Posts

Open To What Is Next

Dad’s Words to Me

In the last year of my father’s life, it was necessary for him to have minor surgeries every few months. He rolled with these and recovered each time, able to enjoy the year with my mother in their new community where she was beginning to receive assisted living support. At this point, she was in the earlier stages of Alzheimer’s and they were able to participate in various social activities ranging from chair yoga to a singing group to dinners with new friends. Read more

What I Learned from My Sabbatical

Ginny wearing a beach hat

Greetings to you, my friends, and all good wishes for the new year and this new decade. It’s been 15 months since I wrote to you and shared my plans for sabbatical (see: Following the Current).

Even as I announced a six-month sabbatical, I had the feeling it would be a full year. Toward the end of last October, I was invited to speak to a group of coach colleagues about my sabbatical experience.

Here in today’s article are highlights from that presentation.

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Rise Up!

Cream Rises

I don’t recall the actual achievement – just that it was some form of recognition I had received at work. It might have been an accolade from a customer. Or maybe it was a promotion. Yes, a long overdue promotion, that sounds good. Let’s go with that. Read more

They See It In You

Before You Do

My friend Art and I still reminisce about a customer meeting we attended together years ago. It was my freshman year in the corporate world and my first business trip. My job in the meeting was to utter three whole sentences about how the numbers were derived. He insists he saw something special in me at that meeting — who knows what it was, but he saw it. Art is definitely one of the people who helped me build confidence in those early years and remains a loyal supporter to this day.

Throughout a career and no matter the titles acquired, everyone’s confidence will hit some peaks and valleys. While it’s ultimately something to possess internally, external input provides valuable information. Pay attention to what your supporters are saying. They see it in you, even before you’ve internalized it. That they see you is a gift. Read more

Only You

It’s Been Done Before

As a communications major, I was looking forward to the advertising class despite the fact that it was three hours long and on Monday nights. The professor (who did not look like Don Draper) was from J. Walter Thompson, one of the largest ad agencies in the world1. A been-there-done-that-seen-it-all guy, he was rather crusty in imparting his real-world experience. The night he declared, “There’s no such thing as a new idea,” it landed on me as unnecessarily cynical. All I could think was: Really, we’re just going to go out into the world and churn out the same stuff? Read more

Something You’re Not

Wrong Answer

I’m not sure how this was possible but upon graduating from college, I embarked on a job hunt without ever having practiced a mock interview with the university’s career department. While my business major pals were scripted and ready, this liberal arts gal was a bit less prepared. When the interviewer posed a detailed situational question that sought to determine how I would handle a problem employee, these are the words that came out of my mouth: I’d fire him! Perhaps some of you are thinking that my response was right on but that wasn’t judged to be case. Read more

Be-Do-Have at Work

Be

When you first hear the coaching concept called Be-Do-Have, you might think it’s about as useful as the advice to “be the ball”, generally reserved for parodying us coaches and motivator types. So rather than just talk theory, today I bring you an actual example of someone who applied the Be-Do-Have principle with great success at work. Read more

Persistence Pays

Against the Odds

Most of us marvel at stories about people who became successful despite experiencing rejection or failure on the road to achievement. One of my favorite examples is Chester Carlson, the inventor of electrophotography (photocopying), who was dismissed by more than 20 companies as well as the National Inventors Council, before he had the ultimate satisfaction of seeing Xerox introduce its first office copier. Read more

You Know This For Sure

Unknowns Are Part of the Picture

In life there are plenty of unknowns, so it pays to practice “being okay with” those times that are full of questions, even realizing the benefits to these periods such as learning to get curious and to be open to new paths. While some introspection is appropriate during these times, you’ll still need to act on what you know. Hanging out in I Don’t Know Land for longer than necessary is often just avoidance and an excuse for inaction. When your I DON’T KNOW has more to do with fear, it can become a strange kind of mantra that only serves to keep you in place. The remedy? Take note of what you know for sure. Read more

It Doesn’t Hurt To Ask

Even In This Economy

In this economy. Listen carefully to what someone says after those three words and you’ll learn something about that person’s belief system. Even optimists can’t help but be affected by the fearful refrain being drilled into us from every quarter. Current economic factors are impacting our livelihoods, our health and overall outlook. It’s challenging us and it’s stressful. Even so, it’s important to recognize the danger of allowing the “in this economy” mindset to skew our decisions and actions. You can ask the question, “What can I do in this economy?” in one of two ways: one implies “why bother?” and the other invites a creative solution. Read more