Even though March Madness has ended, I still have basketball on my mind. Perhaps that is because I missed a lot of the games this year, due to my own March Madness! Specifically, a busy work season, for which I am certainly grateful.
As February comes to an end, I'd like to share a valentine with you. MANY years ago when I was in grade school, we were asked to make a valentine for each of our classmates. My Mom helped me make a bunch...
Happy 2022! I hope you all had a fabulous holiday and were able to find some time to celebrate and also recover. What a year 2021 was - and we thought that would be easy compared to 2020. Ha.
Breathe! Take a breath. You made it through Thanksgiving (for those of you who celebrate) I hope it was everything you hoped for. Intended. Planned.
One and a half years into the pandemic and we still aren't out of it! Each time we get close and I think it is over, we have a set back. While I never expected this to last so long (which is kind of funny as who knows how long pandemics are supposed to last?) I am grateful for what I have learned.
Summer time. It's pool time, beach time, golf time, down time. And usually a time we look forward to...longer days, summer haze, vacation away or stay. Less on our minds, and often we are more carefree. So what's different about this summer? Maybe nothing for you. But it is very different for many, as we are preparing for re-entry and have started to jump in.
During a recent executive coaching session, a client used the phrase "soft skills" and I cringed. Gratefully, the Jersey girl in me didn't immediately confront the person. I have learned sometimes it is best to "stop, drop and roll." Not literally like the fire safety technique, but figuratively: Stop (don't react), drop (pause and take a breath) and roll (get some space out so I can dig into what bugged me).
Over the past month I have been speaking with graduates from workshops I led earlier this year (Managing Corporate Change© and Women Moving Forward®). This is an additional service always offered to participants so we can check in, answer questions and discuss how they are applying skills developed in the training.
It has been quite a year! One year ago we were shutting down. Sheltering at home. Trying to purchase hand sanitizer and toilet paper. Figuring out how to shop, meet, work, teach and learn virtually. Talk about change! So much so fast. So many emotions. So much loss. And yet also so much gained.
As we eagerly said adios to 2020, and expectantly looked forward to the new year starting, vaccines rolling out and hope for a much better 2021, who could imagine January would be even more tumultuous? Yet it was. Highs and Lows and shocking disbelief as our capital was attacked. As I watched the videos of the attack, it struck me how angry the protesters were. And I thought, what is under all the anger? I knew there had to be more under the anger, since anger is a presenting emotion, or as I like to call it, brown paint (there are many colors underneath the color brown, as there are emotions under the presenting emotion of anger). Was it fear? Was it disbelief? Was is betrayal? Was it all of them?
Throughout this past year, one of my favorite things were your comments and feedback. They were encouraging and appreciated. Thank you! Here is one that I enjoyed from last months blog: Is Hope a Strategy?
"I wanted you to know how much I enjoyed this piece on hope. As someone who has used the phrase "hope is not a strategy" LITERALLY in the past week, your commentary really brought me up short. Thanks for making me think..."
"Hope is not a strategy," or so the saying goes. I am sure you have heard that before, perhaps you have said it yourself. And maybe even believe it - I did. I suspect that is because of the way it was framed up. You need plans. You need action steps. You need choices (aka strategies). And to simply hope, well that is foolish. Hope is not enough.