Positive Expectancy: Finding the Opportunity on the Other Side of Adversity
Difficult times are part of life - personally and professionally. They can drain energy, disrupt plans, and make it hard to see beyond what has been lost. Yet leadership is not about denying what is difficult; it is about helping people recognize what remains possible. That is the practice I call positive expectancy: acknowledging reality while deliberately looking for the growth, connection, creativity, and renewed purpose that can emerge on the other side.
Don’t Let Small Problems Grow Roots
Leadership problems are a lot like weeds unattended to in a garden. The longer we wait to handle them, the more difficult it can be.
Leadership Begins With Belief
Most of us can point to someone who saw potential in us before we fully saw it in ourselves. My grandparents did that for many people, including me. Their example taught me that belief is more than encouragement. It is an investment expressed through time, opportunity, trust, and action.
The Things That Make Us Grow
When was the last time you deliberately did something that made you uncomfortable? Not something reckless or unsafe, but something that stretched your confidence, challenged your assumptions, or required you to become a beginner again. Growth rarely happens when we stay inside the familiar. It happens when we are willing to take a step into the uncomfortable and discover that we may be more capable than we thought.
The Lessons Waiting on the Other Side of Failure
Five years ago this week, an early morning bike ride ended with me face-first on the pavement. It was painful, embarrassing, and memorable for all the wrong reasons. But that experience also gave me a reminder I have carried into my work and life since then: failure hurts, but it can also teach us something valuable if we are willing to pause, reflect, and learn from it.
Pause With Purpose: Learning, Living, and Leading More Fully
What if the key to better learning, healthier living, and more effective leadership is not doing more - but pausing more intentionally? In a recent interview, I had the opportunity to speak with Jim Cathcart, a professional speaker, author, and longtime National Speakers Association member, about the value of pausing. He shared powerful insights on pursuing life harmony instead of balance, reflecting before reacting, recognizing our limits, and stepping back far enough to see what truly matters. Here are a few lessons from our conversation that can help each of us learn, live, and lead with greater clarity.