Stellar Coaching and Consulting

Leader? Follower? Can You Be Both?

I woke up this morning with a question in my mind: what’s the difference between a leader and a follower? Which quickly led to another question: can you be both a leader and a follower? For me, this blog provides a place for me to explore a bit and so, I’m going to see if [...]

Why Are You Holding On?

I’m back to work after a week’s worth of vacation. I didn’t go anywhere particularly special. I guess the new-fangled term for my particular type of vacation is actually “stay-cation” — I enjoyed a week around the house with my husband, just puttering around, tending to necessary household tasks that have been on the back-burner, [...]

It’s Time to Stop Dragging Your Heels

One of the things that I find myself facing from time-to-time, is the challenge of dealing with people who seem to be dragging their feet. You know the type. They say they want something, but they don’t seem to be willing to do a whole lot about it. In the context of the work I [...]

The Wrapping’s Not Very Pretty, But…

…it’s definitely a gift. That’s what I’ve gleaned out of some of today’s experiences. For example: I had a meeting scheduled for this morning, and I was really looking forward to the productive brainstorming that I was envisioning happening. Unfortunately, my colleague and I ended up at two different meeting places due to a misunderstanding [...]

Turning the Focus Outward

A couple of years ago, one of my mentors told me and a group of fellow leaders, “whenever you’re feeling stuck, turn your attention outward and create from what’s out there.” This statement has stayed with me, obviously. Today, it seems to be making itself heard yet again. I’m not sure why. I’m not feeling [...]

Recognizing Milestones

Sometimes, you can be pushing so hard towards a goal that it takes you a moment to realize when you’ve reached it. My sense is that this is particularly true when the goal in question is more of a stop along the road, rather than the final destination. I almost had such an experience just [...]

When The Fatigue Sets In (And It Will)

I know you know the feeling. You’re bopping along, going about your business, sometimes for days or weeks on end, relatively uneventfully, accomplishing things, meeting with people, basically getting things done. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, you get jolted by the realization that you are tired. Not just “oh-I-could-use-a-nap” tired, but really, “I-could-crawl-into-a-cave-and-hibernate” [...]

Compassion Serves

One of the things that I firmly believe, is that it is important to infuse your daily actions and conversations with compassion. Without getting all definitive about it, for me, compassion is about being able to see a bigger picture, being able to let go of making someone wrong and making yourself right, and really, [...]

Laser-Focus + Soft-Focus = Mission Accomplished

I’m sitting here at the start of my first official summer work-week. In many ways, it’s no different from any other work-week — client calls, meetings, writing, speaking, networking — these are the things in my calendar. There’s an energetic difference, however; a difference that arises from the fact that my entire family is home [...]

5 Steps to Dealing with Blind Spots

Yes, it’s true. Even leaders have blind spots. One of the things I’m discovering is that these blind spots are often self-induced. Why? Because it can be oh-so-easy to buy into the myth that, as a leader, you must somehow know it all. Which means you can walk around with the idea that there’s nothing [...]