What Kind of Person Are You When Plans Go Sideways?
I watched the runway disappear below us and thought, “This isn’t how landings work.” I was flying from Madrid to Krakow for a program with a company in Poland. Smooth trip. Clear skies. A layover in Warsaw. Everything planned down to the hour. Until it wasn’t. Just as we were approaching Warsaw, the plane suddenly […]
The Church was a Crowd, Not a Community
When my dad passed away, my mom did something that surprised all of us. She started going back to church every day. Now, I’m not a religious person. But when I heard she was making this move, I was supportive. Because I know what she was really seeking wasn’t just a sermon, it was connection. […]
Your Team Needs To Act More Like Vampire Bats
No, I’m not telling you to ask HR to start putting pints of blood in the break room. Stay with me.. Vampire bats have a bizarre survival strategy that’s surprisingly relevant to your team. In the wild, if a bat fails to feed one night, it doesn’t just cross its wings and hope for better […]
Level 5 Leadership at a Red Cross CPR Training
I didn’t realize how exhausting it was to give CPR. I learned this lesson recently while taking a Red Cross CPR and First Aid certification class. The 30-2 cycle of chest compressions is no joke. It’s like doing pushups while simultaneously trying to remember if you left the stove on – both physically and mentally […]
Not Everyone Has a “Happy Holiday” Coming up: A Leader’s Guide to Holiday Sensitivity
I learned this lesson back in college, during what is usually a celebratory time of year; holiday break. Finals were over, no homework was due, and the campus echoed with cheers of “Happy Holidays!” and “See you next year!” But beneath the festive facade, I realized a harder truth. On the last day of the […]
Practical Strategies for Expanding Your Network at Conferences
Just when I was about to give up on becoming a professional speaker, I committed to one final action that changed everything and ultimately the direction of my life. Let me step back a moment. Did you know that a staggering 85% of jobs are filled through networking? Your connections are often the key to […]
The Remote Work Engagement Crisis: How Leaders Can Turn the Tide
AI Crashed My Virtual Team-Building Party. I recently found myself staring into the abyss—or rather, a grid of blank Zoom squares. I was hired to inject some life into a remote team struggling with disengagement, so I eagerly anticipated 20 faces ready for connection. Instead, five sent their AI note-takers (rude!), seven hid behind camera-off […]
Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace
By a show of hands, who here feels safe telling their boss they messed up? Anyone? Bueller? I thought so. Welcome to the world of psychological safety, or as some call it, the elusive unicorn of the workplace. I can’t help you spot an actual unicorn, but I can help you create a workplace where […]
Starting a Conversation with a Stranger – The C.A.T.S.I. Framework
Three things that intimidate me: If you are like me, I can’t help you with the first two, but for the third one—meeting new people for the first time—I created a clever little strategy to help me not only start a conversation but also build a connection with someone that I’m meeting for the first […]
How to Give Good Feedback to Your Team
Have you ever tried giving feedback and felt like you were either walking on eggshells or tossing a grenade? Feedback is the thing we all love to give but hate to receive. Let’s face it: Feedback sessions sometimes feel like you’re about to ruin someone’s day or yours. Seventy-five percent of employees believe feedback is […]