Tag: coaching

November 18, 2025

Poetry and Plumbing

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Essential Elements of an Effective Leader: The Vision and the Execution

Effective leadership requires both poetry and plumbing. According to The Hidden Brain Podcast with host Shankar Vedantan, who speaks to Stanford University’s Huggy Rao about leadership, to discuss how leadership needs both ‘poetry’ and ‘plumbing’ to be successful. Rao states that the poetry in leadership is the vision, and the plumbing is essentially the execution that brings the vision to life.

The Balance: Vision and Execution

In my leadership journey, I have learned that these two elements, poetry and plumbing, vision and execution, must be joined together to be led effectively. In the episode, Rao and Vedantam discuss the infamous Fyre Festival as an example of failed leadership. It was a highly publicized, visionary event that completely collapsed into disaster due to a lack of execution and attention to detail. There was plenty of poetry and vision and a sheer lack of plumbing and execution.

November 3, 2025

Stillness Leads to Opportunities

I see choices and possibilities when I slow down.

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez ???????? on Unsplash

I have learned that there is a strong connection between having a stillness practice and the ability to see opportunities and choices before me. When I was new to leadership and to parenting, I felt that I had to have all the answers and fix all the problems. I was always on the move, putting out fires at work and at home. I only stopped when I slept. I would fall into a deep sleep each night as my head hit the pillow and awake each morning to my alarm as thinking I just went to bed. Those of you of a certain age may remember the phrase for the Dunkin’ Donut commercials that the weary donut baker said each dark morning as he started baking day after day: “It’s time to make the donuts.”

October 8, 2025

Parent Coaching: What’s that?

Photo by Suzi Kim on Unsplash

As parents, we are given this enormous responsibility and privilege of caring for other human beings who are constantly changing and growing. How do we develop the skills and strategies to respond to the baby, the toddler, the teen, and the young adult in front of us in this ever-changing landscape? Parent coaching is a vital support!

When my children were younger and I was juggling full-time work and parenting, I often felt overwhelmed and lonely. My kids and work were consistently at the top of the priority list. Exercising was somewhere at the bottom. Developing my skills as a parent was not even on the list! I read numerous parenting books and, as an educator myself, was well-versed in child development; yet, when it came to my own children, the skills and strategies felt less accessible. My husband, also in education, and I often engaged the expertise of tutors, therapists, and any resource the school recommended.

September 18, 2025

Equanimity and Empathy: A Powerful Pairing

A lotus flower sitting above the mud below.

Photo by Alfonso Betancourt on Unsplash

As a leader and a parent, staying steady in the face of chaos, while also understanding how others feel, is a superpower that I strive to cultivate. This is practicing the powerful pairing of equanimity and empathy. It’s about bringing a steady and stable presence even when the world around you is swirling, while trying to understand what others are going through. Sometimes I am more successful than others.

Equanimity

Equanimity is characterized by the ability to remain calm, composed, open, and non-reactive in the face of challenging or distressing situations.

Positive Psychology

This image of the lotus flower helps me think of equanimity. The lotus flower sits in glorious beauty and yet underneath is mud and roots. It needs all those things to exist. It looks steady and calm above the muddy and murky waters.

Equanimity is not about ignoring the chaos.

August 27, 2025

Are You Rested?

How do you rest?

Photo by Dan Burton on Unsplash

When was the last time you felt rested? What do you do in your daily and weekly life that feels like rest? 

Rest and busyness:

We can’t talk about rest without discussing busyness. Why do we wear busyness proudly like a badge?People seem to love saying how busy they are. Do we say it to make us feel important or valuable? Does busyness show our level of success? Is it some sort of status symbol to look and sound busy? If so, then how do we find the rest that we need and desire? How do we begin to value rest?

What is rest?

Claudia Hammond, author of The Art of Rest, How to Find Respite in the Modern Age,  defines rest as wakeful rest: an activity that leaves you feeling restored and revitalized.. Rest is not sleep but rather a wakeful activity.

December 19, 2024

Practice Stillness

What’s your stillness practice?

Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash

During this time of year, possibly packed with family events, time with friends, and work colleagues, travel and so much more it can be hard to find a moment to be still.  Do you have a stillness practice that works for you during this busy holiday and new year?

Being still can look different ways. I joined a meditation group a few years ago and we practice together in a community led by a beloved and skilled teacher most weekday mornings. I also enjoy a quick quiet moment first thing in the morning in bed, a time for gratitude and a big stretch to start the day. This lasts just a minute or two. I also enjoy the quiet time before sleep, reading a book, reflecting on the day. Some of my ‘stillness’ practices require movement, a type of mindful movement that allows me to connect with my body or nature.

December 3, 2024

ACC ICF Certification

I am excited and proud to announce that I received my Associate Certified Coach Accreditation (ACC) from the International Coaching Federation (ICF). Through my educational training at the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute, 100+ coaching hours, and dedicated mentor coaching, I demonstrated knowledge and emerging proficiency in the application of the ICF Core Competencies, Code of Ethics, and fundamental definition of coaching. 

Earning this credential requires a deep commitment to high ethical standards and proven professional competence, validated through rigorous assessment. My journey has been transformative, allowing me to grow tremendously in my skills, mindset, and approach as a coach. Coaching beautifully interweaves my experiences as an educator, parent, and partner, creating a unique lens through which I support client growth.

I am grateful to all my teachers, coaches, mentors, and clients who have been part of this incredible journey. As I continue to develop my practice, I look forward to learning and growing with each new and returning client.

October 17, 2024

Name, Claim, Aim

My son named, claimed, and aimed his strengths to climb to the top, and we can do that as leaders.

Focusing on your top 5 strengths in your Clifton Strengths Assessment can be powerful! In my coach certification training through Gallup, I learned to help clients name, claim, and aim their strengths.  My son is a climber. I imagine he uses a similar tactic when approaching a climb. He knows what he is good at. He looks for spaces and grips where he can leverage his strengths. He aims his abilities and skills to get to the top of the climb.

When you name your strengths, you take a deep dive into how they show up for you and how you define each one in your life. It is important to think about what each one means to you. Self assurance can be defined differently for different individuals. Some folks might define self assurance as an extrovert who likes to take bold risks.

September 5, 2024

Balancing is a Series of Falls

What would it look like to view falling as a part of balancing, mistakes as a part of learning and growing, and a necessary means to an end?

Photo by Caique Nascimento on Unsplash

Balancing is a series of falls. My yoga teacher said something about how balancing is just the process of falling in and out over and over again. While I wobbled slowly in tree pose, I had a light bulb moment. Balancing is just a series of falling in and out. Someone rarely balances right into a tree pose. You need to ground yourself, ready your limbs, fall in and out of balance, practice a lot, and reflect! 

When I taught at an independent school in Marin County California, there was a class called Energy Time, a sort of combo of meditation and Aikido. At that time, an experienced and skilled teacher taught us to fall and get back up.

August 14, 2024

Understanding the Shadow Side of Your Strengths

Do you know the shadow side of your strengths?

Photo by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash

One of the most intriguing parts of learning about my strengths was also learning about the blind spots or as I like to think of them: the shadow side. As I read about the blind spots in my strengths report, I felt as though my husband and children wrote the statements because they are the people who know me best. The statements spoke the truth and were such keen observations. For example, discipline is one of my top ten strengths. I bring order to processes and see the details, I am prepared, and the shadow side or the barrier is that I tend to be rigid. My family knows my shadow side very well!

Paying attention to your strengths is important. Reflecting on what happens when we lean too far into those strengths without reflection is vital.