Stories from the Heart of Leadership

So often people have great ideas and then immediately think of all the reasons why they can't be taken forward, effectively stopping themselves before they even begin. Perhaps it feels too out there to create that, or maybe we tell ourselves, it's impossible to have that, or, I don't have what it takes to make that happen. If you've ever felt this way you'll enjoy hearing from our guest this week, Canadian creator extraordinaire, Linda Stephenson, founder of Mèreadesso. Join us for an inspiring conversation as Linda shares her winning formula of moving from curiosity, to idea, to reality, this week on Stories from the Heart of Leadership.

We live in complex times: so much to do, so few resources, so little time. Many of us have learned to navigate very well, relying on our drive, ambition and active energy to make it all work. This masculine energy lives in all of us: male and female, and is highly valued and rewarded by the systems and institutions in which we all operate. The feminine energies of receiving, allowing, intuition have much to offer us in partnership, and also live in both women and men. Join Shahmeen and her guest, Donna Poulidis, to learn more about how to source, cultivate and put this Goddess energy into service alongside your striving and driving. Everyone is welcome!

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.

Conventional thinking deems failure as a waste of time, grounds for dismissal and something to be avoided at all costs. Entire corporate cultures are formed around the avoidance of failure, resulting in caution, risk aversion and stifled innovation. However in recent times failure is getting a reshaping of sorts. From failing forward to intelligent failure, we're starting to hold failure as something to learn from; definitely not the waste of time we may have viewed it as! What does failure have to contribute to sustainable business performance, effective leadership, authentic interactions between humans and the creation of results with greater ease? Join Shahmeen and her guests, the Toronto Co-Leads of Women Reshaping The World for a vibrant conversation about this new paradigm and the useful gifts that failure may offer.

Although the calendar year begins in January, it always feels like September is the start of a New Year. The fact that my children are still school-aged and their school year begins now could explain this, and the autumn season has a freshness to the air where I live, that brings the energy of hope and new beginnings with it. Join me, Shahmeen Sadiq, host of Stories from the Heart of Leadership, to express gratitude for what has brought us to this point, take the closure necessary to clear past disappointments, and set clear intentions for the year ahead. Callers are most welcome for this co-creative hour! Here is the number to call on Monday September 8 from 2-3pm Eastern Time: 1-888-346-9141. I look forward to being with you!

We live in complex times: so much to do, so few resources, so little time. Many of us have learned to navigate very well, relying on our drive, ambition and active energy to make it all work. This masculine energy lives in all of us: male and female, and is highly valued and rewarded by the systems and institutions in which we all operate. The feminine energies of receiving, allowing, intuition have much to offer us in partnership, and also live in both women and men. Join Shahmeen and her guest, Donna Poulidis, to learn more about how to source, cultivate and put this Goddess energy into service alongside your striving and driving. Everyone is welcome!

The fall is like a new year and a new opportunity for you to create fresh new changes. You have a wonderful opportunity to start thinking and behaving differently so you can achieve outrageous success. But what can you do differently to ensure you don’t fall back into old habits that keep you stuck? Now is the perfect time to set the stage for the year to come. The habits and patterns that you create now will decide on how your future will unfold. Are you letting fear stop you? If you are not leading fearlessly then this mindset will not only affect you but your business, career and life, as well. Louise Veres joins Shahmeen to help you learn: 1.What you are afraid of and why so you can actively and intentionally create your most successful year. 2.How you hold your fear and how that affects your success. 3.Tips and tools for addressing your fears and moving forward. Join us!

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!

We all need friends. They can act as supporters, listeners, influencer, and beloved ones; they can serve to challenge, annoy and be our worst button-pushers! What constitutes real friendship and why is it so important for us all? How easy is it to be honest and open in the most valued friendships? It is not always easy, but in those most vulnerable moments we can discover the power of authentic connections. The more we give, the more we receive. Join Shahmeen and her guest (and good friend!), Caroline Francisco, for a deeper conversation about what it takes, the risks, the benefits and the joy of a real friendship.

Although the calendar year begins in January, it always feels like September is the start of a New Year. The fact that my children are still school-aged and their school year begins now could explain this, and the autumn season has a freshness to the air where I live, that brings the energy of hope and new beginnings with it. Join me, Shahmeen Sadiq, host of Stories from the Heart of Leadership, to express gratitude for what has brought us to this point, take the closure necessary to clear past disappointments, and set clear intentions for the year ahead. Callers are most welcome for this co-creative hour! Here is the number to call on Monday September 8 from 2-3pm Eastern Time: 1-888-346-9141. I look forward to being with you!

What does it really mean to follow your dream? In this episode, Shahmeen and her guest, Kaleena Lawless, an emerging professional dance artist, discuss vision and living purposefully. Learn about the hard work, satisfaction and rewards of committing to your passion and bringing your vision into reality. Hear as well about the pitfalls, obstacles and costs that such a courageous journey necessarily includes. Be inspired to continue walking the path of your own purposeful life and reflect on how what others face is true for you too. Passion and challenges: they meet us hand in hand. How do you stay the course nonetheless? Join us!

Life is a journey. We do a great job of setting goals and visions for ourselves, and then are faced with the invitation to take the next step in the journey towards them. It takes much courage to say yes to these invitations, as each journey asks us to consider, uncover and integrate a new way of behaving, acting and relating. Fierce work indeed. Even when we get there, there is always something next beckoning. Which invites us into the next new ways! Join Shahmeen as she reflects on three journeys: the path two leadership teams have courageously chosen to walk, Shahmeen's own professional and personal journeys, and our collective journey as a family of human beings. Reflect on your own life with two powerful practices that will be shared, and reconnect to our shared humanity in service of a more peaceful way forward.

