Let me start by saying that I think it’s absolutely amazing how we are all uniquely and wonderfully made. That there's only one of you, one of me. Yet how many times have you felt unsure about yourself and letting yourself be seen for who you are?

Getting visible?

Putting yourself out there?

Let yourself be seen and heard?

As the incredibly talented leader you are, being yourself and daring to be different is exactly what’s needed to lead your best life and to lead in your organization or business.

When you are being true to yourself, leveraging your strengths, following your vision and speaking authentically – you are creating your brand and your tribe will resonate with that and want to be in your world. That’s how you differentiate yourself from another business.

And if you're in the corporate world, you are still creating your personal brand and that is what will enable you to be part of and lead high-visibility projects. And that will also extend to...

I’m a big fan of quotes and one from Fred Rogers, otherwise known as Mr. Rogers, comes to mind when I think of employee engagement:

“Whether we’re a preschooler or a young teen, a graduating college senior or a retired person, we human beings all want to know that we’re acceptable, that our being alive somehow makes a difference in the lives of others.”

Let’s take a few minutes and really let these words sink in.

It really doesn’t matter who we are, what we’ve accomplished, or what we have yet to do.

What matters is that we want to add value. And to take it a step further, we want to know that we have added value.

Now, adding value can look different for each one of us. It could be as simple as lending a helping hand or listening to a friend who needs a sounding board. It could be working with an important client and winning new business for your company or properly diagnosing an illness to enable someone to start feeling better.

So...

If your mindset is aligned with making your team a priority and taking care of your people, then your actions will follow suit.

Your team will feel the difference and start engaging in a more meaningful way with you, each other, and those outside of your organization.

This mindset shift will set a new level of excellence for you.

When your actions and language are congruent with this new mindset, your team will rise to the level you set and they will start doing more because they will feel appreciated.

What's one small change you can start today AND that you'd be willing to do everyday going forward to be more congruent with your actions and language that shows your peeps that you genuinely care about them? 

Your thoughts and language reflect how confident you feel and are perceived by others. The more your thoughts are of a “can do” attitude, the words you use for self-talk as well as shared with others will reflect this way of thinking. As the affirming thoughts and words keep playing on your mental loop, you will exude confidence.

To bring this full circle, let’s say you were asked to give a presentation to a large group. And let's say that it's either your first one for this magnitude or public speaking is something you've yet to become more confident in doing.

What would your first thought be? What would you initially feel? And what would you tell yourself?

So, let’s say that you felt unsure of yourself and really didn’t want to do it, how might you shift this feeling and thought so that you felt more confidence delivering the presentation? Instead of allowing the negative thoughts and feelings replay over and over in your mind, try telling...

Let’s approach this by continuing with the example about you being asked to give a presentation to a large group. It's a big speaking opportunity and your first one like this to do as a speaker.

What would you tell yourself?

Would you say words of encouragement or words of defeat?

What you tell yourself, about yourself, really matters. Your mind believes what you tell it, especially when you are speaking about yourself. You know that inner critic that sometimes creeps up? The critic started from a thought and the words that followed amplified that thought. On the other side, when you think you will do well at something, have you noticed that the words that follow are supportive and encouraging?

Once those words get started, they can also create their own replay, sometimes at a moment’s notice. They can raise your spirits, even if you are nervous, or they can perpetuate a frustrating situation to seem worse than it is. Then once this loop starts, it feeds your thoughts.

Let’s approach this by using an example about you being asked to give a presentation to a large group. It's a big speaking opportunity and your first one like this as a speaker.

With that in mind, what would your first thought be and what would you initially feel? Would you think that it’s a great opportunity and feel excited, even if you were a little nervous?

Or would you question why you were asked, especially if you don’t think you are good at public speaking? Would you feel unsure of yourself and worry about the speech and how it would go until it was over?

When an idea comes into our minds, we start to spend time considering that idea. We may spend a few seconds, a few hours, a few days or even longer with that idea.

That idea is the thought and how we feel about that idea shapes it into a positive or negative thought.

Although the thoughts and feelings stemmed from one idea – a neutral idea - of presenting to a large group, the feelings help to create...

As an engaged leader, you know how important conveying confidence is.

It’s the key ingredient that enables your team or clients to buy into your vision or business - because they buy into YOU.

It conveys a strength, even if you don’t know all of the steps.

It conveys courage to take risks that are appropriate for growth, and even if the risks don’t pan out like you hoped, that doesn’t stop you from taking another one.

It conveys an ability to make and execute decisions and communicate the answer with grace and strength, even if “no” or “not now” are the answers.

Yet, if you aren’t really confident in yourself or your abilities, it will be difficult to be the confident leader you’re MEANT to be.

So when you think about having confidence, what does that look like to you?

• How do you stand?
• How are you carrying yourself?
• What kind of expressions are on your face?
• What words are you using?
• What kind of tone or inflection are...

Self-care is a vital part of being a successful leader because in order for you to give your best to your business, organization, or team, you have to take care of yourself.

As a leader, it's so important to refill your own cup, yet it can be one of the last things we remember to do.

There are many ways to make yourself a priority, but one easy way take care of yourself is to experience things that bring you joy.

When you get that warmth inside or a feeling that you could do something for hours and it feels like a few minutes, your enthusiasm comes through. Your joy shines through!

So instead of a life bucket list, what’s on your joylist?

What are things that bring you joy on a daily basis?

Things that make you smile.

That light you up.

Do you take time to enjoy them?

For me, getting extra cuddles from my kitties and spending quality time with my hubby are at the top. Tasting a great piece of chocolate, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin, spending time at the...

As you lead your organization or business, time becomes a resource that you might feel you don’t ever really have enough of.

There’s always something that needs to be done. Something that requires your attention for the vision to move forward.

Just as some tasks or projects are completed, new ones are added to the list. It can be all too easy to not take a break because it feels like there’s much more to do. And even when you are passionate about what you do, you can still reach a point where taking time out for you would serve you more than continuing to tackle your growing to do list.

When those points come, do you take the break, leave the office or computer and really let your mind rest or is your mind still at work?

What if I told you that the break would do you more good?

What if I said that taking care of yourself needs to be on your priority list and not only when you are reach that breaking point?

It might seem selfish when there’s so much to do and...

So today is a little reminder that when you stop listening to the outside noise and start listening to yourself, you will start showing up as the leader YOU are meant to be. It doesn't mean frustrating things won't happen - it just means that those things won't keep you down. You'll trust that untapped potential you know that's inside you and be wiling to leverage it more and more. You'll be willing to also do that with each of your team members and let them shine in their own way.