Kelley Sanabria’s Post

“The threats the United States faces are the most serious and most challenging the nation has encountered since 1945 and include the potential for near-term major war.” This is the first sentence of the report released this summer by the bipartisan Commission on the National Defense Strategy. I’ll link the New York Times’ take on the report below. Interestingly, the report also points out that America is less secure because of our divisiveness, stating, “many Americans are angry at one another rather than paying attention to external threats.” Divisiveness often comes from clinging to our values and “othering” those who believe differently than we do. This leads to polarization and either/or, for or against thinking. 👏But. 👏There. 👏Is. 👏A. 👏Better. 👏Way. Instead of either/or, let’s try Both/And thinking. Both/And thinking harnesses the tensions inherent in polarities and allows us to use them as a force for good, an impetus for creativity and problem solving. It helps us hear and acknowledge each other, and creates a bridge for unification. Both/And thinking has the power to unify our families, communities, our country, and the world. I’m including my two-pager on polarities below so you can read more, and there’s a QR code on the two-pager you can use to book a call with me. I’d love to learn how you think polarity thinking applies and bring polarity thinking to your organization or team.

What hidden treasures are waiting to be discovered on your team? Who might have some untapped potential? Who, when you think of them, feels like a bit of a question mark? ➡ Crystal Grottoes Caverns is the most naturally kept cave in the world. It has more formations per square foot than any cave known to man. And while this hidden treasure is just an hour from my house, I learned about it just last week! It made me wonder: what other hidden treasures are right near me, right under my nose? What untapped connections and hidden potential are waiting for us to find on our teams? This week, it might be worth your time to do some excavating as a leader. ➡ What connections might you make with that mystery team member? ➡ What relationships might flourish? ➡ Who might surprise you when given a stretch task? ➡ Who might wow you with their growth when offered leadership coaching? ⭐ What commitment might you make to explore your team this week? #leadership #leadershipcoaching #caves

What made you happiest this summer? ☀ For me, a highlight every year is our pool’s annual belly flop competition, a Labor Day Tradition that brings me absolute JOY to witness. 🇺🇸 There were lots of dads, hyping up the crowd as they walked the diving board before giving it their best shot - a successful competitor marked by the sound of their body slapping the water and red skin when they exited the pool. 🏊♂️ The whole day was beautiful. The air was warm, but not too hot. ☀ My kids were happy and smiling. 😀 I felt the grass under my feet and the sun warming my skin. 🌱 And this year was marked with something new: a few of our tiniest swimmers decided to join, and when they did, the crowd of onlookers went absolutely nuts for them, encouraging them and egging them on as they made their bellyflop debuts. The big kids started asking their names and chanting each kid’s name as they jumped. 👦 👧 There was something really sweet and special about that show of support between big kids and little kids… 🤗 👆 This is savoring. Turns out, homing in on the details and physical sensations of positive experiences helps you amplify and re-experience it, “growing the glow of positive emotions,” as Dr. Lucas LaFreniere shared with the New York Times. ✨ This strengthens our positive memories and increases our motivation to create more positive experiences, which counteracts our brains’ tendency to focus on the negative and ultimately creates more happiness. 😃 Will you take a few moments and savor with me today? 🌺 What is one of your happiest memories from this summer? ☀ #happiness #mindset #leadership #leadershipcoaching #savoringsummer #executivecoaching

Thank you so much for the kind words, Nafisa Jiddawi! 💗 ✨I am so inspired by your dedication to supporting women and children through WAJAMAMA Family & Women's Health and WAJAMAMA Community Health, and I admire your resilience when the experience is tough. Improving the lives of women and girls is important to me because I believe women having an equal place in the world will advance peace and security for us all. 💡 Thank you Sarah Webb for connecting us and for the work you do in this space as well! 💞 If you're interested in exploring how coaching will benefit you and your work, please reach out. I'd love to chat. 🦋

Did you know 1 in 5 girls* in the United States misses school due to her period?🩸 And 1 in 4 girls misses school due to her period globally?🩸 That’s why I am a strong advocate for menstrual health and access to care. Because more girls in school = more opportunity for girls and women. 👧 (Also, it’s just fair 🙃) More opportunity for girls = more women in positions of power globally. 🙋🏻♀️ More women in power globally = more peace.✌️ Studies show that peace agreements with strong female participation are more likely to last, and countries with greater gender equality are less likely to have violent conflict. ☮️ That’s why it’s an honor to coach leaders like Amaia Arranz who are making a difference for girls globally. 🌎 As the CEO of Ruby Cup, Amaia’s impact in the space is huge. With Ruby Cup’s one-for-one model, they donated nearly 140,000 menstrual cups in 2012-2021.🩸 Thank you so much for the kind words about our work together, Amaia! And thank you for everything you do for Ruby Cup and the girls of the world. You are an incredible leader! 💞 💪Coaching is powerful. If you’re interested in learning how I can support your team’s leaders, let’s chat! *A note about language: I have chosen to use the word girls in this post as it relates to current global norms around gender and access, but I generally prefer the term menstruators to include anyone who bleeds but is gender non-conforming, such as my trans and non-binary friends. If that’s you, I see you, and you are loved. 💞🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️ #leadership #leadershipcoach #menstrualhealth #menstrualcups #executivecoach #executivecoaching #leadershipcoaching #menstruation #periods

