Some story telling and reflections that a Wolf Spider gave me regarding Resilience and Persistence.

How we've let learned behaviors get transferred into areas of our lives where they don't belong...

Wrapping up a year of sobriety and processing the take-aways that I couldn't have scripted going into the journey.

I'm at no shortage of receiving conversations about what I could, should, or need to being doing; personally & professionally.

Most of the time I'm required to wonder if I'm getting opinion, advice, or counsel.

What I'm finding as a common theme is that the more someone offers answers vs questions, the quality ( for my best interest ) of what they are delivering goes lower and lower.

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.