Confessions of a Creative Leader

The Power—and Reality—of Networks Hey, everyone. I am dropping this one today because it compliments some hard news I shared on Facebook today. This week’s blog is going to be short and honest (which may be a better version to listen to!) I’ve been up to some pretty cool things (more on that later), and this episode is inspired by Questlove’s “Creative Quest,” especially the chapter 4, The Network...

Welcome back to Confessions of a Facilitation Artist . This week I’m sharing some deep insights from Chapter 3 of Questlove’s Creative Quest —all about Getting Started with creativity, igniting ideas, capturing inspiration, and embracing even the wildest thoughts. Whether you’re new here or following the series, you don’t need to have read the book or listened to previous episodes to get value fro...

I’m back with the blog version if you prefer to read! This blog post distills insights (yes, this week with the help of AI because I am really short on time) from my latest podcast inspired by Chapter 2 of Questlove’s Creative Quest , exploring the subtle and surprising power of mentors and apprentices. The podcast has many more insights and stories (and was not created by AI), so it’s worth a lis...

Hey friends! First, thank you all who reached out to me the last week after I shared I needed to take a break for a family emergency. This week, Confessions of a Facilitation Artist is shifting to podcast-only mode, at least for now and perhaps a while longer. There won’t be a full blog version. Instead, you’ll find these episodes kept intentionally short (

Everything Is Figureoutable: The World Needs Your Gift Progress, not perfection. That’s been my guiding mantra for years, and Marie Forleo’s “Everything is Figureoutable” has been both a compass and a flashlight through my own messy creative journey and career pivots for the last few months. This week, we close the circle with Chapter 10: “The World Needs Your Special Gift.” My hope is to bring th...

Hey, everyone! This week we’re exploring Chapter 9 of Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo. The chapter, Refuse to Be Refused is really hitting me and here’s why… (vulnerability alert) Yesterday, I wrapped up my free training—”Creating Impactful Solutions in Less Than Three Hours Without Months of Meetings, Research, and Debate”—with roughly 90 people registered and about 45 who actually at...

Happy Fall, y’all! I must confess that I am truly enjoying documenting my journey and sharing insights with you week after week. It’s hard to believe we’ve already reached the final quarter of the year. I have shown up for myself—and for you—EVERY single week since the beginning of 2025. I press record, share my raw stories, and publish—cracks, coughs, and all—and then transform them into the blog...

Hello, wonderful people! I owe you all a little bit more insight. Last week’s podcast and blog included some big news, so I figured I’d throw in a bonus episode to explain why and what is happening. Spoiler: I didn’t fully quit my job, I transformed it with the collaboration with the company leaders. So I am sorry to disappoint you if you were hoping for a rage-quite story. It’s really about shift...

Yes, I am releasing this post early with a quick note: Yes, there is some big news at the bottom of this post but I encourage you read and listen to this week’s substack anyway! I am am here to support you on your journey through big and small moves. I believe the insight from this chapter are important for your growth! Start Before You’re Ready — From Fear to Action Hey, friends! We’re right in t...

It’s time to define our dreams! Maybe this sounds cheesy but this is what Chapter 6 of Marie Forleo’s Everything is Figureoutable is all about. If you’re new here, welcome to my ongoing experiment. This podcast and blog is about showing up. I show up to myself and my dreams. I speak out loud about what I’m learning, and hope that it helps you do the same. On the Trap of Overthinking If there’s one...

Hello, all! Welcome back to Confessions of a Facilitation Artist. In this series, I’ve been sharing my reflections from Marie Forleo’s book Everything is Figureoutable. Last time, we unpacked the four-letter word “can’t.” Today, we’re onto another four-letter word. It’s still not profane but very paralyzing: FEAR. Fear is such a quiet constant in our lives. It slips into our late-night loop of dou...

Happy almost Fall y’all! Well, if feels that way in Michigan. This week we’re going to crack open Chapter 4 of Marie Forleo’s “Everything is Figureoutable,” zeroing in on one of the biggest barriers to dreams: Excuses . Setting the Stage: The Lie We Tell Ourselves Marie opens this chapter with a quote by Richard Bach, which my sister Annie loves his book, Illusions (hi, Annie, if you are reading t...

