A creative leadership lesson from parenting a teen, and managing adults Teen boys are a masterclass in paradox. Developmentally, they’re wired to push for autonomy: “I need space. Please go now.” And at the same time, secure attachment (feeling safe, seen, understood) remains a protective buffer for mental health and risk-taking. So you also get: “Nobody gets me. You don’t get me.” It’s a seemingly impossible dynamic: “Don’t come closer… and don’t you dare leave me” I started

“I'm stuck.” I hear this in conversations about careers, relationships, leadership, team development, community work, basically wherever we humans are trying to do brave things.. while having nervous systems. Here is what I came to believe: stuckness  often isn’t a lack of options. It’s not even a lack of courage . It’s a devotion to thinking , specifically, the belief that if we think long enough, we’ll eventually earn certainty… and then we’ll move. Except we don’t move. W

The days between Christmas and New Year’s have a way of telling the truth. When the inbox quiets and the calendar loosens, something else gets loud: the quiet dread of going back to work. Not because we dislike effort or contribution, but because a part of us knows we’re returning to a pattern we’ve outgrown. Stuck, bored, helpless, overwhelmed, or an unhelpful cocktail of all four. As humans we often reach inner crossroads long before our calendars admit it. In the winter hu

Leadership today carries a lot of complexity . This one is rarely named out loud. Especially in small organizations, family-business cultures, tight-knit communities, or purpose-driven teams, leaders often face an invisible emotional field, a quiet expectation to become more than a manager. Leaders tell me: “Some people want me to be their parent .” “It feels like they want a therapist, not a leader.” “If I don’t provide constant emotional attunement, I’m accused of not cari

There’s a moment many seasoned leaders quietly recognize: “I have all the tools. So why does this still feel so hard?” You’ve read the books, attended dozens of training programs, survived the 360s. You know how to run a team, an organization, a transition, a strategy session. And still, some problems don’t respond to what you already know. These are the moments when the challenge isn’t asking for another framework – it’s asking you   to grow. Not horizontally (more skills, m

Conflict can be creative. There is no creativity without tension. Constraints matter. Yes, there’s risk. But if your team looks to you for facilitating their collective creativity, the sooner you can learn to appreciate conflict, the better. When I say to be “good with conflict ,” I don’t mean being aggressive or initiating conflict. I mean that when it arises, and we know it inevitably does, we can meet it with calm, curiosity, and a gentle detachment from our own stance, an

Some of us are wired for harmony. Wait, all of us are. From an evolutionary standpoint, our brains are wired for connection and for minimizing social threat. Harmony can be external, when the people and systems around us are in sync, or internal, when our thoughts, values, and actions feel aligned. Both create serenity and flow. But harmony left unchecked can slip into avoidance. Not because we’re weak, but because as humans we associate tension with danger. Our nervous sys

Don’t know about you, but lately I’ve found that rest alone isn’t enough. When our nervous systems are exhausted, when our calendars keep demanding, when leadership feels like sprinting a marathon, simply sleeping more doesn’t always restore us. What I’ve been reaching for are two other forms of nourishment: dreaming and exercising the “hope muscle.” It's Gloria Steinem who once said: “Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreami

A few days ago, driving my son home from basketball practice, I decided to share something I’d been reflecting on from Joseph Nguyen’s...

I watched an interview with musician and songwriter Phil Cook recently, where he said something that stuck with me: “When you’re...

It’s Friday afternoon. You’ve worked hard all week, but instead of feeling accomplished, you feel wrung out. It’s not the workload that...

A Creative Leadership Meditation on Tenderness, Gentleness, and Relearning Self-Compassion We teach what we most need to learn. And lately, what I’ve needed to relearn, and to teach, is tenderness. Gentleness toward self. Towards the parts of ourselves that are raw, tired, doubting, regretful. The parts that want to perform, impress, produce, solve problems. Same parts that probably just want to rest but don’t know how. When I speak with leaders about the idea of being gentle

You’ve felt it before, that moment where everything in you wants to speak up, but something holds you back. Maybe it’s fear of conflict,...

Whether we speak or remain silent, show up or withdraw, every action, or inaction, sends a message. Communication isn’t just about what we say; it’s also about what we don’t say. Silence, hesitation, and avoidance are just as communicative as words. And in leadership, these unspoken messages often speak the loudest. “One cannot not communicate.”  — Paul Watzlawick Avoiding hard conversations erodes trust. When we sidestep giving feedback, delay naming tension, or choose silen

Pay close attention, what I’m about to share could free you from years of unnecessary stress, doubt, and emotional fatigue. In simple...

When did you realize that no one else was to blame? That the voice of doubt, criticism, and sabotage wasn’t coming from the outside, but...

In a world saturated with likes, shares, and applause, the pull of external validation can feel inescapable. Yet when we’re caught in this cycle, the moments between the hits of approval or admiration often feel strangely empty, and that’s the best-case scenario. They can feel much worse. Liberation from this cycle is an act of reclaiming our power . “What’s the greater risk? Letting go of what people think … or letting go of how I feel, what I believe, and who I am?” Brene B

If I were to begin and end my blogging journey with just one article, it would be this one. Believing in ourselves is the most important...

Navigating today’s leadership landscape requires new leadership skills , it's not just about solving problems but about mastering the...

When was the last time someone truly listened to you, not to fix, judge, or offer an opinion, but simply to witness you, with openness and without expectation? Many of us go through life feeling unheard, constantly adapting to meet the expectations of others or to navigate the demands placed on us. A coach offers something rare, an opportunity to be fully seen and heard, with empathy and without judgment. In that space, you’re guided to safely explore your unique thought p