Is the energy you put out creating the impact you want?
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Last week, I was having lunch in a restaurant with a friend when the lady on the table behind me tapped me on the shoulder and said “Hi. I just want to let you know that your very presence in this restaurant is having an impact on me. I feel really happy that you are here, even though I don’t know you.”
It’s an unusual thing for a stranger to say and I was both surprised and delighted that she had the confidence to reach out and take the time to connect with me. We spent the next 15 minutes talking together and sharing stories. Whilst my presence had an impact on her, her willingness to make contact with me (a stranger) had an even greater impact.
How you show up has an impact… even when you are not aware of it. Read More→
Are you treating people as objects or human beings?
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One of the things I notice in everyday life is how people treat each other as objects. Particles in space. It’s quite shocking. Take the person in the car who carved you up and annoyed you. How did you respond?
Take the person at work that you make judgements and assumptions about. Take the person in the shop that you didn’t bother to pass the time of day with because you were in a hurry.
Many people have so many things to do in a day that they find themselves running from one thing to another without a thought for the people that we engage with along the way. That’s when the human connection gets lost and people start to treat each other as objects. Objects that either help you or hinder you. Read More→
11 Leadership lessons from an unusual mentor
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Inspiration and mentors come in many different forms. Throughout my working life I’ve had a variety of mentors and coaches, all of whom have helped me shape my career and my life.
I’ve recently been exploring animals as mentors and I see there is so much to be learned from them that we can apply to our own leadership.
I particularly love the playfulness, intelligence and team spirit of dolphins, the way they look out for each other, support each other and really collaborate together. My dogs show me how to be really present in life, how to respond in the moment, putting past grievances aside and how to appreciate simple pleasures.
But it’s my cat who is my true mentor, who inspires me every day. Whenever I get stuck with something, I watch him and learn. Read More→
The importance of resilience and failure
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Have you ever set out to do something with good intentions, only to be derailed along the way?
Sometimes, we have to dig deep to find the inner reserves that keep us going when the going gets tough.
One of the most inspiring books I have ever read is a book called Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. It follows the story of Greg Mortenson who tried and failed to climb K2 in the Himalayas.
After getting lost on the way down, he spends the night alone on the mountainside and makes peace with his failure. “It was his body that had failed, he decided, not his spirit, and every body had its limits. He, for the first time in his life had found the absolute limit of his.” Read More→
This week saw the launch of the Earth Dragon Leaders website!
We are a tribe of leaders who met on a year long leadership programme run by the Coaches Training Institute. Many of the blog posts I’ve written in the last year have tracked my learning from that programme… a truly inspirational journey.
The Earth Dragons are 22 leaders from 13 countries spanning 4 continents. We cross multiple timezones from Toronto, through Europe, Dubai and Japan. We speak different languages. We’ve worked via skype, email, conference calls. We’ve co-designed and co-created a website that is an expression of us and an expression of the work we want to do in the world, the difference we want to make. We’ve done it effortlessly, with ease, with a sense of joy.
Since graduating in March, we’ve been brainstorming ideas and collectively produced this website. What I am proud of is our commitment to each other to work collaboratively together, our desire to make a difference in the world in a variety of ways and most importantly the way we work together with lightness, ease and playfulness. Work has never been so much fun. Read More→