Coming out of the trough (again) after a few really hard weeks of trying to simply hold on. As I get better and better at managing/ navigating these times I somehow still keep finding myself back in them.

After a recent procedure in Annapolis, I'm finding myself happier & more productive than I've been in the past few years. I'm also in a place recognizing what needs to happen to break the cycle of going back there instead of just adding more load to this new increased capacity I have.

Coming back from running a 40h marathon in TN and sharing some thoughts, observations, and where I'm focusing on personal growth.

Talking about the importance of Self Care not only for a leader but also as an example for their people. it's about creating an appropriate balance to keep operating levels for individuals at a high.

We also introduce setting good boundaries for leaders and their relationships. Healthy boundaries that support growth, expectations, & professional relationships through consistency.

Connor and I exploring out loud trying to tease the subtleties & nuances that differentiate experts and masters. Not the sheer skill aspect, more of the 'soft' skills/ traits as it helps us inform our discussion on Leadership.

We what happens when we reward; whether it's through praise, recognition, opportunity, award, etc.  always results and absent effort? Same thing holds true in reverse. What are the unintended consequences on our audience that is excluded in the reward.

It's not as simple as acknowledging everyone for their unique contributions. And, everyone is wired to respond differently to different types of rewards. 

When you really start to think about the ins and outs with all the different perspectives you can see how we end up in a mediocrity system too often.

Talking about how to listen. Truly listen with the intent to engage and understand vs respond.

It's a fundamental step to earning trust & respect.

"Seek first to understand and not respond." ~Stephen Covey

Spending 90 min grinding aways at some more basics: 

Don't Lie, Cheat, or Steal; it's all Stealing, Grey Areas, Who am I circles, and a few more things and tying them into Being a Good Human Being as a core competency to Leadership.

Digging in on "Being A Good Human Being".

Specifically, common courtesy, decency, & respect and how it ties into "caring" as a key component of Leadership.

Connor & I picked back up on our writing project. We are going to record our writing development sessions together; essentially the content we are discussing shaping for a leadership book. We figured we would also publish these as a podcast for a few reasons.

1. Help us stay honest and on task ,
2. Shape our organization & collect our content,
3. Open it up for people to respond, critique, inject, and give general feedback,
4. Ultimately stay authentic to our purpose & intent behind the project in the first place: share thoughts with other in hopes to add value and/ or perspective.

This first recorded session is generally about the why and the what behind the theme of the book. 

In the end, not all the material will get published via podcast and it will all go through a pretty rigorous editing process.

Sharing a few short thoughts about what mentorship is and isn't. Not sure I'm really digging deep enough into it, but wanted to hear out loud the looping that was going on in my head while splitting some wood.

Some thoughts and reflections on this year's annual Event & Fundraiser. Looking to have a few guests to help polish out the perspectives and ideas to fully memorialize the event.