Let's talk about making the best of where you are.

In fact, this episode was inspired by sand crabs. Yep - these little critters seem to dance along the sand as they scurry from one hole to the next. With as much fervor as they can muster, they kick sand out of the way to create new holes and when you look for them, it seems like all you can see are their eyes.

And that's if you paid attention to them.

What I've noticed about sand crabs is that they do not seem phased by the sand mounds they have to climb or if they have to wait in an existing hole for a seagull to pass.

They went with the flow and made the most of where they were.

They reminded me how important waiting is.

How important patience is.

Sometimes waiting where we are may be exactly where we need to be. That can be so frustrating when we don't like where we are or how things are going, but we need more information to make a decision. Or the timing may be off.

The duration and reason for waiting can affect our...

Recently Mark and I watched The Greatest Showman, and I was moved by one of the key songs - "This is Me".

It reminded me of you and stepping up as leaders, so I wanted to drop in and share what came to me.

• Focus on your vision, even when the naysayers kick in
• There's always a way, when it's important to you to make it happen
• Leverage your team's individual strengths to bring out the best in them, which brings out the best in everyone
• Be willing to get out of the way and put your team members first, so that everyone succeeds
• Remove barriers so that the vision comes to life versus staying focused on only path to get there
• Don't lose sight of the people who mean the most to you, who have had your back from the beginning and when you doubted yourself
• Let people know how much they matter to you, and they will go the extra mile for you
• When you have your idea, you have to get visible and be willing to stand out from the crowd in order to be seen
• You have to be willing to go out on a...

As you lead your business or organization, it can get noisy and overwhelm can start to creep in.

Lots of information come in from different sources, and you must decipher which ones require your attention to move your vision forward.

Sometimes it can feel like there’s so much happening.

So much information you’re receiving that it’s hard to hear that still small voice inside that’s ultimately guiding you.

Sometimes the information is more noise and not helpful or necessary.

Other times, it’s needed for your business to succeed, but even in those cases, too much data can cause overwhelm.

This doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself or at that very moment, but it does mean that you must decide if it’s important to do or not do and take action accordingly.

So how do you ignore the noise and focus on what matters?

Simply stop, get quiet and get back to basics.

By stopping and taking a moment to calm your mind and block out all the...

 You’ve brainstormed and dreamed about new goals and new opportunities you want to achieve.

You’ve written them down and created a plan that you can’t wait to start.

Then slowly but surely, life starts to get in the way.

The actions you mapped out on your plan seem to be getting pushed out versus getting done. The momentum you had for making your goals happen has dwindled. Your schedule that was once one of your favorite tools has become a reminder that you are not doing everything you set out to do.

So what do you do?

It can be easy to beat ourselves up for what we haven’t gotten done or getting off track, but that won’t help. It will only add to the frustration, not make it better.

Instead, consider these seven tips to get back on track:

1. Take some time to regroup and assess where you are
2. Recognize what was done. Remember - you did accomplish some things, even if they weren’t all of the items you initially thought were going to happen.
3. ...

This idea was inspired by a recognition approach from one of the organizations I was in back in the corporate world. We awarded baby playdough - you know the little ones you find in a party pack - to individuals who suggested creative, out of the box ideas to move our overall big picture vision forward. It didn't matter if the idea was implemented as much as it was rewarding the creativity and courage for sharing something different. We wanted to achieve something different and we knew the "same old, same old" type of thinking wouldn't help.

It's like Einstein said, "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

In addition to shaping and sharing new ideas and thinking out of the box, I saw the playdough with a couple of other reminders. One was to detach from the outcome and be willing to start over when needed. Sometimes we can get so attached to an idea or thing that we can't let it go in order to make room for something better. Maybe that...

 I had a college professor who explained during a lecture that there wasn't just one way to get somewhere. He said there was "the" way like there were many paths you could take to reach your vision or end goal and there was "thuh" way - meaning that there was only one way that would work and all the others were subpar or would even fail to achieve the desired goal.

And as I reflected on that lecture, I realized that this could apply to many things. For instance, in math there are a few ways to get to 10. Such as 5+5, 2+8, and 1+9.

And in business, there's no right way to achieve a vision or goal.

We would all love the direct route, but what typically happens is the curvy, zig-zag path.

You might have one way that you think it ought to be handled, but if you're working with a team and not fully leveraging what they are individually and collectively bringing to the table, then the vision will not be as full and impactful as it could be. By allowing your team the opportunity to...

It’s another day at the office, and it seems like everything that can go wrong has, and you are frustrated. Maybe it seems as though each time you complete an item on your action list, three new items are added. Or perhaps you can see delays in schedule or cost over runs and no sign of improvement. Or perhaps you are short-staffed and do not have a new employee starting anytime soon to help with the workload.

I know I’ve had each of these situations happen before, and I definitely felt frustrated and overwhelmed. It can be easy to let the things that aren’t going well to be all that we see. And when we focus on those frustrations, we tend to see even more of them.

Soon enough, it feels like a continual spiral of overwhelm and frustrations that can be challenging to stop. When that happens, how do you go about changing your perspective?

The answer is easy, but it takes effort and practice.

When you look for the positive, you will start to feel a shift. Not only...

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...

When you think of point of view or POV as it relates to a book, it’s the perspective of the character and how the story is told. Are you coming from the main character’s vantage point or more of an observer and not knowing what’s happening with their inner thoughts?

Same can be said for leadership and driving your overall vision forward.

Just take a moment and think about where you are in your organization or business….. are you in the weeds? Are you really heavily in the details? Or are you at the 10,000 or 100,000 foot view?

Changing your point of view can help you see progress from a different perspective.

It can help you determine what changes are needed.

Each vantage point gives you a different perspective, and each one helps you to change your point of view.

When you run into a challenge, do you typically view them as a problem or opportunities to do something different?

Sometimes shifting your point of view makes it easier or even quicker to find a...

 There are so many ways we receive and send information.

Sometimes it can feel like information overload.

Like we talk “at” each other, not with.

I think we’re all guilty of that at times.

Like being on the phone, but still scrolling through the computer while you’re in the conversation.

Or allowing texts and calls that really aren’t important to interrupt a face-to-face conversation – virtual or in-person.

Or saying something without realizing that it could be received completely wrong and not because of what we said, but how we said it.

Each time distractions like that happen, they are communicating a message to the recipient. They are apparent to the other person and convey that you don’t care, no matter how much you really do.

Take a minute and think about how you’ve felt when that’s happened to you?

I know I don’t like it, and I’m guessing you don’t either.

This skill - communication - is so important...