It seems an almost universal experience that at some point in our lives we will need to build a great team. It’s not just those of us who need to run a corporation or a non-profit, it’s also those of us trying to gather together wonderful helpers for a elementary school classroom, or parents looking for amazing people to support their family. When we want to build a team, we are all faced with the opportunity (and the challenge) of…
Fear has a funny place in our culture – it is both sought after and it is abhorred. As a species, we are comfortable with fear on our own terms – like when we watch horror films, ride rollercoasters, or engage in adrenaline-rushing sports. In these instances, it’s quite clear what is causing the fear and, more importantly, what we need to do to manage the fear should we begin to feel overwhelmed by it. We are…
In our last two posts (“Be Thoughtful About Your Message” and “Be Thoughtful About Your Message, Part 2“) we recounted an experience we had with an online, professional group and its leadership. In short, there had been much discussion and an explicit commitment to creating transparency among the leaders and the group. When the originator of the group, Mark, publicly disagreed with the leader, Anton, on how things were going, Anton deleted Mark’s communication and didn’t mention it to the…
Last week (Aligning Your Words and Your Actions) we described our participation in an online, professional group that was started to create a team of experts focused on providing high-quality, responsive programs that were of service to clients while building brand recognition and professional success for the providers. The early stages of the project were done online, in view of the entire group. And then it happened. A post arrived in our mailbox from the originator of the idea,…
We recently participated in an online, professional group created to provide high-quality, responsive programs that are of service to clients while building brand recognition and professional success for the providers. Early in the negotiations of this group, one of the members, Anton, stepped in to help the originator, Mark, lead and guide the project forward. The early stages of the project were conducted online, in view of the entire group. In fact, it was easy to watch and to…
In our combined 30+ years of coaching, one of the observations we have made is that some people tend to be concerned about giving enough to the organization for which they work, and some tend to be concerned about getting enough from the organization for which they work. The phenomenon peaked our curiosity so we looked around to see if this approach continued over time or was specific to one situation or another. Overall, we found that there is…
In our coaching work with executives and managers, we often run into individuals who are uncomfortable with the idea of learning to be more influential because they equate influence with manipulation. Influencing others requires building a shared vision for the future (that future may be three years out, or it may be how to handle a personnel crisis today). When you build a shared vision, each person shares in the excitement about the future because they each stand to benefit…
“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” -Professor Albus Dumbledore (Okay we admit it, we are Harry Potter fans and for good reason, namely, there are quotes like this one.) This quote highlights what we have found to be true in our combined 30+ years of working with people, that every choice you make defines or re-defines who you are more than anything else you do. If you take…
We hear a great deal about the frustration our clients face as they deal with the demands in their lives. In many cases, we can see (because we have some distance) that the frustration is more a result of not having the right tools to responds to life’s demands rather than the demand itself. For almost every challenge we are confronted with, there are tools (some physical, many not) that would make the challenge easier and increase the likelihood of…
We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders, teams, and individuals who are passionate about growing in their leadership and in their ability to create cultures of psychological safety and engagement.
Carpenter Smith Consulting is a Women Business Enterprise, Oregon Cert ID 7047.
