Stories from the Heart of Leadership

One of the buzzwords in the organizational realm these days is Authenticity. Everyone is talking about being authentic, in fact entire programs have been developed to help leaders become more authentic! What if I told you that you are being authentic all of the time? Join me as we explore this mind-bender: Everything we do is an expression of our authenticity AND there are things that we do out of habit, or training, that may not be a true reflection of our core values. In other words, we can learn a practice of authentic expression and get better at it while always being authentic nonetheless. If this intrigues you, tune in this week for more!

What is the most important and most required leadership quality, habit, trait and practice that we can cultivate today? Self Awareness, beginning with Noticing Your Noticing. With the help of my own coaches, I've been attending to this in myself, and I'm astounded by how useful and generative it is for my leadership, effectiveness and continued development. Join me to learn more about how this could be important for you. Receive a template to help you establish more of it. Consider the invitation to establish a practice of watching yourself in action so that you can transform your leadership and create the results you want. Looking forward to being with you!

Life for many successful professionals is fast, ever-changing, full and sometimes overwhelming. What does being touched have to do with any of it? My immediate response: When we can slow down enough to feel touched by the kindness or thoughtfulness of another, we reconnect to our shared humanity. How is this helpful for leaders and what might be gained if we allowed it? Join me today at 2pm Eastern for a deeper conversation about leadership, life and our shared membership in the human family. Looking forward to being with you!

I used to think the best thing I could do was wear my strongest face, put my best foot forward and present with the most shiny, positive and sunny version of myself. In recent years I'm learning that pretending everything is just fine isn't a particularly useful strategy. What if it was OK to include everything and be present with it all? In the past few weeks life has tested this hypothesis in my world, big time. Join me for a heartfelt and courageous conversation about what it is like to include everything: the joy, the sadness, the pain, the sorrow, the elation of accomplishment, the defeat of helplessness, the satisfaction of success. Imagine what would be possible for you, if you could accept and include it all? Clear an hour of your day to nourish yourself in this deeper conversation about life and leadership. Looking forward to being with you!

In a recent survey about projected leadership trends, I noticed something missing. In the question about what qualities did I think leaders would need most in the next 5 years, Self Awareness didn't show up! This is significant on two fronts: First, I believe Self Awareness is the number one most useful and valuable quality a leader could and should cultivate. Second: It's not surprising that it didn't make it onto this list, as we're still in the transition from leadership being solely about what leaders do to include how leaders are. To help us all awaken to the usefulness and practice of Self Awareness, I've asked one of my teachers, Shavasti, to speak with me this week. Join us for part 1 of an essential conversation about Exquisite Self Awareness: what it is, how it can help and what we can do to practice it more as leaders, coaches and human beings who are here to be of service. We look forward to being with you!

Over recent weeks we've discussed surrendering to what is and letting go of addictions to worry. This leads naturally to this: Acceptance. Wherever you are is where you are! Join Shahmeen as she shares her own experience of sitting in the tension between vision and acceptance. Consider how you can find more peace in between striving for something that matters to you and resting in the place you're at in this moment. Most importantly, practice holding yourself with respect, dignity and love even in the midst of missteps, mistakes, and challenges. Leading is easier when we're not wasting energy on beating ourselves up for all that has gone wrong, or all that hasn't happened yet. We look forward to being with you today, no matter where you are!

Are you addicted to worrying? If so, what are you noticing about it? Does it actually help, or does it make no difference to the outcome? Join Shahmeen as she shares her observations on the spectrum of peace: from worry on one extreme, to hurry on the other. How does each end of the spectrum serve us, and how does it not? Hear about the gifts inherent in each extreme that we could apply, in order to spend more time in the middle, more peaceful, places along this spectrum of peace. Finally, learn some processes, practices and strategies we can all employ to explore, experiment and choose peace more often.

Sometimes the best laid plans go astray when life takes over. We had it all mapped out, then the unexpected shows up and we are taken way off course from our original goal. When that happens, we have choices. We can resist what is, we can rebel against it in denial, we can put up a fight against it, or grudgingly go along with it, leaving us and others feeling our resentment. Or, we can surrender gracefully and wholeheartedly remain present to what is happening. Join Shahmeen as she reflects on how our life story influences our habits and how to shift from old, limiting patterns to a new way forward: the opportunity to choose.

What is it like to be a consultant these days? Are you greeted with eye rolling, or enthusiasm by your clients? The media sometimes portrays consultants as an opportunistic shiver of sharks just waiting to grab their next victim. In the past I, as a member of this profession, have internalized some of this poor reputation and as a result have felt some shame in selling my services. The good news is, there are consultants out there who are trusted, trustworthy, heartfelt, conscious leaders who are oriented to being of immense service while guiding their clients to empowerment, ease and the creation of sustainable business performance and leadership effectiveness. I'm honoured to be part of a community of people just like this and am thrilled to be speaking with our leader this week. Join me in a rich conversation with Bill Adams, the CEO of Full Circle Group and The Leadership Circle to explore what it is to powerfully and effectively consult with heart, integrity and consciousness.

