves. Being a good leader is more than being at the top of the organizational chart. Too often, we think that leadership means sounding and looking the part; however, the

Setting goals is one of the most commonly used training tools and even soft skill improvement tools. Goals can organize your focus and endeavors towards achieving a specific task. They also increase persistence and motivation for long-term training. Having a goal can help you find new learning strategies for developing your leadership prowess. Unfortunately, goals are all too often made incorrectly. If you are interested in setting some goals, or even reevaluating your current goals, follow these seven steps for proper goal setting. GET MY GOAL COMPANION 1. Define Your Goal Ask yourself these questions: What exactly do you want

The other day, I was scheduled for a meeting with an attorney who was interested in hiring me to coach her. She had sent me a note that she was overwhelmed by everything going on in her life and wanted my help. We picked a time that worked for both of us. When our scheduled time came, I logged in to zoom and she wasn’t there. Three minutes later, she logged on via phone and told me that she was late for a parent teacher association meeting at school and was waiting for her Uber to arrive. I suggested that

We’ve all been stuck in that place where things just don’t seem to go forward. We have trouble getting motivated and our goals seem either out of reach or too weak. In short, we are uninspired! Some self-improvement experts will tell you that you have to have a good attitude in order to improve your life. While I agree with this generally, it’s not always that easy. It’s hard to set aggressive goals and get inspired to achieve them when your mindset is not right. If your mind is not ready to embrace more exciting goals, then change will be

We’re in the thick of holiday season and I am hearing from a lot of clients how they are struggling to get everything done. GET MY GOAL COMPANION One even said she wished she had a 28-hour day so she could find time to rest. When she said this, another leader in the room said she had a secret to “slaying the day”.. She said you need to commit to going through the learning curve and then it will click and it will be second nature, freeing up your day. Here are the seven simple steps my client shared. 1.

A few months ago, I was coaching a woman who told me that she was having difficulty helping her team move forward, because one of the projects she was responsible for failed. Failed, as in, she and her team wasted millions of dollars and countless days trying to build their own software and missed a critical delivery date, so her company chose to invest in a pre-made product instead. The only thing salvageable from their toil was lessons learned. She very much felt the weight of this failure. That day, we coached through how to overcome failure. She agreed that

The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! Henry Ward Beecher Hurtful memories can stifle your development and growth. I’ve coached a number of women who have left a toxic work environment and some are still trying to land another position so they can leave. Sometimes in the middle of a toxic workplace, we can pick up emotions that don’t reflect the leader we want to be. How, then, do we break through this insidious mental

I know we’ve all had days when everything seems to go against us. The days when we feel like we’re struggling to not let all the hard things crush us. I had one of those recently when a difficult personality wanted to ruin my day. I am glad that in one of those difficult moments, I remembered that I had a choice – I could fight back and meet that person with the same hate she was spewing into my life, or I could look at it from a different perspective. GET MY GOAL COMPANION I took a few minutes

Recently I was confronted with a leader who abdicated responsibility for the pain caused by a decision the group had made. GET MY GOAL COMPANION I went to talk with the leader of the group to point out that a decision was made and that others and myself were feeling hurt and left out. As the leader of this group has experience leading other groups, I thought there would be a recognition of the hurtful impact of the group’s decision; however, that didn’t happen. Instead, the more I repeated the message that the group’s actions had caused pain, the more

The unthankful heart… discovers no mercies; but let the thankful heart sweep through the day and, as the magnet finds the iron, so it will find, in every hour, some heavenly blessings! Henry Ward Beecher This is the time of year when we give thanks. It’s the time when we look around our lives and feel grateful for all that we have – our families, friends, and all of the love in our lives. We are grateful for the work that we do. We look to see the silver lining in all of our difficult situations, and feel grateful for

Is there a conversation you’ve been putting off? Is there a coworker or family member with whom you need to talk – but haven’t? With the holidays around the corner, maybe you’re even a little tense about navigating an office gathering or a family holiday party because you haven’t cleared the air with someone who will be in the room. GET MY VISION COMPANION I just helped a client walk through the difficult conversation framework. She had an issue that needed to be addressed; however, she knew her direct style would not serve her well this time. She told me