In a recent conversation with a funny and smart executive, he said to us, “I know that I need to get some perspective on this issue, but I haven’t got a clue how to go about it!” We are always quite impressed when leaders in major positions can talk with us about their struggles with leadership. It’s hard for people in positions of authority to acknowledge that at times they have no idea what to do next. Many have read…
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” — Mark Twain Over the past several years, there has been a shift from people retiring from work at 62, to people stepping into their next careers in their 60s, 70s, and even their 80s. While many people are choosing a new career at this age in life, we know that some people must work to…
“Anticipating problems and figuring out how to solve them is actually the opposite of worrying: it’s productive.” — Chris Hadfield, An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth We love this quote and the distinction it makes between problem solving and worrying, and they are very different. Worrying is defined at Dictionary.com as: “to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts; to fret.” We have all been there, feeling truly tormented by disturbing thoughts about our life, our…
We were in a meeting recently with a client who was describing how she had lost herself. In an effort to please her boss and succeed with her team, she had started to do what she believed they valued, would make her likable, and would move her forward. She was totally out of touch with what she thought about her department, what she believed needed to happen to succeed, how she would be most effective, and what she needed from…
In our experience, curiosity is one of the best ways to “tune into” yourself, your energy, your dreams, and your gifts. When you are curious about yourself and your world: You are able to get more real information and data that helps you make informed decisions about your future. You open to exploring areas that you haven’t thought of, but may find intriguing. You take in information with an open mind without making assumptions or pre-judgments on why something is…
We had one of the funniest conversations we have ever had this week. We were in a meeting with a talented and powerful leader, Sharon, talking about moving forward on some challenging initiatives. In that discussion, we talked about the fact that during challenging times it’s important to stay connected with your colleagues so that things are not misinterpreted, especially since things are moving fast. In the middle of the conversation Sharon said, “Oh yeah, I really have to do…
Have you ever had the feeling that you cannot do one more thing, think one more thought, or respond to one more request?
We recently had an interaction with a client that was an important (and shocking) reminder of how different we are from one another. One of the things that we know is that humans have a tendency to believe that others are just like us; they want what we want, feel what we feel, and see what we see. This is often most obvious in a primary relationship. Most of us show people we love that we love them in the…
In the past few weeks, we have had several conversations with both clients and with friends who were feeling down because something that they had hoped would go one way had gone quite a different way, and now they were “stuck.” To support them on their journey, we shared with them one of the pillars of leadership (from our Leader in You framework): A leader sees the possibilities inherent in obstacles and challenges The key word here is inherent. It…
We are always reminding our clients that stepping into your power and claiming the leader in you requires taking good care of yourself—psychologically, emotionally, intellectually, relationally, and physically. As we enter into the prime vacation months, we encourage you to think about how you can make the most of your vacation. Over the years, many of our clients have described going on vacation only to feel they needed to come back and get a vacation from their vacation. They describe…
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.
