Leadership consultant and communication expert Beth Wonson examines the skills and strengths that make for effective leadership and communication.
Today I want to tell you about one of my absolute favorite sayings: Grace is in the space.
This isn’t just a catchy phrase to me. Grace is in the space is actually part of my operating system. It’s a tool, and it’s one of the mantras I use in my Navigating Challenging Dialogue trainings and events.
Read MoreAnger is a topic that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it seems to be bubbling up in lots of places.
Listen in or read on to learn about how you might be trying to deal with your anger (and what is happening instead), what would happen if the target of your anger went away (hint: your anger doesn’t go with them), and 4 steps for taking care of your anger – and yourself. Be sure to download the free worksheet and delve a little deeper into your self-development!
Read MoreIs your organization doing well but struggling to find money to invest back in? I’d bet you’ve looked under every rock, cut every expense, and maybe held back on raises, bonuses, and new staff – and yet you still don’t have any Sticky Money.
Well, I’ll tell you: It’s in your labor and benefits line item BUT not in the way you may be thinking.
Listen in to learn about Sticky Money, the surprising way you’re wasting resources, and how we can help you plug those leaks and capture money to reinvest.
Read MoreHow many management or leadership classes have you participated in? If you are like most of the people I work with, your answer is more than six. And, like them, you may be wondering why managing and leading people still feels burdensome even after time spent in all those trainings.
Having worked with so many leaders and managers who want to make their work more easeful and rewarding, I have ideas and insights on lessening your leadership load. Listen in for five tips from my 20 years of experience and learning.
Read MoreI often hear from people that they have coworkers, friends, and even family members who they no longer feel the same level of connection with because of disagreements, differences of opinion, different worldviews, or conflict.
So, today, we’ll explore 10 simple ways to experience a deeper sense of connection and a deeper sense of peace, plus where to start looking for peace, joy, love, abundance, appreciation, and connection. (Hint: it’s one place you’ll always find them!)
Read MoreSometimes emotions can run a little high during a team development workshop, with some emotional hotspots getting triggered. Luckily, Beth and her training team develop their skills and experience so they can hold a safe emotional space for just those moments.
But anyone can be caught by surprise! Listen in to hear about the time there was something going on that everyone else in the room knew about that Beth didn’t, and she made an assumption that had her completely off base.
Read MoreIf you desire a seat at the leadership table, yet your energy and body language contradict what you see in your role models, it’s time to get your body used to a new carriage and emote a presence they recognize as leadership.
This is not a fake-it-until-you-make-it or dress-for-the-part activity. This is a subtle preparation to shift into your authentic leadership presence.
Listen in for an experiment to try and stories from some of my leadership coaching clients – and see if you recognize yourself.
Read MoreThe Third Door is a magical place on the decision-making spectrum that is between Option A and Option B. It is in between the right choice and the wrong choice, between Yes and No, between any two obvious answers.
The Third Door is just a few steps off the beaten path, an entryway to expansive possibility – but it is elusive and not always easily seen by our thinking mind. Listen in pr read on for an example of the Third Door in the workplace, how I found my Third Door, and how you might find yours.
Read MoreI can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken off in a direction based on a first fact that is flawed. Sometimes I find out quickly, but sometimes the roadblocks, barriers, and failures aren’t eager to reveal themselves, and so it takes a lot longer. Sometimes, I’ve invested a lot of time and energy before realizing that I was headed in the wrong direction from the start.
Listen in for stories with what this looks like, plus three simple tips that will point your efforts in the right direction.
Read MoreResearch and experience show that the more power we achieve, the less we take a nuanced approach to reading and understanding the people around us. Instead, the more power we have, the quicker we are to stereotype instead of taking time to build relationships.
Why? Well, as we now command resources that we once had to build relationships to acquire, the building relationships part isn’t quite as critical. Listen in for four practical steps you can take to avoid or fix this Power Paradox.
Read MoreDo you ever stop and think, “Hey, what if they find out I don’t know as much as they think I do?” If your answer is Yes, then you’re in good company. Many of us suffer from Impostor Syndrome. It frequently appears as crediting our success to outside factors – things like luck, the mistakes of others, or fate – instead of attributing it to our skills, knowledge, hard work, and tenacity. Listen in or read on for other ways the Impostor Syndrome shows up and simple steps to dissolve your self-doubt.
Read MoreWhether in the workplace or at home, when people remain caught in the swirl of their unspoken stories – stories comprised of fear, angst, “what ifs,” and “they shoulds” – it creates a culture heavy with discord. But when people are trained and skillful in setting those emotional stories aside to speak their truth based on facts, there is a culture of harmony.
Read on or listen in for a case study about peeling away the emotions and getting at the facts, plus two simple ways to identify the truth.
Read MoreMy life experience says joy and abundance aren’t in the achievement of perfected bliss but in the awareness that when life’s disappointments, confusion, hard choices, and grief-filled moments appear, I can come back to center.
Rather than try to fix, change, avoid, or fight it, I can be like the caterpillar – I can sink in, allow myself to be, take a deep rest, and trust that the way will again become clear.
Listen in for the lessons in caterpillar goop and human soup, along with the warm wisdom of horses.
Read MoreTen years ago, whenever I felt certain that something had to change, I was quite certain it was someone else who needed to change and not me. This was true in my friendships, my work relationships, and how I viewed the world. I held the expectation that everyone would be better off if they were more like me.
But now, through a lot of self-work and with more self-awareness, I know that whatever emotional energy comes up in me is simply there for me to continue to learn about myself. Listen in or read on for more…
Read MoreWhen we encounter a challenge, problem, or puzzle, throwing heaps of resources at it can seem like the best or only solution. But before you invest a lot of time, money, and effort, get a bigger flashlight and take another look at the problem. A better solution may be smaller, easier, or closer than you thought.
Listen in for 4 questions you can count on to gain a new view, plus a simple question that allowed my client to give her business what it most needed while getting what she most wanted.
Read MoreMany years ago, the National Indian Youth Leadership Project’s Mac Hall taught me an incredible lesson about bringing programs into the world. He said, “We only go where we are invited,” meaning we could provide information, but we wait to be asked. We didn’t assume we knew what was best for a community. Instead, we trusted that, when the time was right, their invitation would come.
Listen in (or read on) for more about my time on the Acoma Pueblo and working with Mac, and also my invitation for you.
Read MoreWhen we clutch and cling to what we treasure, our tightly closed fist prevents us from accepting anything more, and it can also prevent our moving forward with ease and freedom.
Listen in (or read on) for a short, sweet story about a child who learned to open her fist, which, in turn, opened my eyes – and also a list of nine rocks that many of us hold onto.
Read MoreMy experience in working with this young man taught me far more than I ever taught him. One of the biggest Ahas was how when humans – youth or adults – feel vulnerable about their skillset or abilities, and they are in an environment where they believe it isn’t safe to reveal those deficits and ask for help, they will create a distraction. In the world of work, this distraction is generally drama, chaos, and unhealthy conflict.
Read MoreRemember the Hall of Mirrors you found at circuses or carnivals? When you stood in front of a mirror, there was another one directly behind you, and the combination caused a kind of from-here-to-infinity-and-beyond reflection effect.
Read MoreWhat precious "rocks" do I hold onto that no longer serve me, hold me captive or keep me from moving forward? I thought of my coaching clients...one in particular...who is struggling to move forward because she is still clutching old behaviors.
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