Your brain’s first instinct is to mistrust your strengths . CliftonStrengths matters precisely because it gives that suspicious brain something concrete to work with, so you can move from “What’s wrong with me?” to “What’s available in me?” in a way that’s grounded in research, not wishful thinking . ​ From “what’s wrong?” to “what’s strong?” CliftonStrengths grew out of a deceptively simple but radical move in psychology: instead of only cataloguing problems, Don Clifton sp

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

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

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...

Here is a deceptively simple question: What is the opposite of helplessness? But let’s take it one step at a time. We All Come to Work to...

Today, the conversation in front of me felt particularly difficult because of the CliftonStrengths dynamics at play. It was, in essence,...

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way—things I had no words for.” — Georgia O’Keeffe When I say “leadership,” I couldn’t be further from political headlines, hierarchical ladders, or the alpha-performance model that often comes to mind. The kind of leadership I believe in, and coach clients into, is not about titles. It's not about charisma an it is not about control. It’s about creating the world we need , a world rooted in purpo

We live in a culture that’s obsessed with what’s broken. Somehow, criticizing and pointing out flaws is considered a sign of...

We don’t like defiance. Not in teenagers, not in colleagues, not in ourselves. It disrupts. Refuses. Challenges the norm. And yet, defiance might be one of the most essential leadership qualities we never talk about.  Especially when it comes to leading our own lives. Defiance isn’t just rebellion for its own sake. It’s the refusal to shrink into expectations that don’t fit. It’s a boundary line that says: not this . In psychological terms, defiance often emerges as a protec

“When you do not seek or need external approval, you are at your most powerful.” — Caroline Myss Most women don’t need a seminar on “reading the room.” Years of social conditioning mean we pick up on micro-moods and rush to smooth them over. Studies show women often score higher than men on empathy and perspective-taking , but when motivation is equalized, the gap nearly disappears. What that means is that we practice empathy because we were taught it matters. That invisible

Is there a difference between healthy striving and perfectionism? Absolutely. One is rooted in growth. The other, in fear . As Anne...

I’ve always felt a quiet envy toward people who could introduce themselves with just one word."I'm a doctor.""I'm a photographer.""I'm a dancer." There’s a kind of comfort in that, isn’t there? A clarity. A clean box you can tuck yourself into and present to the world like a polished LinkedIn headline. That was never my story. For years, I thought there was something wrong with me. My inability to generate myself a single label felt like failure, like I hadn’t landed anywhere

“Studying the impact of the natural world on the brain is actually a scandalous ly new i dea.”— Richard Louv, author of  Last Child in the Woods It should have been studied 30-50 years ago. So why now? Perhaps because we are losing our connection to nature more dramatically than ever. Thanks to a confluence of technology, modern lifestyles, and shifting demographics, we’ve moved further away from the natural world than any generation before us. In 2008, for the first time in

Have you ever noticed how being constantly available to others ends up hurting you? We say yes out of habit, reply instantly, stay...

We all long for freedom. Not just political or physical freedom, but the kind that lives quietly inside us. But what is  freedom, really?...

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

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