Growth Collaborations LLC

How are you stepping up for your team? Let's talk about how individual coaching or team workshop facilitation can up your leadership game.

When going into a difficult or important conversation, first, check in with yourself. Are you already stressed because of a long commute? Might not be the best time to have that conversation. Perhaps you are relaxed and open going into that meeting with a customer but something they say triggers something in you. Are you aware of that change in your own emotional state? Being aware of what is happening within us is the first step to choosing our response and showing up more effectively. Try #coaching.

"Happy to be here." (Read the article for more... 😉 )

Planning your year-end workshops and looking for a facilitator? Here are a few I've recently led that can be customized to your needs. ▶ Strategy refresh and goal setting. For any leadership team. Review your year to date results, update your SWOT analysis, brainstorm and prioritize goals, plan the communication rollout. ▶ New leader assimilation. For leaders in new roles. Accelerate the getting to know each other phase. ▶ Giving and receiving feedback. For any team at any time, but especially at year-end performance review time. ▶ Enneagram exploration. For any team looking to increase performance by getting to know themselves and each other better. I have a few openings in early September, late October, and November and December. Contact me now to hold your date.

Happy Monday everyone!

What is it about decision making that can freeze us in our tracks? At first, it sounds great and we think "wow, my boss must have a lot of confidence and trust in me." Then, our inner voice starts to nag at us... "Are you sure you are smart enough? Maybe you need to get others' opinions. You don't know what you're doing." If you've ever heard those inner voices, you're familiar with the #innercritic. The inner critic shows up in all areas of our lives and throughout our career. It can be especially loud - and potentially damaging - as we take on our first leadership role. If we believe the inner critic, we risk being slow to make decisions and take action. In a culture that values action this can be career-limiting. What's your relationship with decision making?

“If it’s right, you’ll know.” What does it mean to know something? How do we know we are making the right or best or good decision? I’ve had a couple of clients express their coaching goal as something like “I want to be confident that I’m making the right (career) choice.” As we get deeper, it’s clear that the root of the dilemma is different for each individual. Some clients are afraid to make a mistake. Some are worried how their decision will affect other people’s perception of them. And others are looking for certainty. Not able to trust their intuition, they seek data and facts or get others’ opinions. Through somatic coaching, we tap into the intelligence of the whole body – the gut, the heart, and the head – to work through our dilemmas. We slow down, way down, to listen, to feel, and to understand. That’s how we conquer fear and find our inner faith that whatever we choose, we can choose to make the best of it.

Are you an effective communicator? I recently facilitated a workshop with a virtual team looking to improve communication within their team. We opened with this exercise and a discussion about what it means to "communicate." 🔎 It's not only what you say but how you say it. Verbals and non-verbals matter. 🔎 When in doubt, ask clarifying questions. 🔎 Know when to use which medium - email, live, etc. 🔎Your internal mood and emotions impact how you convey and receive information. For important topics, be fully present and engaged. Please share your tips in the comments section. 👇

I recently had the privilege of participating in #WomensLeadershipCircles with Ipek Serifsoy, PhD and an amazing cohort of women from across the country. One of our outcomes was to create a personal leadership vision and this is what I created for myself. * One on one coaching to achieve your leadership goals * Customized team facilitation to open doors for communication, collaboration, and high performance info@growthcollaborations.com

When I'm working with groups, I often get asked how to bridge generational divides. My answer is always that the individual is more important than their generation. Yes, there are some common stereotypes but no one is only one thing. I coach individuals to understand themselves - and then to understand others. We are all shaped by our genetics and lived experiences. We are unique AND share common beliefs and behaviors with others. A good leader sees those differences and commonalities, asks for and listens to feedback. A good leader understands that they can learn from everyone - regardless of the year of their birth. When was the last time you took the time to connect with someone of a different generation? What did you learn?