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Sunlight Through the South Window: Authenticity, Integrity, and a Life Well Lived
Yesterday I attended the funeral of my mother-in-law. As I sat in the pew and listened to the pastor share about her life and influence, I was impressed both by how well he knew her and by who she was. The pastor's descriptions revealed her true character....
Leadership Principles Series | Leading Self With Character: Integrity
This post continues our Leadership Principles Series. If you missed the other posts, take a few minutes to read them. We have discussed courage, authenticity, and emotional intelligence. People look to leaders for examples to follow and lives to emulate. In order to...
Fit for Leadership
I have some new aches and pains today, the result of making good on one of my birthday resolutions. I am finally emerging from the haze of new motherhood, with three births in six years setting me back in my fitness each time. Before having the girls, I had planned to...
Happy Birthday to Me!
With my birthday days away, I am reflecting again on how this next year could be different. I still have more than half my life left to live, if the life expectancy calculator is accurate. Still, with each birthday I feel the anxiety of wondering if I am living up to...
Put On Your Leader Clothes
We all have bad days, and it's usually better to let go, let the memories of them disappear at the day's end. It is always helpful, though, to spend time reflecting on what went wrong so that we can do things differently, better, the next time. Last week, my friend...
Leadership Principles Series | Leading Self With Character: Courage
Courage compels leaders to try new things, move in new directions. Leaders believe in their own ability to shape and direct the future. They project optimism and hope, inspiring others to get involved with their cause, project, or agenda. Courage to consider. Leaders...
Leadership Lessons from Motherhood – Part 2
Yesterday, I asked the question: What is a mom's most important work? And the answer is complex; often behind-the-scenes, moms are helping to shape the lives and character of their children. Their roles as leaders are obvious. These leadership lessons from moms can be...
Leadership Lessons from Motherhood – Part 1
My friend Lisa is the head of a small corporation in a position valued in the 6 figures. She is also a stay at home mom. Salary.com has a new way to figure out the value of a mom's work. Their annual survey details the wages an employer would have to pay to perform...
When You Think You Know It All, You Don’t
In the middle of my junior year of high school, my family moved from West Virginia to Ohio. Due to more stringent driver's education requirements in Ohio, had a choice: enroll in driving school or forfeit my license. Unwilling to part with my new-found freedom, loathe...
I Saw the Sign, and It Opened Up My Eyes
To the man in the midnight blue Impala: Thank you. I drove behind you last Friday for a mile in rush hour traffic. We were hardly moving, so I could see that you were talking with someone in the passenger seat. You were using American Sign Language. I was mesmerized....
Leadership Principles Series | Leading Self with Character: Authenticity
Authenticity is an important character quality for people who want to influence and direct others. Successful leaders display consistency of words and deeds. Authentic leaders are true to their own personalities, honest with themselves and others about who they are,...
Leadership and the Magnetic Draw of Authenticity
Lately I have been thinking about authenticity, especially it relates to leadership. I keep returning to two opposite images from the first weeks of my freshman year in college. I arrived at my all girls' dorm to find most of the women in my corridor had already spent...