Join Shahmeen and her guest, Deborah McCrea, to uncover the gift within the wound that leads us to greater truth, freedom and fulfillment. Depending on our life path and purpose, it’s said that we choose a family and set of circumstances to be born into. While we exist as pure energy and consciousness, we’re aligned with the truth that humans are “spiritual beings having a material experience.” But as gravity calls and we are born into a physical body, we essentially die to the spiritual while being birthed into matter. We begin to center our sense of ‘self’ in the wound of the unhealed ego and then build elaborate defenses to protect it through separation - rather than embrace and heal it. Often there’s no one present to remind us of the magnificent beings we truly are. Or, how courageous it is to have chosen a human journey. We then expend vast amounts of energy accruing possessions and elaborate facades in the effort to avoid feeling the pain of having abandoned our authentic selves. We forget that we are not the wound but something deeper that connects us to every other soul on earth: That we truly are - not alone. The revelation that we can spiritualize matter and have the best of both worlds, transforms the wound into a gift - the key to our liberation and freedom

You might be familiar with the art of Egyptian Dance. Perhaps you've been to a restaurant where a belly dancer performed, maybe you travelled to Egypt or other Middle Eastern countries and saw it there, or you might be a dancer yourself. What you might not know, is that this beautiful art form has also been what Shahmeen calls complementary cross training for her professional career as a leadership consultant and executive coach! Join Shahmeen and her inspiring dance teacher, Nada El Masriya, for an illuminating conversation about this graceful dance: its history, its roots, how Nada has brought her passion for Egyptian Dance to Canadian dancers and how Shahmeen continues to integrate it to bring a new aliveness to her professional and personal life. Nada El Masriya Nada El Masriya is an international level performer and instructor of Egyptian and Middle Eastern Dance, trained by the world-renowned Reda Troupe. She has received awards and accolades from some of the greatest living Belly Dancers. “Nada El Masriya is the Ambassador of Egyptian Dance in Canada.” - Fifi Abdou Egyptian born and raised, Nada El Masriya has been featured in many national and international festivals, including Dance Ontario, Luminato, The International Council for Traditional Music, Salamat Masr in Cairo and the World Belly Dance Convention in Seoul Korea. Nada has appeared on Egyptian television and appears regularly in Canadian television, radio and media. You can see many of Nada's performances on Youtube, just search for Nada El Masriya. Also go towww.discoverbellydance.com

Poet David Whyte says, What you can plan is too small for you to live. Many of us have built successful careers, loving families and other monuments that pay beautiful testimony to our passion, desire and willpower. And then there comes a time when all of that planning and striving isn't so satisfying or useful anymore. If you've felt inklings of this, you'll love our show this week. Join Shahmeen and her guest, Sonia Sinisterra, as they explore what it's like to sit in the in-between place where knowing and striving aren't going to work, but the new way hasn't shown itself fully just yet, how to let go even though it feels like an utter freefall to do so, and what practices support this surrender to allow life to have its own way.

In these busy times, kids sometimes spend more time at school and in extra-curricular activities than they do at home with their families. This can have a variety of positive impacts: building confidence and independence, exposing them to diversity of ideas and activities, and more. There are downsides too: over-scheduling, less family time and insufficient opportunities for free or down time. But what about when your beliefs clash with those of the other adults and mentors in your children's lives? How do you raise issues with teachers and activity leaders while still maintaining good relationships with the school/organization? How can you model productive problem solving for your kids, discerning when to step in and when not to, helping them (and yourself) grow into increasingly resilient and confident human beings? Join Shahmeen and her guest, teacher Royal Carney, this week as we explore this from a number of perspectives: teacher, coach, parent.

Most of us believe we made it this far because of what we know and what we are able to do. We busy ourselves by knowing about and preparing for a future we are sure will be better than where we are now. We have created an identity that says if we are more of this or less than that we will be better than what we actually are. Our coaching and consulting practices are often built around these premises. How much of this do we know for sure is true? What if what is unreal and not true about us simply dissolved upon discovery, with no further effort needed? Have we ever stopped, inquired into and allowed ourselves to rest in not knowing until what is true and already complete was discovered? The Refiners’ Playground, founded by Jim Anderson and Dan Holden, is a community dedicated to finding out what’s true about our essential nature. They join Shahmeen today for a conversation you’ve been waiting for.

Join Shahmeen as she shares her current learning in the leadership and human development realm.

Life is purposeful. We are not here by accident. We are up to something in being here, whether we are aware of it or not. In short, we are here to contribute to the world, and to grow as we do so, in ways that are unique to each person. We call this purpose. We are all pulled by a purpose that is largely mysterious. As one colleague put it, “God gave me a purpose and then hid it from me.” Often that purpose reveals itself to us in the form of yearnings or longings. It is up to us then to notice the longings and follow them forward into our purpose. In this conversation, our guest, Bob Anderson, will share his story of stalking his longings throughout his life. This led him into the field of Leadership Consulting where he is now a global thought leader. It then led him into leading the global assessment, development and consulting companies that emerged around his work. Join Shahmeen and Bob and hear: - Personally and vulnerably his story of following the quiet, urgent voice of purpose - How he often bet the farm to bring that purpose into realization - What he has learned about the practice of stalking your longing - His understanding of how the discernment of purpose, and its constant pursuit, is the core practice of leadership - How the pursuit of purpose requires courage - How to creatively live with the fear that comes along with pursuing purpose.

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.