Todd Simindinger joins Beth Wonson to talk about how his day is made up of about 90% emotionally challenging dialogues, and how he’s using the tools of Navigating Challenging Dialogue® each day at both home and work.
Read More
It was my pleasure to be a guest on the most recent episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast hosted by Amir Ghannad.
Read MoreIn this episode of The Transformative Leader Podcast, I’m excited to bring you a discussion with leadership expert, speaker, and consultant, Beth Wonson. And yes, in case you’re wondering, I definitely consider Beth another kindred spirit! She really “gets it” when it comes to leadership, culture, and the role that self-awareness, insight, and emotional intelligence play in bringing them together.
How 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 More
Sometimes 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 More
If 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 More
The 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 More
Research 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 More
Do 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 More
I’ve helped a wide range of organizations, companies, and government agencies navigate the challenges inherent in growth and change. So, when I listened to a podcast where Dr. Dan Diamond explores what makes people resilient and committed when working for the greater good, I realized what he shares is as applicable to corporations and government agencies as it is to nonprofits.
Here are his key points that align perfectly with the advice, coaching, and consultation I provide on navigating big change.
Read More
Join Beth Wonson as she enjoys a talk with her mentor and friend, Betsey Nash. After many years in the human resources field and as “authoritative center of the universe on the central coast of California for HR and important human relations issues,” Betsey is on the cusp of retirement. But before she goes, she shares her philosophies of work and leadership while Beth treats her to words of thanks, praise, and congratulations from leaders who have worked with her.
Read More
Have you ever made a new hire – or been a part of the team that made a new hire – and after a few weeks, you begin to get that sinking feeling of “Oh no, we made a mistake…”?
If so, you are not alone. Bringing on new talent is one of the most challenging tasks that anyone has to deal with. There are so many complex variables in making a good hire, but only seven ways we make a bad one.
Read on or listen in for how to remedy seven bad hire habits, from ambiguous goals to hidden expectations.
Read More
A key learning from Navigating Challenging Dialogue® is issues like staff burnout, drama, conflict, high turnover, and low morale are symptoms signaling a deeper issue.
What’s underneath hopelessness is the basic human desire to feel our efforts are trending toward a positive outcome. Yet the important work of wrangling with long-term societal problems can feel overwhelmingly negative.
Read on (or listen in) for two radically different approaches to helping individuals and the collective in your organization find a path to hope…
Read More
Many 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 More
Isolation is a common thread among leaders who wish they hadn’t gone into leadership. The higher you move up in an organization, the less time there is to work in your area of passion and strength, the more you become the guard dog and keeper of secrets, and the fewer people you can talk to about decisions that weigh on your heart.
Listen in for six characteristics of isolated leaders plus three simple strategies they can use to re-engage with their work, their life, and the people around them.
Read More
A special treat: An interview with Cara Crye, new CEO of the Farm Supply Company. Cara began working at Farm Supply fresh out of college and worked her way up through the ranks to follow the prior CEO’s 52-year tenure. If you’re looking to move up within your organization, or even tap into a leadership position in a new organization, you are going to hear some invaluable tips and areas to begin working on so you can increase your self-awareness and become a charismatic, engaging, and successful leader.
Read More
Today I want to tell you about one of my absolute favorite sayings. I actually think it’s a Beth Wonson Original because when I Googled it with quotation marks around it, only my own articles and writing came up in the results. So I’m going to go ahead and own it!
Read More
Remember 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 More
I have been a horse lover and a horseback rider for years, and I use horses in my leadership work. I also partner with them to provide coaching to people. I just love the energy of horses, and I think what I love the most about them are their integrity, honesty, and commitment to their own self-care.
Read More
People comparing whose car was there and whose parking spot was vacant had become the norm. How many supervisors (and staff) across the United States are equating more hours in the work seat with more value?
Read More
The fourth quarter push can be tough on everyone, so now is the perfect time to infuse the office climate and culture with positivity by giving your team some attention.
Read More