What is your primary default style when things get hard? Is your tendency to criticize others for what is happening to you? Perhaps you are the type to take the entire burden onto your own shoulders and carry it alone. Or maybe you put your head in the sand and pretend everything is fine, despite the gnawing feeling in the pit of your belly that something is very, very wrong. Whatever it is, there is hope! It lies in finding the middle: between aggression and passivity, between defensiveness and taking 100% responsibility, between not speaking up and being harsh and judgemental. There is a path in between that offers more grace, more peace and more ease. Join Shahmeen today as she shares her own challenging and lifelong journey from one side of the spectrum to the other and into the middle possibilities, and explore how walking towards this Middle Way can serve you, your leadership and your life.

Back in the old days it was commonly thought that humans were all finished with growing up or maturing after passing through our adolescent years. What we know now, is that we can actually evolve throughout adulthood. This evolution impacts how we think, make meaning and behave at work, at home and in all aspects of our lives. In our current complex times, there are some ways of thinking and behaving that are more helpful than others. Join Shahmeen and her guests, Barbara Braham and Chris Wahl, two practitioners specializing in the field of coaching and adult development, to learn more about YOU and how you can develop and grow into enhanced effectiveness in all realms of your life.

Join Shahmeen as she shares more about Anjali Leadership, her Leadership Development and Executive Coaching company. Learn about how Anjali Leadership evolved, what they are, who they serve and how they can help you gain a competitive advantage as you go forward. Hear about Team Anjali and their leadership philosophy of growing up gifts. Be inspired to take a deeper dive into your own leadership.

Are you in Sales? You probably are, whether you think you are or not. If you've ever tried to get others to buy-in to an idea or tried to promote your own offerings, you're in Sales. The fact is, just about every one of us is in Sales, but we don't want to admit it to ourselves because it conjures up the image of arm-twisting people to buy things they don't want or need. Carl Benscoter has been selling and building sales organizations for over thirty years, and he's not afraid to claim this as his specialty! Join Shahmeen and Carl as they explore ways that people make decisions, how focusing on others rather than ourselves can bring us the right results, and how we can build resilience and courage in our attempts to get others to buy our services or buy-in to our ideas. We can sell while remaining in service to others. In fact, selling (or better yet helping others to buy), is in itself a service to others. Join us and let your inner salesperson out for some air and a fresh perspective!

Most leadership coaches will tell you that the best way to create the results that you are after is to get clear about what really matters to you. Knowing your values helps you to set goals, and once these goals are set, you're off! Except...that's not really how it works. There's a whole other side to the equation which involves having clarity about where things stand today. Once you know both: your vision and your current reality, then you can get to work on closing the gap. But how do you go about doing that? Join Shahmeen and her guest, Linda Cattelan, Executive and Career Acceleration Coach, President of Results Catalyst Inc. and creator of the 2015 Catapult Your Career Success Summit to learn the how behind the what of bringing your goals into reality.

I've heard myself ask these questions over and over of myself and my clients: Who are you? Why are you here? What is the gift or contribution you are here to offer? While these are very powerful and important questions to consider, the one of who I am becoming is quite different and is intriguing indeed. If I am NOT my accomplishments, what I have been know for, my brand, who I serve or how much money I make, then who am I? Join host Shahmeen Sadiq as she explores this today.

Extraordinary leaders understand and work with this essential question: What am I choosing in this moment: hope, or fear? Am I choosing to take the next step based on moving towards something that I am passionate about, something that really matters to me; something for which I am willing to do whatever it takes to bring it into being? Or am I choosing to react to try to keep what I don't want as far away from me as possible, to stop something from happening, to move away from what I don't want? Both choices will give us a result...but it is the one we are hoping for? Join Shahmeen as she reflects on this question through the lens of current events at the local, national and personal level.

We spend so much energy on wishing things were different from how they are right now. How I'd love to be 10 pounds lighter, a few thousand dollars richer, that much farther ahead in my career and my life, for example. This yearning for better can be even more pronounced during the holiday season, and adds an unnecessary burden to what can often be a fairly stressful time. What would it be like to be free of this heaviness? Join Shahmeen this week as we explore finding peace with what is present in your life right now. Then relax and enjoy all that the holiday season, and life, has to offer!

Anyone who has travelled on an airplane has heard the direction to put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others. But when it comes to everyday life, many struggle to put their own well-being first. As leaders (people who are passionate about creating something that really matters to them) it is imperative that we learn to do so! Engage in a deeper conversation about challenges and strategies for building resilience, strength and health. Live callers are especially welcome today. Join us!

Have you ever tried to project an image of perfection? Have you strived to look, act and speak in a way that shows you've got it all together? If you answered 'yes' to either of these questions, you are not alone. While the accumulation of all of the accoutrements of a finished product may gain us entrance to the clubs into which we seek membership, it can also be the source of unhappiness, hollowness, disappointment and even our own undoing. What if having it all together actually meant having the awareness that we are all learners making our way through the journey of life? What would be possible if we could recognize that we are NOT our image? How would we lead if we could remember that we are all works in progress? Join Shahmeen and her guest, Ann Betz, as they take on this crucial leadership reframe.

The landscape has never been more complex. Demands at work, busy kids, keeping up with the daily requirements of running a household, aging parents and a whole host of loved ones and friends to stay connected to. Staying afloat is a matter of hanging on for dear life; getting ahead of the game, even a little, feels like a luxury way out of reach. If this is true for you, or for anyone you know and love, join Shahmeen to explore, share (you're not alone!), laugh (a little humour goes a long way) and learn how to come back to center when things get way out of balance. We welcome your calls as together we'll find strategies to not only survive, but thrive. Join the conversation!