Posts by Mary Ellen Clagett

Take the Step

Lessons often come to me when I’m playing, and that’s how this one came to me. Last week I found myself in my first virtual reality game. I was standing on the edge of a cliff, intent on rescuing my robot, when I realized that I was standing on the edge of a cliff. My…

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Set the Stage for Inspired Vision

Saturday is the Winter Solstice – the shortest day and longest night of the year. In many indigenous cultures, it was the time to honor the sun as a giver of life – critical to survival of the community, the harvest, the animals and more. Indeed, the sun is critical for life, and it also…

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The Power of “I Declare”

I was struck yesterday with the realization that toddlers have mastered the formula for declaring. Raising their voices, waving their arms, stomping their feet … they declare what they want with all their being. Imagine what we could do if we recaptured that feeling down to our core, and then used it to declare to…

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Risky Business

risky business

When I was growing up, every year the Wizard of Oz would come on TV and the family would gather to watch it. My favorite scene was when the Wizard gave the Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow their “gifts”. So, often when the subject of courage comes up, as it did in last week’s blog, I…

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I Know What I’m Talking About…Or Do I?

Assumptions

One of the most impactful books I’ve read is The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. I find that the third agreement is the hardest for me to apply: “Don’t make assumptions”. We are hardwired to run on automatic, and it is when I’m on automatic that I live and breathe my assumptions. I tell…

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One for All and All for One

leadership and team effectiveness

9/11/2001. I was supposed to be at the Pentagon that day. Just an hour before I had planned on leaving my building, I was pulled into another meeting. I remember walking into the conference room, as the first plane hit the Twin Towers. We thought it was an accident. We soon learned differently. Throughout my…

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Save Me From These Endless Meetings

align and collaborate

Have you ever sat in one of those meetings where the group needed to come to agreement and it just wasn’t happening? No one would budge from their stance, and frustration and tempers mounted? Reflecting back, I’ve been in way too many of those and it was a while before I broke the code. We…

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What You Think Matters

what you think matters

Mental Models is a trending term right now. More and more folks are recognizing just how powerful our brains are as neuroscience makes new discoveries daily. I was a skeptic until I found myself in the most stressful job of my career, with a boss who had an extremely high achievement bar and no social…

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What Do You Want that is Larger than You?

Passion and Larger Commitment 1200x628

I logged into Facebook and saw a post from a friend intent on helping the children in detention centers along our borders. The post read: “Please help us fill the truck with the listed donated supplies. You can read more about what we’re doing at SolveItToday.org If you’d prefer a monetary donation to help us pay for…

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Transform Your Horizons

Tranform Your Horizons

As I sat down to write this, Madonna’s “Material Girl” popped into my head and I was compelled to find it on YouTube and watch it … you never know when the universe is talking to you. It was a perfect metaphor for what I planned to write about. We all work really hard to…

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