😫I felt embarrassed, triggered, and frustrated as I read a Teams message recently. As I typed and erased different responses, something happened that changed the course of how I responded, which massively improved the situation: ✨ My curiosity emerged. My mind began to shift from closed to open… 🧐 …and I began to wonder what information my colleague was using. What was in their operating system? I reached out with a curious mindset and got new data that cleared everything up. It felt like a miracle… I first learned about the curious mindset through Shonna Waters, PhD and Brodie Riordan, PhD, PCC's book The Coaching Shift. In the book, they share their “CON artist” model - where being Curious, Open-minded, and Non-judgmental come together to create a coaching mindset with the power to change you, your interactions, and the world around you. 💪 And I’m working to bring curiosity to every interaction. ➿ But I’m a work in progress. The other day I snapped at my son when I asked why he was doing something. (He, by the way, is beautifully, relentlessly curious, as pictured below). 👩👦 And it turns out his behavior was actually coming from a really sweet, caring place. I would have felt like a better mom if I had chosen curiosity. 💫 Curiosity always wins. 💫 👉 As leaders, it’s important to be present and self-aware so we can notice when we're frustrated, closed, or judgmental. 1️⃣ It’s our first step to responding instead of reacting. 💡 And then it’s about giving ourselves the time and space to allow curiosity to emerge. 👂 How do you use curiosity in your life? Will you share a success or failure in the comments? #leadership #leadershipcoaching #executivecoaching #curiosity

At Georgetown we don’t just call ourselves coaches, we call ourselves GREAT coaches. And in a Georgetown tradition, we wrote this declaration in big juicy letters in our notebooks one day. So what is a great coach? Since the industry is unregulated, anyone can call themselves a coach. What sets great coaches apart from the rest? A great coach: -creates a safe, trusting, open space for you. 🫶 -remains curious, open, and non-judgmental, careful not to overlay our values and opinions onto what’s true for you. ✌️ -listens not just to your words, but your pace, tone, body language, energy. We’re listening for what’s beneath the surface: your values, your spirit, and things that may be subconscious for you. 👂 -challenges you. We offer observations about your way of being in the world, while not being attached to being right.🪞 What would you add to the list? What do you think makes a great coach?

Meet the 79th Cohort of the @Georgetown Executive Leadership Coaching Program! 🎉 We laughed together, cried together, grew together, and became GREAT COACHES together. The depth and beauty of our unique cohort experience was the most unexpected beautiful surprise. I will treasure my time with the Divine 79 for the rest of my life. 🦋 A huge thanks to our outstanding Co-Directors, Dr. Barrhonda White, MCC. and Emma Kiendl PCC, who modeled presence and held us with grace, levity, and confidence when we needed it most. 👯♀️ We also had the privilege of learning from world class coaches and instructors Shelly Heath-Watson, MCC, Megan Staczek, Eric de Nijs, Enrique J. Zaldivar, Bill Pullen, Kimberley Lewis Parsons, Amanda Zinke, MBA, MSOD, PCC, Jessica Srikantia Field, Ph.D., and Tatia Granger, PhD, PCC. 👨🏫 👩🏫 And one of the most special parts of the program was our small Learning Circles, where I was lucky enough to learn from our extraordinary Learning Circle Advisor Jean Wright. 💗 Shout out to Dr. Dhru B.., Jacques Domenge, PCC, MS Organization Development, Shana Hall, ICF-PCC, PMP and Libby Graves, MBA, MCC, Executive Coach for contributing to panel discussions, and to Dr. Dhru for his excellent business coaching. ✨ A special thank you to Shonna Waters, PhD for showing me the power of leadership coaching and to Lisa McLaughlin for the initial connection to Shonna all those years ago. 😊 I want to acknowledge Patrick Pallatto Jr. for inspiring this post and letting me borrow his framework. 💡 And to my forever friends, the Divine 79, I love you and can't wait to see where we go from here! 💫 Al Davis, CPP, Amy Black, Anahlisia Briscoe, April Vogel, Dr. Birgit Rauchbauer, Bobbi Doorenbos, Brig Gen (ret), Brenda Carr, Clotilde Matuschek Brun, Crystal Epting, Dale Jones, Ph.D., David Downing, Felipe Britto, Kelly Ward Burton, Kelly Plunkett, Kelly Reine, Kianna Boatswain, MBA, Kyle Crosner, Marc Berg, Margo Street, Meg McNeill, Monique Baskin, Nicole Didda, Paul Boesen, Peter Glynn, Brad Pierce, Rich Wilson, Shoshi Kalderon, Tanya St. Julien (TSJ), and Dr. Yossi Kastan. #LeadershipCoaching #ExecutiveCoaching #Leadership #ProfessionalDevelopment #GeorgetownUniversity #C79 #Divine79 #ITL #GreatCoaches Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies

What makes a team a team? Teams start as individuals who work together. And when we decide to be a team, we’re creating a new space, a separate entity. Enrique J. Zaldivar shared this during my leadership coaching class at Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies’ Institute for Transformational Leadership last week, and it got me thinking, “what’s the essence of our team at work?” (The people you see in this photo). I think it’s: kindness reliability hard work excellence accountability servant leadership showing up for one another honoring each other’s needs giving each other the benefit of the doubt giving (and being open to receiving) feedback What values drive your teams? What kind of space has your team created?

I got my PMP! I'll admit it: I went into the PMP to check a box. ✅ 😱 But along the way I learned a ton that I am so excited to bring to my work going forward. Top picks: -servant leadership 👯 -burn down charts 📉 -keeping *everything* people first 👌 A huge thank you to Scott Payne for his incredible teaching energy at PM Master Prep (and for creating a course this busy mom could consume entirely asynchronously), and to Martin Kobylarczyk, Jennifer Chaggaris (Erschen), and Jenny Stone at Partner Forces for their encouragement and support!