On a Tuesday morning in early February when the office was usually at the glummest, Charlie decided it was time to change the atmosphere. From the moment he entered, he started looking for positive things to say or where he could simply help.
He complimented staff on their work, their smiles, how they looked. Often, it was just small things:  a few passing words at the water fountain or in meetings, an occasional chat with an employee asking about family or work progress while in focusing on what the person felt positive about. He made eye contact with each person and smiled when he looked at them.
Honestly, it felt strange for him at first, as his usual style was directive and to the point. He rarely showed an interest in the people around him--only in the work they produced. This new approach was surely a challenge. Yet, in a few short days, the discomfort transformed to curiosity and fun.

Granville N. Toogood, The Inspired Executive: The Art of Leadership in the Age of Knowledge
Gender Marketing - Impulse für Marktforschung, Produkte, Werbung und Personalentwicklun, by Eva Kreienkamp.
Great insight on gender, diversity and its impact on business, marketing and human resources, related to the financial sector, the information and communication industries and analyzes future trends in the food and mobility industries. Eva Kreienkamp brings together business innovation and gender equality to a new level of inclusive and intrinsic business development (in German only)

Dr. Stephen Post and researchers at CASE University, The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love and the numerous studies conducted by some of the top universities in the world have found that taking positive action helps you live longer. (Check out the work being done by Dr. Stephen Post.) Among other benefits, they have found that giving protects overall health twice as much as Aspirin protects against heart disease ... and can aid in personal relaxation as well.
As you move throughout your day, notice where you can be of benefit. Open your heart and be present, offering what you can give. Performing simple acts of kindness for others may boomerang, creating even greater relaxation and health for you.

Michaela talked constantly about spirituality and personal growth. It was a passion for her. Yet, she felt stuck and somewhat detached from everyone around her. She had no idea what she wanted for her future.
When discussing what ways she manifested her spiritually or how she experienced it, she conveyed: "It is simply a part of me." The conversation moved to personal growth and what she was learning from her experiences... What was standing out for her?  ...What patterns emerged from the various experiences and what she was learning?
Her life was full of meetings and she had a busy social life. When asked what she looked forward to in each day, Michaela said she looked forward to the end of the day - when they ended and she went home. She had lost interest in the discussions. She felt her team could just as easily work without her there. She realized, too, that they hardly came to her any longer for advice. Everything was running smoothly. In some ways, she felt invisible and useless.
She suddenly realized that two dynamics were at work for her. One, that she wanted to reconnect to her staff and secondly, that her relationship with them had grown to opening space for her natural next step--moving on.
With this powerful knowledge in mind, Michaela was able to work on what she wanted to happen. Starting the next day, she entered staff meetings with a new perspective. She looked for ways things were working well and began complimenting her staff. She paid more attention to where the new leadership was emerging (searching for her successor) and encouraged him more. In addition, she looked for what else she could delegate and how she could mentor her individual team members more. Her enthusiasm grew as did the positive energy and productivity in the office...
Michaela was honest with herself and clear about her vision for her next steps. She was ready for a CEO spot and had her heart set on a start-up. Her experience was clear, yet, she had kept her desire a secret, almost feeling guilty about it. Now that she had come to accept her dream, letting go of her present position was getting more exciting by the day. 
As she freed-up time through delegation and trusting her staff, she began to explore options. She looked for opportunities to take on new challenges both within and outside the company. She even took on a leadership role as a Board Member for an NGO and was considering a second one.  Her life was full and exciting again.
It had only been 6 month since she shifted gears. She was sitting in the annual strategy meeting and the conversation centered on a small drug spinoff that the company had in France. It was faltering due to lack of seasoned leadership. Michaela was ready. She decided to ask for the assignment.
She approached the CEO after the meeting. Just as she was about to speak, he looked at her and said that he was glad she was there because he wanted a word with her. In short, he offered her the two year assignment to lead the turnaround.
Have you reached a crossroads or is it time for the next step? Are you ready for next move? What do you need to do to let go and honor where you are now? Where could you open space for the new? In what ways might you let go of the old? How can you add value to others' lives? How do you want to be remembered when you leave your current role? What legacy do you want to leave behind?