Brutal title right? Just testing to see if the title got you to open the substack email or post! But really, I recently read an Instagram post from Jay Papasan that said “Growth happens in your comfort zone…said no one ever.” That is EXACTLY why I gave this an edgy title. This series is intended to smash through the “B*llsh*t” as Marie Forleo would say, and guide us on a transformative journey thr...

Welcome, friends, to the brand new book club series! If you’re reading (or listening) to this for the first time, I’m Monica Joy Krol. I’m a full-time working mom who chooses progress over perfection . This substack, now a book club again for the next several episodes, is about learning and growing together . It’s raw, real, and unedited with some help from AI. Over the next few weeks, we’re divin...

Over the last six months, I’ve kept my substack content pretty focused. Usually there’s an outline, a theme, often tied to a book I’m reading. But this week? I’m going off-script. I wanted to share some reflections from my recent week at Full Stack Facilitator with AJ&Smart in Palo Alto. Many of you have asked about it, and I promised I’d give you the behind-the-scenes — not just what I learned, b...

Hello, all! I admit this post is brought to you by a less than organized self, but I am determined to get this episode/entry across the finish line. If you’ve been following along with my book club journey through Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI , welcome to our final chapter: Chapter 9: AI as Our Future. I have to admit, tenacity is not my working genius. If you’ve bee...

Hey everyone! We’re almost done with our journey through Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI by Ethan Mollick ! This week, I’m excited to explore Chapter 8, “AI As A Coach!” Let’s go! First, the idea of AI as my personal coach or mentor is equal parts thrilling and terrifying. Thrilling because the thought of immediate support and feedback is deliciously tempting for anyone (like me!) obse...

Hello! Can you believe that summer is half over? My kids start school in about a month, and the other day, my 9-year-old told me how he’s been using ChatGPT to help him with some JSON. (He’s really into coding!) If my 9-year-old is already dabbling in AI, it really makes you stop and wonder: What does this mean for education? This week, I’m continuing my journey through Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intellig...

Hello again wherever you are today, mentally, physically or emotionally! I am really excited about this post. If you’re curious about how AI is truly transforming the workplace, not just in theory, but in the day-to-day reality of our jobs, you’ll be excited about this post too! Today, I’m diving into Ethan Mollick’s Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI , focusing on the insights from Chapt...

I’m back from vacation and have renewed enthusiasm to share new stories and reflections from my journey with AI, creativity, and facilitation. This week, I’m exploring the evolving relationship between humans and AI as creative partners, inspired by Chapter 5 of Ethan Mollick’s “ Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. ” Why Talk About AI and Creativity? As both a facilitator and a product ma...

This is a different type of post this week. I’m not writing a traditional blog that compliments the podcast. Instead, I’m just including the raw transcript I fed ElevenLabs to create a podcast episode using my voice clone. This is partly because I want to get back to my vacation, but also because I want to share with you what I did to create this. If you have time, you can listen to the podcast ve...

Hello! If you’ve been following along with my Confessions of a Facilitation Artist series, you know we’ve been diving deep into the world of AI with a little help from Ethan Mollick’s thought-provoking book, Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI . Today’s post is a continuation of that journey, zooming in on Chapter 3, where Mollick lays out four essential principles for thriving alongside A...

Welcome back to another adventure in facilitation and learning. I'm diving deep into Ethan Mollick's fascinating book " Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI " this summer, and I'm so excited to share what I'm discovering with you. Think of this as our shared AI sabbatical, a journey of experimentation and discovery together! The "Alien Mind" Isn't Science Fiction Anymore When Mollick descri...

Welcome! Today, I’m launching our Co-Intelligence book club series, inspired by Ethan Mollick’s “ Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI.” This first post is all about grounding ourselves in the basics, because before you can experiment, you need to know the landscape. AI Fundamentals: Decoding the Jargon Let’s start with some key terms that often get tossed around: * GPT (General Purpose Tec...

Hello! This post marks a new series that explores a question becoming increasingly critical: How might we co-intelligently work with AI to leverage our strengths while managing our limitations? This isn't just theoretical exploration. It's born from my own reality as a full-time working mom building a business on the side, recently facing burnout from trying to handle everything alone. The timing...