Are you up for The Challenge?

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SONY DSC

Happy Friday!

We send our clients and friends a message of inspiration at the end of each week. We love this message so much we wanted to share it with you, too…

Care to join us in one simple challenge this week?

CAN YOU UNPLUG? Unplug from your phone, social media, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Instagram, Pinterest, News Alerts?

We are ready for this challenge and going to stop the technology addiction for a week. Email only during business hours. Let us know if you are “in” on the challenge!

Here’s some inspiration! http://www.becomingminimalist.com/unplug-please/

Women of the Week – Quotes that Inspire!

StarburstOur Women of the Week inspire us…here are a few quotes that inspire them!

Andrea Eckhardt
“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
– Antoine de Saint Exupéry, The Little Prince

Lori Mahood
“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Amy Arthur
“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”
– Eleanor Roosevelt

Jaclyn Peresetsky
“The first step is the hardest-making a commitment to yourself for yourself.”
-Mary Kay Ash

Monday Morning Inspiration!

StarburstHappy Monday! Remember this as you travel through this week…

Be strong when you are weak,
Brave when you are scared,
And humble when you are victorious.

Monday Morning Inspiration!

 

In honor of the group of women coming together at our our September Authentic Leader Retreat….

A comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there.

 

Monday Morning Inspiration!

 

Our Monday Morning Inspiration…

“If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts

 

Creative work life balance strategies for busy mamas

Creative Work Life Balance Strategies for Working Mothers

Creative work life balance strategies for busy mamasYou have permission to work on the weekend.

What? But isn’t that supposed to be family time?

Of course it is. And, it should remain so, for the most part. However, one of the biggest issues working mothers face is finding time for “it all” without without sacrificing quality of work or quality of family time. And that’s tough to do. That’s why sometimes trying different ways of balancing your world might just work better for you.

A recent Entrepreneur Magazine articleoffered some new ideas for “getting it all done.”

The piece featured time management expert, Laura Vanderkam, and her new book, “I Know How She Does It.” Vanderkam talked with more than 1,000 working women to determine some of the most effective ways for staying sane when caught in the crossfire of work and family commitments.

Here are four of the strategies she revealed:

Say Buh-Bye to 9-5
A new term that’s been cropping up recently is the “Split Shift,” which involves taking a break in the work day to pick up kids from school, engage in homework and after school activities, dinner and bedtime. Then, getting back to work after the kids are in bed. Of course, women have been doing this for ages but now there’s a descriptive term for it…and it’s a viable strategy.

Track Your Time
This seems pretty much a no-brainer but not enough women actually do this. It’s eye opening and liberating. Truly. Spend a week (or even a few days) tracking your time, both work and personal, to see where you’re really spending your precious hours. This will give you a great sense of where your time is going and either help you reassess your commitments to create more balance or, believe it or not, it may prove you’re actually balancing things better than you thought!

Reduce Your To Dos
Once you see where you are spending your time, you should have a better understanding of how to budget your time vs. activities. Reducing is a must and everyone should do this, whether you’re a working mother or not. We can’t stress enough (and neither can any time management expert) that eliminating non-essential tasks and commitments and either delegating them or getting rid of them completely will help keep you focused on your most important activities and save more time for coveted family time.

Work on the Weekend
This may seem contrary to creating good balance but knowing you have some specific, dedicated work time during the weekend can help alleviate stress. This is especially true for working mothers with do take time throughout the workday to spend time with family or take care of personal issues. Just make sure to keep this time focused on important activities and when it’s done, it’s done. And then….it’s time for family and fun!

Balance is an ongoing effort. Think of it as a fluid thing that needs to be fine tuned each day as the tides of life ebb and flow. What strategies have you found to help?

Successful Leaders Learn From Setbacks

Ever had one of those days when you feel like everything you do is a failure? A meeting didn’t go well. A project you championed didn’t get the traction you’d hoped. Your kid is  upset because you missed his soccer game.  You had to skip your work out. You stayed late but didn’t seem to get anything done.

It’s frustrating. But, good leaders know that there’s only one way to get through challenging times…..and that is full steam ahead.

Sure, go ahead and wallow for a few minutes. Say a few choice words (to the wall, of course!) Then, get over it. Progress.

Successful leaders learn and progress

9 Elements of Executive Presence

What is Executive Presence?

9 Elements of Executive PresenceAn effective leader has a certain way about her – a way of speaking, a way of carrying herself, a way of making it clear that she’s capable and in charge.

Executive Presence is a term that’s used to describe this demeanor – to define a certain set of characteristics that dynamic leaders often possess. Some attributes are obvious and some aren’t quite so apparent but weave their way through a leaders’ overall manner.

Thoughtful consideration of your own leadership attributes can help you develop the elements that make up executive presence.

Consider whether or not you demonstrate:

Candor: To exhibit honesty, through the willingness and skill to constructively “tell it like it is. “

Clarity: The ability to communicate in an intuitively clear and compelling way.

Poise: The look of sophistication, conveying a background of confidence, education, and experience.

Openness: The prejudging and being willing to consider another person’s point of view.

Passion: The expression of commitment, motivation, and drive that shows people you really believe in what you do.

Self-confidence: The air of assurance that shows others you have the required strength and resolve needed to accomplish the goals at hand.

Sincerity:
The conviction of believing in and meaning what you say.

Thoughtfulness: Thinking through something before responding.

Warmth: Demonstrating that you’re accessible to others and interested in them.

In which areas are you strong? Which areas could use a little work? Practicing these elements in all areas of your life can help you develop a stronger presence and more success as a leader.

What’s Important to You?

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Change is Good…Right?

Shelley Bird Our world is constantly changing and shifting. Sometimes it’s hard to keep up! Some change is well within our control but plenty is not.

When it comes to career change, however, we should be sitting firmly in the drivers’ seat.

According to Cardinal Health executive VP, Shelley Bird, we need to be especially mindful when making big changes that will impact our career, be it taking on another role, moving companies or making a complete career change altogether.

In her Huffington Post article, Check Your Blind Spot When Changing Career Lanes, Shelley reminds us to stay in control when considering a change in career. Her advice? Be deliberate, take your time, do your research and much more. Read her insightful article here.

What do you think? Have you learned some valuable lessons from a career change?