Often we ask ourselves limiting questions and get limited results. I had the experience of being asked very limiting questions while doing an assessment last year that  made me stop and think--what would have made this session more powerful and why was my energy so blasé after the assessment? (The live portion of Coach assessments for PCC/MCC candidates are done with two assessors, one in the observer role and one in the client role. I was the client.). This conversation was filled with 'either or' questions, cutting off my train of thought and restricting my thinking, creativity and energy. As the physicist Bohm tells us: Energy goes where the focus goes.
Powerful questions open up possibilities and the space for us to learn and grow. Yet we ask limiting questions all the time... How was last year? Was it enjoyable? Instead, something like: 'where did you choose to put your energies last year?' would be more powerful.
So, as you reflect on last year, you might ask yourself:
Where did I focus my energies last year?
What opportunities for learning occurred? How have I grown because of them?
Is what chose to pay attention to or focus on last year still appropriate for this year?
What would I like to focus on this year? Where shall I put my energies this year?

In a year from now, how would I like to recallthis year? What stories would I like to share with others? 

How does my focus relate to the legacy I am creating?

The first two weeks of the New Year started off with a series of old client calls. Theyall seemed to want to create a focus for the new year. The theme seemed to be the same, content at work and in life, but looking for something more... the next step and clarity about what they wanted for themselves. It seems several people were experiencing the end of onecycle and the beginning of a new one.
I'd like to share Priscilla's story. She was clear that she had achieved or far exceeded all she set had out to do the year before. Her reviews were super.  Her relationship with the CEO had grown from feeling estranged to one of trust. In the last few years she had created an atmosphere of excitement about work, the products and the company that rippled through the whole company. She thoroughly enjoyed her work.  
Over the holidays, she visited with her family and realized that she had missed the contact with them.  She wanted to find ways to stay in better contact and to support her brother and sister-in-law in the care of her aging parents. Honestly, though, she didn't know where to begin. When her CIO asked for time off to arrange care for his father, she realized that she was not alone.

As she pursued her dream for the year, she touched a place deep in her heart. She decided to create support groups and an internal network for caregivers both local and long-distance in her company. It wasn't actually a perk that company offered. She set it up as an informal meeting and held the first one the following week.  
The first meeting hosted 23 people of the 1600 in the home office. It wasn't a large group, but larger than she expected for the first meeting. The topics were broad as were the range of feelings.  Suggestions were made around broadening the flex time to allow for long weekends or even weeks away without losing vacation time; creating a resource library; focused support groups, and others.
But, what touched her most deeply was when one participant called her early the next morning and thanked her for creating the space. He rested well the previous night, knowing he wasn't alone with his dilemma and personal stresses and that there was empathy and understanding at work.  

"If you dictate, people will respond with their minds. If you lead by telling stories, people will respond with their hearts... You never know how far or how high people will go until you touch them deeply."  Granville N. Toogood, The Inspired Executive: The Art of Leadership in the Age of Knowledge

For several days, I was tired, distracted and my back hurt. I wrote it off to jet lag--not something I am normally prone to.  Our 8 year old family dog seemed to be feeling much the same way. For our dog this was unusual. So, after a sleepless night worrying and second guessing, I felt we had to do something. We took her to the animal hospital at 6:30 in the morning. It turned out she had a slipped disk. While she did not show how she felt, she was undertremendous pain. Once she was put under anesthesia so they could do an MRI, I suddenly seemed to relax and my back pain subsided.
I know we are all sensitive to those around us in different ways. This was a clear tickler for me to pay attention to how I am feeling and to acknowledge the impact my sensitivity to what is going on around me... In cases like this, I need to hone in what is going on; re-center myself, so I can then focus on what may actually be going on. Then, if possible, take appropriate action to improve the situation.

A colleague - Anna-Angelika King - and I are continuing our research based on our current theory related to motivation, depression and drive.
I would appreciate if you would email me: You first thoughts upon waking in the morning...
For several days, please write down and then confidentially share with me:
What were your first thoughts upon awakening?
How did you feel upon awakening?
How quickly do you get out of bed?
How do you feel in the morning about your day?
Thank you in advance!