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How Negativity Bias Hijacks Your Strengths (and How to Reclaim Them)
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
kawkapc
Nov 247 min read


Holding the Opposites: When Harmony Meets Conflict
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
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Oct 244 min read


The Problem with the Heroic Leader: Where Leadership Ends and Personal Responsibility Begins
For thousands of years, cultures around the globe have told a version of the same story: the hero leaves home, faces trials, slays the dragons, and returns with treasure that saves the community. Joseph Campbell called this the Hero’s Journey, and it has shaped our imagination of what leadership should look like. Even today, we unconsciously expect ourselves as leaders to embody this myth. We look up to that elusive notion of a heroic solver of all problems, the one who leave
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Oct 136 min read


From Debate to Dialogue: How Leaders Can Reduce Defensiveness
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...
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Sep 215 min read


Fine Partnerships: The Power of Two
Or why getting lost with a good partner might be the best leadership move you make this week. It was a Sunday, and I was craving a hike....
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Sep 155 min read


From Self-Pressure to Self-Leadership
A Creative Leadership Meditation on Tenderness, Gentleness, and Relearning Self-Compassion We teach what we most need to learn. And...
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Aug 255 min read


From Drama to Empowerment
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...
kawkapc
Aug 244 min read


Creative Leadership Is an Inside Job
“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
kawkapc
Aug 16 min read


What Got You Here Isn’t the Only Way to Get Here. Rethinking “Fit” Through Strengths-Based Hiring
Great leadership requires humility, it means recognizing that the route you took to success isn’t the only valid route. When we hire...
kawkapc
Jul 123 min read


Why "Weaknesses" Are a Myth and Why Investing in Your Strengths is a Smarter Choice
We live in a culture that’s obsessed with what’s broken. Somehow, criticizing and pointing out flaws is considered a sign of...
kawkapc
Jun 165 min read


The Power of Strengths-Based Leadership Development
Do you really know who you are as a leader? Far too often, we step into leadership because we excelled at our last role. Maybe we were...
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Jun 97 min read


From Perfectionism to Presence: Reclaiming Your Enough-ness
Is there a difference between healthy striving and perfectionism? Absolutely. One is rooted in growth. The other, in fear . As Anne...
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May 256 min read


The Power of Living In-Between
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
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May 36 min read


The Craving for Freedom
We all long for freedom. Not just political or physical freedom, but the kind that lives quietly inside us. But what is freedom, really?...
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Apr 137 min read


You Are Not Your Thoughts
Pay close attention, what I’m about to share could free you from years of unnecessary stress, doubt, and emotional fatigue. In simple...
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Jan 266 min read


How to Overcome Self-Doubt
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...
kawkapc
Jan 259 min read


Authenticity: Breaking Free from External Validation
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
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Jan 57 min read


What Does Self-Esteem Mean?
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...
kawkapc
Dec 17, 20245 min read


Why Invest in Strengths?
Avoid trying to mimic someone else, be it a guru or a role model, as this approach rarely works. Success comes from being authentically you.
kawkapc
Dec 7, 20245 min read


Why Coaching Matters: Sanity Saving Island of Perspective
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
kawkapc
Dec 6, 20246 min read
© Copyright Monika Kawka
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