Monday Morning Business Coach, Author at Carpenter Smith Consulting, LLC

Enable Action

April 30, 2018

A few weeks ago, we began a series on how to ACT with POWER. Within our ACT with POWER framework, there are 5 critical actions that powerful leaders must do to move forward on important issues and initiatives. Last week we looked at creating a shared vision with the W of the acronym POWER which stands for We-Focused Goal Setting and today we’re covering the E which stands for Enabling Action. It’s interesting to think about the word “leader” because at its base is the word “lead,” which is…

Create a Shared Vision

April 23, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

Two weeks ago, we began a 5-week series on how to ACT with POWER, the third step in the Leader in You framework (download our overview of this framework here). Within our ACT with POWER framework, there are 5 critical actions that powerful leaders must do to move forward on important issues and initiatives. The first week, we focused on the P of the acronym POWER – which stands for Possibility Mindset. What we’ve seen over and over again…

Overcome Obstacles with Ownership and Transparency

April 16, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

Last week we began a 5-week series on how to ACT with POWER, the third step in the Leader in You Framework (download our overview of this framework here). Within our ACT with POWER framework, there are 5 critical actions that powerful leaders must do to move forward on important issues and initiatives. In last week’s post, we focused on how to overcome your obstacles with the P of the acronym POWER – which stands for Possibility Mindset. What we’ve…

Overcome Your Obstacles

April 9, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

We’ve had several conversations recently with both clients and friends who were feeling stuck because a situation that was supposed to go one way, had taken a turn and was going another way. They had run into an obstacle. To support them on their journey, we shared with them the three steps of leadership (from our Leader in You framework), specifically ACT with POWER. As you may recall, the first step is to PAUSE and ask yourself if what you’re about…

Is Your Boss a Bookcase?

April 2, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

A NOTE FROM LINDA: I’m writing today to share with you a way to understand people that can help you, even under the most trying circumstances, maintain your perspective and choose your responses. It’s an unusual post as it’s based on a way of thinking that helped me navigate my divorce with more wisdom (or at least with less crazy!). When I was going through my divorce, I made a commitment to myself to do it ‘well.’ We had young…

Conquer Meeting Madness

March 26, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

We’re hearing again that people are struggling to get their work done because all of their time is spent in “useless” meetings…or Meeting Madness as we call it! Meetings are supposed to be a means to success. Sadly though, they’ve become a time-suck that actually prevent people from making headway on their list of things to do. But meetings can’t be all bad, can they? When done properly, they’re important and can do a lot to facilitate discussion, share information,…

Your Role As The Conductor

March 19, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

Recently, an executive we work with was describing that he was struggling to get out of the weeds of the day-to-day. He knew that he needed to be more strategic in his thinking and actions, but instead found himself pulled into doing the work that his team was assigned to do. To succeed in his job, he needed to support others to do the work that needed to be done while he created the vision, strategy, and relationships to…

5 Steps To Decision Making

March 23, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

Last week we talked about how a handful of 2-second hesitations can lead to Failing to Make a Decision. Today, we want to share with you 5 important steps to increasing your ability to make decisions (even when it’s hard). 5 Steps to Decision Making Pause and ask yourself, “Is what I’m about to do in alignment with my goals?” It’s important that you actually know what your goals are. Consider what you are trying to achieve. Explore “What’s the…

Failing to Make a Decision

March 5, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

Linda was recently reading an article in The New York Times Magazine by Jami Attenberg (February 4, 2018) about healthcare decisions. In it, Attenberg said something that seemed powerfully true not only for our healthcare decisions but for all our decisions! This is what she said: “. . .[every time I needed to make a decision] I hesitated, and a handful of hesitations that take only a second added up to years of failing to make a decision.” This struck us as one…

The Skills That Make You a Great Leader

February 26, 2018

Monday Morning Business Coach

If you’ve been part of our community for a while, you know that our Work, with a capital W, is helping individuals, teams, and organizations succeed through increasing the leadership of each and every person, regardless of role or title. As coaches and consultants, we work at the intersection of psychology and business and we know, from 30 years of experience, that the ability to lead requires that you: Pause and manage your reactivity so you can respond powerfully…