Posts by Jennifer McEwen
Movement through Commitment
When I think of commitment, the elephant comes to mind. I grew up in Sri Lanka where elephants were a part of our daily lives. Elephants are tenacious mammals who develop strong social bonds and tend to stay with their herd for life. To create movement that furthers a vision, a set of goals, and…
Read MoreLeading for Synergy
Over the past weeks, we’ve written about COMMUNITY and how it can help expand leadership impact. We focused on the importance of support and how involvement requires action. We are wrapping up our mini-series with a focus on synergy. Synergy is a dynamic that, especially in work, helps people and organizations combine their resources and…
Read MoreA Community for Leadership
What do you think of when you hear the word community? Maybe it conjures up thoughts of your neighborhood or volunteering through service with others for a cause. At work, you may be involved in a community of practice or perhaps you’re a member of an affinity group aligned around shared experiences and/or desired outcomes. …
Read MoreInsight from Out-of-Sight
Insight is the origin of vision, or at least that’s how it works best. The etymology of the word insight is: “sight with the ‘eyes’ of the mind, mental vision, understanding from within.” This suggests the spark of vision happens at the sensory level, requires deep introspection, and isn’t always immediately articulatable with words. Is…
Read MoreOrchestrate for Impact
Collaboration is necessary in today’s work world, and often highlighted as an organizational value. People may be motivated to cooperate (the subject of our September 5th blog) and engaged in communicating actively (discussed in our September 12th blog); however the work isn’t always coordinated in a way that leads to success. Coordination is needed most…
Read MoreHealthy Debate Through Curiosity
These extremely warm summer days have me thinking about how debates can heat up suddenly, especially at work. When we sense ‘danger’ around a topic, we might tend to avoid that hot topic, tiptoe gingerly when discussing it, or dive headfirst to win it. None of these responses is healthy, though. So, what’s the best…
Read MoreReturn To (Trust at) Work
This week, we continue our deep dive into trust. In this blog, we review trust with others. If you missed last week’s blog, we explored self-trust…you can check it out here. At this point in time, there are many challenges and opportunities with the post-pandemic topic of “Return To Work” (RTW). As employers explore work…
Read MoreAppreciating Differences
Appreciation is a valuable mindset and practice that supports harmony, empathy, and growth. It involves both valuing and recognizing the unique perspectives, experiences, and contributions of others. This week, we explore the practice of appreciation through valuing others. Taking time to gather information, listen to various viewpoints, and seek a thorough understanding of factors at…
Read MoreBe Interested
Last week, we wrote about being present – minimize distractions, slow down, focus on the moment. This week, we explore having presence – the ability to command attention, own a room, or display gravitas after becoming present to what’s going on. Having coached numerous executives these past two decades, I’ve spent a fair amount of…
Read MoreA.R.I.S.E. Back to Openness
The mind is a wondrous thing…it opens and shuts and opens and shuts. At times we want it to stay open, but it doesn’t. We wrote last week about the importance of being open in the practice of leadership. Here, we explore staying open. Once we raise awareness to be open—adopt an open mind, open…
Read More