Joyful Leader

In my community, we do goals. We love goals. Setting them, achieving them. And, we do goals in some very specific ways. Today I’m sharing my rules for goals, starting with the biggest and most important: goals are about skill-building, and never, ever about worth-building. Let’s talk more — about what this means, about the other goal rules that will help you have an amazing relationship to your ow...

Our emotions are like fuel in our tanks. They take us where we need to go, and like actual fuel, have different properties. Some burn clean for miles and miles. Others burn hot and fast and powerful over a short distance. Today on Joyful Leader, we’re talking about emotions as fuel — why willpower is only useful to a point, and how to fill your tank with the fuel that will take you the distance. T...

Last week we discussed purpose — and how it is always internal, never external. In our lives, we choose containers in which to express our purpose, including our jobs. This week, we’re exploring a specific aspect of this — feeling like you’ve lost your connection to purpose at work. If you’ve been there, you know. Feeling like the thing you're doing no longer lights you up like it used to. Tune in...

I hear from a lot of people that they are looking for — or haven’t yet found — their purpose. In today’s episode, we’re going to clarify where purpose lives. And where it doesn’t. So many of us think of purpose as a thing — something outside of ourselves that will light us up when we finally encounter it. But this definition has us looking in the wrong place, and can make us feel like we’re on a n...

An essential part of leadership is knowing where to direct your attention. Given the number of things we have on our plates at any one time and our finite attention, how do we choose? Today, we’re talking about a simple tool for directing your attention and honing your instincts about what to give your attention to. This tool is also exceptional for developing your team members' leadership instinc...

On a regular basis, my clients bring up observations about the way their companies operate, often in the context of their leadership teams. They notice default communication styles, teaching styles, decision-making processes . . . and many other behaviors and attitudes that set tone and culture at their organizations. And, sometimes, they feel like their observations are just about them. They’ll s...

Confidence and arrogance are VERY different things. They are both emotions, but come from different mindsets, and look very different. AND YET. :) We sometimes confuse them. We think that our confidence will come across as arrogance. We also often think of arrogance as all bad, and judge it harshly in ourselves and others. Today on Joyful Leader, we’re breaking down each of these emotions. We’ll t...

We use so many tools throughout our lives and work — project management, life management, mind management. Tools, systems, frameworks, and rubrics are everywhere. These things are designed to help us, to make our lives easier and more efficient. But every tool can be turned into a weapon. Today we’re talking about using your tools for you, instead of turning them into weapons against you. We’ll ta...

We’re talking about how to think about the process of change — which is essentially rewiring your brain. When we change anything, we switch from an existing brain habit to a new one. Today we’re discussing how this process FEELS like it should just happen overnight, as soon as we become aware of us. That would be fantastic. But in reality, the process is like building muscle. Repetition is what cr...

Every time we change anything in our lives — habit, relationship, attitude, anything — we are essentially rewiring the brain. We’re creating new patterns of thought, feeling, and action. Many times, our existing patterns have been around for a very long time. Creating new ones doesn’t happen overnight. Today and next week, I’m sharing how I help my clients avoid frustration along the way — by shar...

Get ready to connect all the dots. In the last several episodes, we’ve been talking about using time well, and today, we’re bringing all the concepts together in a step-by-step guide to planning your week. This process gives you time for your highest priorities, clarity, allowance for emergencies, and a greater sense of calm about your week. Thanks for listening. Hungry for more of the things we t...

Today, we’re talking about the third phase of the accomplishment and time usage process: doing. While doing the thing — task, project, conversation — might seem like the most straightforward part, you and I know that it’s sometimes the part that feels most fraught. There are all kinds of external distractions and obstacles — the world doesn’t stop to honor our project priorities. But also, we expe...

Way back a few episodes ago, when we launched the series about using your time well, I mentioned the idea of deciding vs. intending. It was sort of a gloss-over moment, but it’s a hugely important idea. I’ve gotten so many questions about this difference. Today, we’re looking at this concept, which is pivotal in understanding your time decisions (and many other things). It’s key to understanding w...

I’ve thought it many times. And hear it often from clients. An obstacle to planning our time is that we don't know how much time things take. Surprising but true, this is the very definition of a self-fulfilling prophecy. When we believe it, that’s exactly what we experience. Inspired by a recent client conversation, we're going inside the brain, looking step-by-step at how this plays out. And the...

Continuing in our series about using time in alignment with our values and priorities, today we're talking about design. So many of us have experienced the feeling that time got away from us. Or the sense that our day got derailed. How we approach designing our time can make all the difference in minimizing or eliminating these experiences. In today's episode, I share my top three time-design reco...

We have more demands on our time now than we ever have. With all the noise, it can be difficult to figure out what to prioritize. Especially given that our mental, physical, and emotional resources are limited. We can't possibly do everything. In today's episode, we're talking about how to make that decision. I'll give you my take on what to prioritize when planning your time or your team's time....

We’re slowing down to take a look at how we use our time. In this episode, we’ll look specifically at how we make decisions about time. We’ll ask two incredibly important time decision questions. One: when are we deciding how we use our time? And two: what do we decide to prioritize? I’ll share what three decisions I recommend you make and when to make sure your time usage aligns with your highest...

Many of my clients want to work on how they use their time. Sometimes in their personal lives — spending more time with family, for example. Sometimes in their professional lives — using their work hours for what’s meaningful and important. or working on those meaningful, important things when they have the greatest energy to give. No matter what their time use goals, the theme is wanting to use t...

I recently had an experience that threw me. It was challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally. And for several weeks I didn’t feel like myself. But out of this came an opportunity I didn’t expect. I could see how I responded, what skills and techniques I used, and how I led myself through this experience differently than past challenges. It was imperfect. And messy. And I’m proud of myself...

I’m going to say it right off the bat: I don’t like the term impostor syndrome (or imposter if that’s your preference). It implies sickness, something for which we need treatment. And that it’s somehow something we “come down with.” Though I don’t love the term, it describes a very real experience of very many real human beings. 🙂 So today we’re going to break it down — what is it, why does it ha...

Imagine you’re watching a play. And the theater has a spotlight operator — someone who directs a beam of focus on the appropriate dialogue or action at any given moment. This focus isn’t the only thing happening — other scenery, other characters — but it’s the most useful thing happening. The focus is on the thing that moves the story forward. Our brains have this spotlight ability — to focus on o...

Let’s talk about science. The scientific mindset, specifically. Last week, I shared that there are two skills that help us build habits that look big and impressive from the outside, but feel easy and delightful from the inside — embracing small steps and adopting a scientific mindset. And today we’re talking all about the latter. So often, when we try new things or start new routines, it can feel...

I have some insider info for you. A secret tip, if you will. People sometimes hear about some habit I have and comment that they think I have superhuman discipline. Or commitment. And I’m shocked because so much of my life is centered around having as much freedom and free time as possible. Today and next week on the podcast, I’m sharing the two skills that have allowed me to build habits that loo...

You’ve got a plan for your week, balancing multiple high priorities. And then something goes sideways. Something specific — someone else doesn’t deliver in the way that you expected. In this scenario and other similar situations, many people do something that I almost always coach against — doing someone else’s job. This means jumping in to take on more work to compensate for someone else’s mistak...

Imagine that every situation you find yourself in, every circumstance in your life, is a song. What you think about yourself in relation to that circumstance or situation is the song's baseline . . . . . . the sometimes under-the-surface yet nonetheless powerful theme that shapes the entire song. Or in your case, how you experience the entire situation. Today on the podcast, I'm talking about this...