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Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
I'm with Anna - Get A Life, Keep Perspective
Amen Anna. I feel compelled to share a speech made by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Anna Quindlen at the graduation ceremony of an American university where she was awarded an Honorary PhD. She espouses my belief that being a whole person connected to those around us is the mark of a true leader - in life and in business. A rich wallet cannot take the place of a rich life given meaning by our "right" relationship with ourselves, with those around us and with the world. The following is a great reminder that can get lost when many in the world are in crisis - fear fosters constriction not openness and true "seeing or being-ness." Being connected and experiencing life is what gives us the strength and buoyancy to ride the waves of chaos - even if we feel it is a tsunami! Enjoy....
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
'I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life, your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.
People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good. Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.
I would be rotten, at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true.
You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?
Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.
It is so easy to exist instead of to live.
I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.'
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
'I'm a novelist. My work is human nature. Real life is all I know. Don't ever confuse the two, your life and your work. You will walk out of here this afternoon with only one thing that no one else has. There will be hundreds of people out there with your same degree: there will be thousands of people doing what you want to do for a living. But you will be the only person alive who has sole custody of your life. Your particular life, your entire life. Not just your life at a desk, or your life on a bus, or in a car, or at the computer. Not just the life of your mind, but the life of your heart. Not just your bank accounts but also your soul.
People don't talk about the soul very much anymore. It's so much easier to write a resume than to craft a spirit. But a resume is cold comfort on a winter's night, or when you're sad, or broke, or lonely, or when you've received your test results and they're not so good. Here is my resume: I am a good mother to three children. I have tried never to let my work stand in the way of being a good parent. I no longer consider myself the centre of the universe. I show up. I listen. I try to laugh. I am a good friend to my husband. I have tried to make marriage vows mean what they say. I am a good friend to my friends and they to me. Without them, there would be nothing to say to you today, because I would be a cardboard cut out. But I call them on the phone, and I meet them for lunch.
I would be rotten, at best mediocre at my job if those other things were not true.
You cannot be really first rate at your work if your work is all you are. So here's what I wanted to tell you today: Get a life. A real life, not a manic pursuit of the next promotion, the bigger pay cheque, the larger house. Do you think you'd care so very much about those things if you blew an aneurysm one afternoon, or found a lump in your breast?
Get a life in which you notice the smell of salt water pushing itself on a breeze at the seaside, a life in which you stop and watch how a red-tailed hawk circles over the water, or the way a baby scowls with concentration when she tries to pick up a sweet with her thumb and first finger.
Get a life in which you are not alone. Find people you love, and who love you. And remember that love is not leisure, it is work. Pick up the phone. Send an email. Write a letter. Get a life in which you are generous. And realize that life is the best thing ever, and that you have no business taking it for granted. Care so deeply about its goodness that you want to spread it around. Take money you would have spent on beer and give it to charity. Work in a soup kitchen. Be a big brother or sister. All of you want to do well. But if you do not do good too, then doing well will never be enough.
It is so easy to waste our lives, our days, our hours, and our minutes. It is so easy to take for granted the color of our kids' eyes, the way the melody in a symphony rises and falls and disappears and rises again.
It is so easy to exist instead of to live.
I learned to live many years ago. I learned to love the journey, not the destination. I learned that it is not a dress rehearsal, and that today is the only guarantee you get. I learned to look at all the good in the world and try to give some of it back because I believed in it, completely and utterly. And I tried to do that, in part, by telling others what I had learned.
By telling them this: Consider the lilies of the field. Look at the fuzz on a baby's ear. Read in the back yard with the sun on your face. Learn to be happy. And think of life as a terminal illness, because if you do, you will live it with joy and passion as it ought to be lived.'
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Energy Is The Currency Of The 21st Century
Okay, so for months the news has been about how "bad the economy is" or about "how many people XYZ company laid off." This energy is negative, fear-inducing and generative.
So what is the balance point that we strike between staying informed and shielding ourselves from being deluged with this negative energy that effects our own energy and perspective? At best, it fuels us to seek opportunities to be creative. At worst, it feeds our anxieties and imaginations with the worst possible outcomes.
