As a strategist, leadership coach and passionate horse lover, managing fear is a regular topic with clients, me and my horses. Healthy fear keeps you safe, helps you make good decisions, build competence, and grow. Unhealthy fear can suffocate your dreams and get you stuck in a torment of self-criticism, anxiety and despair. Managing fear…
I was recently interviewed by brilliant coach Diane Haworth as part of her “Heart-Centered Success” TV show. She was running a program on “divine partnerships” and invited me to talk about my partnerships with horses and nature. During the interview, I shared a bit of this partnership that profoundly impacted my life. I thought I’d…
What if “it” all worked out better than you ever imagined? Can you consider that possibility? Many cannot. We live in a fear-driven culture. If you don’t believe that, just watch the news and ads on TV. Either something terrible just occurred or something terrible could occur if you don’t take this supplement, buy that…
Top athletes know that follow-through is key to success. Every golfer, baseball player, and tennis pro follow the trajectory of their swing after hitting the ball; basketball players shoot and allow their hands to suspend in space until the ball reaches the basket; gymnasts stick a landing then raise their hands high. Why? These athletes…
A label is an identifier. It gives information. When you shop, you look at labels to identify price, ingredients, manufacturer, etc. We also “label” people, places, things, animals, jobs, and professional rank to help us sort out the world. “She’s an inspiring speaker,” “that’s the old dog,” “he’s a perfectionist,” “he has cancer,” all imply…
In articles on leadership, we mostly see and hear about leaders at the top of organizations. But there is another role of leadership that is critical to the success of organizations: leading from the middle. Leading from the middle is typically known as middle management. Sandwiched between executives and staff, middle managers are the heart…
Every salesperson is taught that people buy from those whom they know, like and trust. The same is true for leadership. Leaders must “sell” their vision to stakeholders and followers to gain buy-in (even that word shows the relationship to sales) or risk failure and high turnover. But there is something else. Something critical that…
Now is a great time to align yourself and your business with a plan for prosperity. Many people go about this by pushing harder and working longer. Although this approach can yield near-term results, it can be exhausting and is unsustainable in the long term. I know this firsthand. Instead, allow the “flow” and take…
As a leader, your priorities are vast. However, nothing takes a higher priority than building trust in your team and organization. Without trust, you get high turnover, reduced performance and revenue, and a lot of stress. With trust and a good plan, your firm can flourish. In working with organizations, my horses repeatedly show that…
In today’s heated race for the White House, the worst qualities of our leaders are on display. Every day we are subject to more political infighting, bickering and finger-pointing. What kind of an example are we setting for the youth? What happened to constructive debate and respectfully agreeing to disagree? What happened to tolerance and…