I have been proud to wear the label #working mom. I took 8 months off when my daughter was born. And then I returned to the workplace. I tried to be a stay-at-home mom and honestly, I just wasn’t good at it.

Please don’t judge me. I made every career choice in my life based on how I was showing up as a mom. If I felt like Ali wasn’t getting what she needed, I knew it was time to pivot. And I did.

Like almost every working mom, I beat myself about the “juggle”. I realized pretty early on in my career that “having it all” was a crock. There were days when I could have won the Mom of the Year Award. And other days I just cried myself to sleep because I couldn’t get it together.

I was divorced when my daughter was three. So, I experienced the stress that single mom's experience as well.

But juggling in 2020 has taken on an entirely different level of gravity for working women.

COVID is wreaking havoc for everyone. But the...

There's never been another like her. And when Ruth Bader Ginsburg died in September, the outpouring of support and loss of a national treasure, was palpable. 

Like most women, I felt like I had lost a role model. A #shero. An absolutely fierce lioness who lived a life of courage. And I wanted to honor her by sharing how she lived a life of #thinkingcourageously.

So I called in members of my squad ( and beloved Inkhorn Book Club),  Dr. Nichola Gutgold and Jessica Armstrong. The authors of the children's book, "Growing Up Supremely". 

In their book, the authors share the inspiring, and hardworking lives of the four women justices— Sandra Day O’Connor, Elena Kagan, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, & Sonia Sotomayor.

As we do each week, we look at the role of success, pivots and courage. And how these three words weaved into the life of #RBG.  

Nikki and Jessica share some of their favorite stories about the Justice. We talk about work/life balance, marriage,...

Picture this.

You are a parent. You are a daughter. You are a son. You are a friend. You are part of a team. Part of an organization.

And things aren’t going well.

You may know this because of the data. Perhaps your organization is under performing.

You may know this because things aren’t getting done. Lots of promises. No action.

You may know this because everyone around you is just waiting for something to change.

You may know this because you feel it in your gut. You may know because of the unspoken tension in your house?

As a coach, I often ask my clients this question...what will happen if things don’t change in the next six months?

Each of these gooey, uncomfortable, heart-wrenching, teeth grinding situations provide you with an opportunity. An opportunity for Daring Leadership.

I spent this past weekend glued to ZOOM to become trained in Brenee Brown’s program, Dare To Lead.

There’s so much to unpack about my training experience.

But...

I woke up this morning with that song in my head. It’s an “oldie but a goodie”. And, it’s exactly what I want to write about today.

“The Dichotomy of Leadership”. In 2018, Jocks Willink and Lief Babin penned this book. “Leadership is managing tensions. Leaders must know when to adapt. This is where self-awareness plays a big part. In a word, they need balance.”

“Leaders must find the equilibrium between opposing forces that pull in opposite directions.”

As I coach leaders through this new now, I’m seeing the struggle and pain that comes from working in a world of paradox. And this is especially true when you think about a leadership mindset.

I recently facilitated a Think Courageously Book Club session. A participant shared that they were feeling guilty about finding opportunities for growth and joy...during this time of pain and fear. And I heard that very same sentiment again today.

How do these paradoxes impact our...

My favorite words of wisdom this week are from Seth Goodin. We need to stop using the words "new normal" and accept that there is "simply the normal of now."

ZOOM and other virtual meeting platforms are here to stay. And for the most part, ZOOM has been a game-changer for organizations. Imagine life without this digital space?

So now that we are comfortable in a ZOOM room, what's next?

Relationship Building!

As a leadership coach for teams, I've observed lots of trends in the past six months. The data tells us that the need for community and connection is more important than ever. That without a mission and purpose, employees will disengage.

Now that we are in the normal of now, leaders are asking important questions. How can I go from keeping my team connected to how do I rebuild relationships with teammates? It's not enough to just show up with a status report or policy update. As leaders, we need to get creative and CREATE space for conversations.

With that in mind, I've been...

The gifts of our life lessons come to us through powerful storytelling. Stories shape the way we see the world.   

In a COVID world, resilience, patience, and flexibility are now key elements of our painful narrative. 

My mom was a huge fan of the old saying “get back on the horse.” No matter the crisis, my brother and I learned how to get back on the horse...and quickly. Bad grade... “get back on the horse”, fall off your bike…”get back on the horse” rough break-up, “dust yourself off and get back on the horse”. Resiliency might just be the story of my own book. 

The Urban Dictionary defines the expression “Get back on the horse” as follow: 

Def. 1 (verb) To attempt the same challenging action after failure. Apparently derived from an old adage: "You have to get back on the horse that threw you."  

A recent article in the Harvard Business Review by David Sluss and Edward...

I've always been a cheerleader for change. I've studied organizational dynamics for over 30 years as a consultant, coach, and leadership geek.  

During this pandemic, I've collected a library of articles on the topic of thriving in crisis. I've listened and observed my clients as they have pivoted their way towards a new future. 

In today's newsletter, I'm combining some of the current research with my own experiences with clients who are finding opportunity in uncertainty. 

McKinsey & Company recently surveyed more than 800 U.S. based employees on a variety of topics related to employee experience during this unprecedented time. 80% of respondents say that the crisis is affecting their daily work lives. No big surprise here. 

What we are learning is that leading by intent vs. default matters more than ever. It is critical that leaders create compassionate cultures concerned about the well being of their people. 

 "Employees in organizations...

This is about to get very real. I'm about to share a bit about my personal challenges as both a solopreneur and leadership coach.

In the last seven months, I've lost my mom, 2 dogs and have had cervical spinal surgery.  I've also managed to embark on a new coaching certification and build my business in ways that I could never have imagined.

This isn't a personal pity party. My mom raised me to be a resilient, strong, fearless woman.

But here are the facts.  I've been going in "fifth gear" since September 20th.

For the first two months after my mother died, I focused my energy on cleaning out her house. Determined to get it on the market quickly, I amped up my project management skills. I coordinated auctioneers, cleaners, and teams of repair specialists.

I was devastated and angry about her sudden passing.  So, I dumped all of that negative energy into dealing with the house. After two deals fell through (more anger, more...

One of the greatest joys of starting Think Good Leadership has been coaching leaders. I've had the opportunity to do lots of one-on-one work with high potential individuals. Our work generally begins with utilizing a leadership assessment. As a certified coach of The Leadership Challenge, I love offering my clients the leadership assessment tool, LPI360. This 360 provides insight into the actual practice of specific leadership behaviors. We use it as a starting place for our coaching and it provides the client great insight into areas for growth.

One-on-one coaching is intensive. We work together for an extended period of time and work on specific challenges. It's usually face to face. It requires a moderate financial investment from the individual or the organization.

I decided six months again to add group coaching to my portfolio of services. Here's why I felt it was so necessary to offer virtual group coaching.

• Anyone can access virtual group coaching from...