It's old news to say that we are all connected and one person can have an effect and impact on many. The real question to ponder as a leader is - how do you want to effect and impact those around you? Embedded in the answer to this question must be how you will work with your own energy to do this. During these turbulent, uncertain times, you need your own mechanisms for keeping your energy positive and vibrant - truly - and operating from the inside out. You can't give away what you don't have.
These times need the resiliency of vibrancy, flexibility and creativity - in order to survive and thrive as a leader and as a business. I invite you to ponder - what is your creative source and how are you tapping into it today? Do just one thing today that makes you feel truly alive and connected - whether it is indulging in that quick read that you want to savor before you do the dreaded report or spending a couple of minutes in small talk with your staff. These small things can have big pay backs in terms of shifting your energy, mood or perspective.
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
So what is the balance point that we strike between staying informed and shielding ourselves from being deluged with this negative energy that effects our own energy and perspective? At best, it fuels us to seek opportunities to be creative. At worst, it feeds our anxieties and imaginations with the worst possible outcomes.
It's old news to say that we are all connected and one person can have an effect and impact on many. The real question to ponder as a leader is - how do you want to effect and impact those around you? Embedded in the answer to this question must be how you will work with your own energy to do this. During these turbulent, uncertain times, you need your own mechanisms for keeping your energy positive and vibrant - truly - and operating from the inside out. You can't give away what you don't have.
These times need the resiliency of vibrancy, flexibility and creativity - in order to survive and thrive as a leader and as a business. I invite you to ponder - what is your creative source and how are you tapping into it today? Do just one thing today that makes you feel truly alive and connected - whether it is indulging in that quick read that you want to savor before you do the dreaded report or spending a couple of minutes in small talk with your staff. These small things can have big pay backs in terms of shifting your energy, mood or perspective.
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Men Juggling Babies and Blackberries - Work-Life Integration
Work-Life Balance is a common phenomena that I hear many people seeking these days. I prefer the term Work-Life Integration because "balance" is a relative, dynamic term. We may not be able to have the scales perfectly tipped in all areas of our life - time for ourselves, our family, our community on top of a demanding career - every single day, week or month.
This past Tuesday morning, I had just sat down at my computer, having blocked time outside of client projects and marketing efforts, to sit down and write. AAH! I was so looking forward to some quiet, dedicated focus time to collect my thoughts. No sooner than my butt was warm in the seat did I get a call from the nurse at my daughter's school. She fell and hurt her ankle and was in a lot of pain. It wasn't even 9 am! I picked her up and we spent a half a day between the doctor's office and the radiologist - diagnosis - bad sprain, and crutches for a week.
Well the timing was perfect as I was supposed to be having lunch with a client an hour away. Fortunately, she cancelled early that morning so I was in a position to pick up my daughter. Instead of cursing the cancellation and the situation with my daughter as ruining all my plans, I saw it as a rare opportunity during the weekday to spend some quality time with her - we laughed together when the nurse practitioner was considering a diagnosis of some rare disease that effects teenagers heels' when they are growing. No, it didn't hurt before her fall - it was just an injury! I was also happy to hear that, the reason my daughter injured her ankle is because she was so happy she was skipping down the stairs (not the best idea) and decided to just skip a couple of steps. Any parent of a 12 year old girl navigating puberty bursting is happy to know their child is happy - in school no less! Our connection helped keep things in perspective and by the time I did get back to work, my ideas had been furthered or shaped differently due to the break. Back burner thinking is the genesis of many a break-through idea.
My daughter came back home, read on the couch while I typed away on the computer. Fortunately I have my own business which gives me some flexibility to work when and where I want. However, when I was at IBM and GE I also had some flexibility in my roles there as well. This is a privilege that did not exist as recently as 15-20 years ago. And one that the current generations early-in-career or entering the workforce (Gens X, Y and Millenium), now insist upon. The labor shortage predicted in 2012 will require more employers to be open and creative with different kinds of arrangements.
