Unmasking Your Life
During the holiday season, family gatherings can bring a mix of joy and tension such as when Susan found herself preparing for another holiday with her family. For years, she wore a mask of perfection—the jovial daughter, the dutiful sister, and the calm intermediary in family conflicts. But inside, she felt overwhelmed beneath the festive […]
How do you want your team to feel on Sunday night about coming to work on Monday morning?
The other day, I asked someone how their weekend was. “Too short” was the reply. How we feel about our job on the night before the week starts has a lot to do with how we feel about the people we work with and work for. Are you dreading coming to work Monday morning? Are […]
I had an incredible experience working with leaders of The Good Samaritan Society this week.
With over 75 years of experience providing specialized health and community care services, you are truly remarkable caring and authentic leaders. You know how to create spaces where you know you belong and can call home. Thank you for valuing my message and for the honourable and noble work you do.
Monopoly Is Life
I loved playing monopoly with my kids. I was a pretty good father, but not when I played monopoly. I was brutally competitive. In fact, I needed to win so badly I tricked my kids when we played. I convinced them not to buy Boardwalk and the higher end properties when they landed on them […]
UNMASKING Navigating Blind Spots and Embracing Authenticity
When Scott was growing up, his father wasn’t around to give him any kind of a model of what it meant to be an available dad. He learned to show his love to his young children the only way he knew how – by working hard and providing financially for his family. When his two […]
Was wanting to be a leader something you envisioned for yourself?
The best leaders don’t necessarily seek leadership. They seek to make a difference. They are committed to fostering growth on their team and building capacity in others. Their motive to earn a title is service, not increased power, recognition, financial gain, or using organizational politics to further personal agendas. We must stop using promotions as […]
What portion of your day is spent intentionally connecting with your team?
Why it matters and how to make it part of your routine in a meaningful way. I’m usually very reluctant to reach out spontaneously to my teams – my work team and the one I chair in my non-profit world. I score high on the introvert scale, so it isn’t easy to initiate conversations. I […]
Good leadership requires good boundaries.
I used to think that a good leader put everyone and everything else above themself. Now I know that good leadership is about balance between attending to our own needs and those of the people we serve. And to serve well, service must come from overflow, not from emptiness. Leadership flows from our well-being. I […]
The relationship between accountability and grace – when to hold the line and when to let it go
When our daughter was a teenager she asked to change her curfew for a special event. We wrestled with the decision as she took the time to build her case. We eventually changed the curfew, and to this day I don’t know if it was the right decision. Often there is no “right” decision, but […]
A Token Of Appreciation
After my webinar on Psychological Safety this past week, I had a great conversation with Marg, my VP of Client Care. We reminisced about when she was the Senior Manager of Learning and Development at Lilydale and I consulted on some projects there. Lilydale was established over 75 years ago as an Alberta Farmers’ cooperative […]
