In the Right Direction with Deb Elbaum

Our brain and the way it thinks is powerful and persuasive. How often are you convinced that your perspective and point of view is the truth, the only way to see a situation? The reality, though, is that perspective is a choice. There are other, more positive perspectives that we can choose to take that might help us think, feel, and communicate differently. What if you were able to use the idea o...

Most professionals agree that networking is important, and yet, it the thought of reaching out to someone you don't know well often fills people with anxiety or dread. Worrying about bothering someone, or not knowing your ask for a networking conversation often stops people's networking in its tracks. What if you had strategies for feeling more confident and excited for networking? You would spend...

It's estimated that 70% of people experience Impostor Syndrome at some point. Are you one of them? How has it kept you from asking for a promotion or raise, or sharing a novel idea? Impostor syndrome keeps us playing small in a world where we have important things to say and purposeful goals to achieve. Understanding what confidence is and how to start building it immediately will help you in your...

I'm sure you've heard people talk about leadership development, and maybe you've wondered, how does it actually happen? How do people develop personally and professionally? With so many resources at our fingertips, it can be hard to know where to start. Knowing the steps to professional development is key, because once you understand the process of change, you can put your energy into growing as a...

If you don't have a solid and exciting elevator pitch, you are missing out on opportunities. Knowing what you offer and how you positively impact others can build you confidence and open the door to more productive networking conversations. The good news is that creating a confident personal introduction doesn't have to be hard. What it does take is time to reflect and brainstorm around 3 key piec...

We are always negotiating with others at home and work. There are ideas we want to move forward, people we want to hire, and funding we want to secure. To create alignment takes buy-in from others. But what if you are not sure how to approach these conversations? The key to getting buy-in is to make the conversation brain friendly. We can use communication strategies to help the listener's brain u...

Are you tired of letting the challenging people in your life drain you and take up too much of your energy? Think of what it would be like if you could set better boundaries and have more clarity about what to do in a challenging interaction. You'd feel more confident, calm, and like a better leader. The good news is that we always have things in our control that can help us feel more empowered in...

We all have ideas of things we are excited to try or accomplish. We have home projects, creative projects, personal endeavors, and even professional goals that we know are important and have the potential to make us happier, healthier, and more successful. And, yet, too often our great ideas stay ideas – we never act on them. We think it's too hard, or too late, or we're too old. We never take tha...

Many of us hear a constant refrain from our inner critic about all the things we should be doing and feeling. And you might think the word should is helpful. After all, it keeps you on your toes and reminds you about all of the things you'd like to ideally accomplish. The reality, though, is that word should has a judgmental energy and can make us feel like we're underperforming and not measuring...

If you're like my clients, you say things like, I want to be a good leader. Or I wish my presentation had gone better. We use words like good, bad, better, or best all the time without really thinking about them, and without really taking the time to define exactly what we mean.  The key to clear communication is defining these general words. When we define what we mean by good, bad, and other pla...

We all use the word "but" all the time, often without thinking about it. That word has an energy of resistance to it. It shuts down whatever thought you just had, or whatever idea someone else recently proposed. This can make you feel like you're not allowed to have other thoughts, and it can make the person you're talking with feel like you're shutting them down. What if there was an easy way to...

In our interactions and conversations with other people, our brain often jumps to conclusions. Our brain assigns motives to people's behavior and comes up with reasons people do things – usually without knowing the full story or having all of the information. This is a problem, because our brain has an inherent negativity bias. This means that the stories our brain makes up about other people's mo...

Do you ever look around at other people and their successes, and wonder if you've achieved enough or are as far along in your career as you should be? Life is not a straight, upward trajectory. Remembering this and defining our life story and the shape of our life can help us feel more confident about the choices we make and the narrative we tell. Today's conversation is a big picture one. Inspire...

When we change our environment, it often lets us think and feel in new ways. How might your thinking be different if you were on the water, say kayaking in the ocean or on a lake? Meet Sarah Scala, a leadership and executive coaches who offers kayak coaching as part of her unofficial services. She takes leaders out to kayak on salt or fresh water, which helps them slow down, be present, and think...

If you're like me, you always have thoughts in your head. And if you're talking with someone – a partner, spouse, or colleague – you might not know what they are thinking. After all, we can't read other people's minds. What if you had a quick hack for getting other people to share what's on their mind? What if you had a question that would get the other person to open up to you? There's a question...

Meet Men's Coach, Ken Mossman, Founder of Cirrus Leadership & Coaching What does it mean to be a man? How do men find and refine their mojo? And how does that fit in with being an overall conscious, emotionally connected human being? In this interview, men's coach and host of the podcast Mojo for the Modern Man Ken Mossman shares his thoughts about the importance of helping men reconnect to their...

At the end of an important conversation, we might think we know what someone else is understanding and agreeing to, although we are likely not 100% sure. How do you ensure that everyone is on the same page and committing to next steps with accountability? The leadership communication tool to use to create clear alignment at the end of an important conversation or meeting that creates commitment ab...

Meet Sober Curious Coach, Julie Dereshinsky, founder of Julie Dereshinsky Coaching. In our "mommy wine culture," how do you know if your drinking is a problem for you? How can you get curious about the role of alcohol in your life and what you might want for yourself instead? Here's where Sober Curious Coach Julie Dereshinsky can help. A self-described former gray area drinker, Julie holds space f...

When we get angry or discouraged, we often feel it in our body. And if we don't have a way to quickly discharge those negative feelings, they can take root and grow inside of us. When they spread and take over our mood and thoughts, they can keep us from thinking effectively and feeling happy. What if you had easy, simple, and always available tools that you knew would help you release anger and r...

Talking about death can seem morbid and scary. If you're like most people, you might not know where or when to start having these types of conversations. And, yet, honoring wishes for someone's end of life can help ease a loved one's passing. Meet Erin Wright, a former nurse and hospice worker, who now has a coaching practice focused on end of life coaching. In addition to working with individuals...

Confidence is key for our personal and professional development. When we feel confident, we can speak up, ask for what we want, and state our point of view. And, yet, there are subtle phrases and words that many of us say without even realizing that they can undermine how we think about ourselves and how we are perceived by others. What if you were aware of and eliminated those disempowering phras...

Many of us intuitively feel calmer and happier when we connect with nature, whether walking in the forest, sitting at the beach, or hiking in the mountains. Forest therapy guide Linda Lombardo, founder of Wild Heart Nature Connection, takes it one step further -- she uses forests and nature in her coaching. Taking people in the woods on walks, she helps them get grounded and reflect on their lives...

Feeling connected to our true selves and what matters most to us can help us feel purposeful, give us peace of mind, and remind us that we're living a meaningful life. On the other hand, when we are not able to honor what matters most to us, we might feel disconnected and frustrated. We might wonder, "How can I live the life meant for me?" What if you had a tool to connect to the real you and help...

If you're like me, you are in your head most of the time. We are always thinking, caught up in our thoughts, ideas, and plans. We forget to be in the present moment, to be aware of our bodies, and how we are showing up to the others in the moment and in our life. Believe it or not, that's where feedback from horses can be helpful. Equine-facilitated coaching – coaching leaders using horses – is an...

Almost everyone I talk with wants to feel more hopeful, happy, and calm. We want to feel like we're navigating uncertainty, moving forward, and creating the life that's most important to us. Yet, the thing that has the potential to undermine our happiness, productivity, and certainty is stress. Stress is worry, anger, or overwhelm that gets in our way and undermines how we think, feel, and act. Wh...