What struck me about the pediatricians office at 10:00 on a Tuesday morning is that it was quite busy and not all with sick children - and probably 80% of the parents were fathers! YES, MEN JUGGLING BABIES AND BLACKBERRYS. Some looked like they were either very mellow or stay at home dads. Others, were working away on their Blackberrys or talking into their cell phones. In all cases, they seem to be attentive to, and know their children. I can assure you, when I was growing up, this would have been a VERY rare sight.
So, Work-Life Integration is important to, and effects MEN as well as women, and not just those who are married. It's about having the opportunity to do creative, high impact work and have a life. It may be about taking time out in the workday to care for a sick child, attend a baseball game or meet the cable guy - and either working through lunch or doing work after dinner or taking a break that rejuvenates you with great gusto toward your work. How we think about time and space - what we get done where and when - needs to change to meet the complex needs and pace of life today. How do you limit your thoughts of what is possible with yourself or your employees? How do you integrate your life to create work that is relaxed and productive versus frenetic and on-the-fringe of burn-out?
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
This past Tuesday morning, I had just sat down at my computer, having blocked time outside of client projects and marketing efforts, to sit down and write. AAH! I was so looking forward to some quiet, dedicated focus time to collect my thoughts. No sooner than my butt was warm in the seat did I get a call from the nurse at my daughter's school. She fell and hurt her ankle and was in a lot of pain. It wasn't even 9 am! I picked her up and we spent a half a day between the doctor's office and the radiologist - diagnosis - bad sprain, and crutches for a week.
Well the timing was perfect as I was supposed to be having lunch with a client an hour away. Fortunately, she cancelled early that morning so I was in a position to pick up my daughter. Instead of cursing the cancellation and the situation with my daughter as ruining all my plans, I saw it as a rare opportunity during the weekday to spend some quality time with her - we laughed together when the nurse practitioner was considering a diagnosis of some rare disease that effects teenagers heels' when they are growing. No, it didn't hurt before her fall - it was just an injury! I was also happy to hear that, the reason my daughter injured her ankle is because she was so happy she was skipping down the stairs (not the best idea) and decided to just skip a couple of steps. Any parent of a 12 year old girl navigating puberty bursting is happy to know their child is happy - in school no less! Our connection helped keep things in perspective and by the time I did get back to work, my ideas had been furthered or shaped differently due to the break. Back burner thinking is the genesis of many a break-through idea.
My daughter came back home, read on the couch while I typed away on the computer. Fortunately I have my own business which gives me some flexibility to work when and where I want. However, when I was at IBM and GE I also had some flexibility in my roles there as well. This is a privilege that did not exist as recently as 15-20 years ago. And one that the current generations early-in-career or entering the workforce (Gens X, Y and Millenium), now insist upon. The labor shortage predicted in 2012 will require more employers to be open and creative with different kinds of arrangements.
What struck me about the pediatricians office at 10:00 on a Tuesday morning is that it was quite busy and not all with sick children - and probably 80% of the parents were fathers! YES, MEN JUGGLING BABIES AND BLACKBERRYS. Some looked like they were either very mellow or stay at home dads. Others, were working away on their Blackberrys or talking into their cell phones. In all cases, they seem to be attentive to, and know their children. I can assure you, when I was growing up, this would have been a VERY rare sight.
So, Work-Life Integration is important to, and effects MEN as well as women, and not just those who are married. It's about having the opportunity to do creative, high impact work and have a life. It may be about taking time out in the workday to care for a sick child, attend a baseball game or meet the cable guy - and either working through lunch or doing work after dinner or taking a break that rejuvenates you with great gusto toward your work. How we think about time and space - what we get done where and when - needs to change to meet the complex needs and pace of life today. How do you limit your thoughts of what is possible with yourself or your employees? How do you integrate your life to create work that is relaxed and productive versus frenetic and on-the-fringe of burn-out?
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Spring Cleaning and Strategy - "Focustrate"
Spring is the time to clean out, declutter and dust off things that have accumulated from winter. This can be anything from a 10 pound weight gain due to inactivity on cold winter days to getting rid of roller blades you haven't used in five years.
