“One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover
creative solitude.”
Carl Sandburg
________
Reflections
“One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude.”
Carl Sandburg
________
Reflections
Rescuers Aren’t Always Heroes
“Why do you expect less from your employees than you do of yourself?” said my manager to me early in my career. I don’t remember the specific situation, but I was probably providing an excuse (thinking it was a valid reason) why one of my employees wasn’t performing...
Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nothing Gold Can Stay Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour. Then leaf subsides to leaf. So Eden sank to grief, So dawn goes down to day. Nothing gold can stay. -by Robert Frost I have been reading lots...
Was the Pandemic a “Wrinkle in Time”?
I have found myself in various conversations lately where one person will say that such and such event was two years ago, and then they correct themselves and say it really was four years ago. They forget to factor in the pandemic. It’s as though the two years of...
Nobody wants pity; everyone can use compassion.
Growing up, I received the message quite early and quite often that feeling sorry for myself was not appropriate. I got this message at home and school, and I’m sure I wasn’t alone. When I was in middle school and complaining about something (probably about thinking I...
Leadership focus on “being” versus “doing”
When I was an executive at an insurance company, I read the following: “Leadership is as much about who you are as what you do.” I firmly believed this sentiment, but most of the leadership development I received throughout my corporate career focused on the “doing”...
Losing the Chocolate Dip
I sometimes feel I’ve gone through my life like a chocolate dipped ice cream cone. I have a deceptively solid exterior – nice looking, pleasing and totally hiding what’s underneath. I’m taking a class where we’re asked to identify one big change we’d like to make in...
View from the Balcony
I had several impactful coaching appointments this last week. My coaching approach involves working on clients’ inner and outer game. The outer game focuses on tasks the client would like to get better at: giving feedback, delegating, listening, building relationships...
Look at me, Mommy!
I was a lifeguard at a country club when I was in college. While frying my skin in the Nebraska sun, I sat in a lifeguard chair and listened to little kids yell at their mothers for hours proclaiming, “Look at me, Mommy; Look at me.” (That, and “Marco-Polo”). Their...
The Present Has No Stories
We are all wired to create stories. Stories are the way humans make sense of their lives. The ability to craft stories separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom. Most of the time we don’t even realize we’re creating a story. The guy that cut me off in traffic...
When the Kaleidoscope Shatters
I often talk and write about the fact that we all perceive the world, ourselves, and ourselves in the world through many unique lenses, most of which we are unaware. These lenses may have been formed by: The part of the world we grew up in Our family of origin Our...
She Let Go
“She Let Go” Attributed to Safir Rose and Ernest Holmes I'm taking an online class, and the instructors start each session with a poem. I posted this one entitled She Let Go on my Facebook page and was amazed at the responses I received, almost all from women....
If you don’t see it, it will manage you
I just finished reading the latest novel by one of my favorite authors, Louise Penny. It’s entitled The Madness of Crowds. This is Penny’s 17th installment in the adventures of Inspector Gamache. Readers have fallen in love with the inhabitants of the fictional...