What does this have to do with strategy?
They are both about making FORCED CHOICES and then exercising DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY in executing on those choices. If you haven't used those roller blades in five years, are you really going to? Be honest. Are they the most on-target vehicle for losing weight. If not, they are taking up space for something else that could actually be used to get results.
I find that many of us talk about business strategy but when it comes down to the daily, weekly or monthly "to do" list, we still want to do it all. So it may mean you can't implement that new computer system this year if you are really going to execute your strategy to conserve capital in a down economy by reducing your operations budget. It's about tradeoffs and managing yourself and your teams to the incessant drumbeat of what is in scope or out of scope - today or this quarter - but maybe not next year. It's about holding your collective feet to the fire on what you and your team said is important - critical - to your survival or growth.
A colleague coined a new term that I find so appropriate when doing spring cleaning on strategy - "focustrate" - concentrate and focus on what your strategy is. Everything else gets thrown out or put on the back burner and revisited during your strategy review - really.
The end of the first quarter is a great time to review your strategy in light of the changing economic landscape. A key question to keep in mind: Is this action going to get us to where we need to be in our designated timeframe? If not, dump or defer. Happy decluttering!
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
What does this have to do with strategy?
They are both about making FORCED CHOICES and then exercising DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY in executing on those choices. If you haven't used those roller blades in five years, are you really going to? Be honest. Are they the most on-target vehicle for losing weight. If not, they are taking up space for something else that could actually be used to get results.
I find that many of us talk about business strategy but when it comes down to the daily, weekly or monthly "to do" list, we still want to do it all. So it may mean you can't implement that new computer system this year if you are really going to execute your strategy to conserve capital in a down economy by reducing your operations budget. It's about tradeoffs and managing yourself and your teams to the incessant drumbeat of what is in scope or out of scope - today or this quarter - but maybe not next year. It's about holding your collective feet to the fire on what you and your team said is important - critical - to your survival or growth.
A colleague coined a new term that I find so appropriate when doing spring cleaning on strategy - "focustrate" - concentrate and focus on what your strategy is. Everything else gets thrown out or put on the back burner and revisited during your strategy review - really.
The end of the first quarter is a great time to review your strategy in light of the changing economic landscape. A key question to keep in mind: Is this action going to get us to where we need to be in our designated timeframe? If not, dump or defer. Happy decluttering!
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
Monday, February 2, 2009
Can we Have Real Commitment without Spirit?
I am breaking the last (?) taboo of “the corporate world” – to talk about energy, spirit – those intangibles that we all know exist – that really move us, give us meaning, and make a difference in how we are, how we feel, how we think and how we behave. Every leader and organization wants people’s passion and commitment. Who wouldn’t? But guess what? We are messy, complex, contradictory HUMAN beings and sometimes the road to desire – achieving what we want - is a rocky one. Can we have real commitment without people’s emotions, spirit, energy? Emotion is energy in motion. You don’t have this, you are stuck. This is the stuff we need to move, shape and create our world. Sometimes we have to walk through the mud – vent, disagree, etc. – before we get to the clarity and true agreement. This is sustainable growth – working with what is really going on, on all levels.
“Growth” is an interesting word. Growth can be hard work and painful – it doesn’t always feel good. But sometimes we need a kick in the butt to get out of our comfort zone. Boy was my “growth spurt” uncomfortable for me! It felt like a spurt on steroids. I had to be almost hit over the head to get a perspective on what I could and couldn’t control. But growth can also be fun, joyous and energizing. It’s all of life. To get the results you’re after with yourself, your team or your business, you can’t do this just in your head, you also need to be fully present - in your body and engage your emotions. …and to invite and give permission for others to do this.
When you show up for work on Monday morning, guess what? You bring all of you – head, heart and body. And at the end of the day, amidst bosses, colleagues, spouses, kids, friends - you are your starting and ending point. You can only change you.
But you, you can change!
So, hang on and come on an adventure with me! Let’s blow open the doors of our assumptions and mental models of who we are and how our life or our world should be – to get to what all of it is and can be!
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
“Growth” is an interesting word. Growth can be hard work and painful – it doesn’t always feel good. But sometimes we need a kick in the butt to get out of our comfort zone. Boy was my “growth spurt” uncomfortable for me! It felt like a spurt on steroids. I had to be almost hit over the head to get a perspective on what I could and couldn’t control. But growth can also be fun, joyous and energizing. It’s all of life. To get the results you’re after with yourself, your team or your business, you can’t do this just in your head, you also need to be fully present - in your body and engage your emotions. …and to invite and give permission for others to do this.
When you show up for work on Monday morning, guess what? You bring all of you – head, heart and body. And at the end of the day, amidst bosses, colleagues, spouses, kids, friends - you are your starting and ending point. You can only change you.
But you, you can change!
So, hang on and come on an adventure with me! Let’s blow open the doors of our assumptions and mental models of who we are and how our life or our world should be – to get to what all of it is and can be!
Copyright 2009 Sage Leadership Strategies, LLC
Friday, January 30, 2009
Introductions
I am the Founder of Sage Leadership Strategies. I am very happy you’ve landed here!
I have had an unconventional career and life characterized always by living from the inside out.
Over ten years ago, I was in a leadership position and found myself at a company that was going through an acquisition and a merger right after I came back from maternity leave. I experienced all of the crazy behaviors and dynamics that that kind of environment generates. I assume like you, I have navigated some difficult terrain in both my personal and professional lives. Why do we say it like that? It’s really our one life with different aspects. During this time, my marriage fell apart and I was suddenly a single mom with a six month old baby. Other life events happened all within a four month period: I negotiated my way out of my old job, negotiated my new job at a different company, finalized my divorce, my daughter contracted a rare blood disorder, I bought my first house, moved, and my mother was diagnosed with breast and colon cancer.
As a result, I am passionate about these topics: striking a balance of “taking charge” - leading your life and career - and working with the wisdom of recognizing what unfolds (or smacks you in the face!); how to best position yourself to take advantage of emerging opportunities; resiliency; holistic health and balancing work and life. I’ve learned that a great way to change my consciousness or perspective is by managing my energy in a different way. I’ve also learned the universe has a sense of humor and can dish up a great set of growth opportunities mischievously disguised as troubles or obstacles.
I love the adages:
“Wherever you go, there you are.” (Attributed to Buddha)
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
I look forward to learning about you - to co-create a learning community of seekers committed to their own development. Whether you are a CEO, executive, entrepreneur or a former corporate person on another track - and want more integration/alignment, better results and fulfillment with your life and work - Welcome!
I have had an unconventional career and life characterized always by living from the inside out.
Over ten years ago, I was in a leadership position and found myself at a company that was going through an acquisition and a merger right after I came back from maternity leave. I experienced all of the crazy behaviors and dynamics that that kind of environment generates. I assume like you, I have navigated some difficult terrain in both my personal and professional lives. Why do we say it like that? It’s really our one life with different aspects. During this time, my marriage fell apart and I was suddenly a single mom with a six month old baby. Other life events happened all within a four month period: I negotiated my way out of my old job, negotiated my new job at a different company, finalized my divorce, my daughter contracted a rare blood disorder, I bought my first house, moved, and my mother was diagnosed with breast and colon cancer.
As a result, I am passionate about these topics: striking a balance of “taking charge” - leading your life and career - and working with the wisdom of recognizing what unfolds (or smacks you in the face!); how to best position yourself to take advantage of emerging opportunities; resiliency; holistic health and balancing work and life. I’ve learned that a great way to change my consciousness or perspective is by managing my energy in a different way. I’ve also learned the universe has a sense of humor and can dish up a great set of growth opportunities mischievously disguised as troubles or obstacles.
I love the adages:
“Wherever you go, there you are.” (Attributed to Buddha)
“How you do anything is how you do everything.”
I look forward to learning about you - to co-create a learning community of seekers committed to their own development. Whether you are a CEO, executive, entrepreneur or a former corporate person on another track - and want more integration/alignment, better results and fulfillment with your life and work - Welcome!
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