How many times have you watched children jump off a dock or a swing into a lake with arms outstretched, landing with a splash?

When was the last time you were that excited about taking the plunge? 

Kids take risks because they haven’t experienced the consequences of miscalculations.

As leaders we are taught to mitigate risks while relentlessly pursuing goals. Those behaviors are reflected in the way our teams perform, for better or worse.

I’ve made choices in my life that were often calculated to minimize risk on my career, people and money, but one time it was about simply taking a risk on myself. 

The CEO’s Compass – Your Guide to Get Back on Track is the book that summarizes all my experience and those of others to help leaders navigate rapid change and lead their teams towards true north or Peace of Mind. It was simply a concept in November 2020, but I set the intention to write the book after finding my book coach Judy Weintraub of Skillbites.

I had reasonable validation that my writing made an impact on people especially when one article went viral on Linkedin The Leadership Gap: What your High Potentials are Not Telling You and Why They’re Leaving You. Out of a need for expression and sharing insights to inspire others, I realized I could impact people on a greater level. 

Book Writing for Non-Writers

The challenge that lingered was from my high school days of getting nothing more than a B in English with red marks on my papers indicating my work was less than perfection. I was also thwarted when the graduation speech I poured my heart into was not selected; making me doubt did I have anything worthy of saying and for people to listen to. My love for writing was quickly getting challenged by society for which I assumed the narrative I was not a good writer. Taking the less risky approach, I quickly learned as a practicing STEM professional that clear, concise writing and mastering the “powerpoint” was my low risk path forward to communicate. 

This path was low risk, but in my heart and my gut, I was unfulfilled and each time I spoke up and said anything different than the mainstream, society further amplified the doubt of speaking up.

In recent times, you’ve heard me speak about the presentation I made at a global meeting and said that the path forward for my region was not about “What” we did, but “Why” the team exists and “How” we were going to work differently. To that way of thinking, senior leadership admonished me for not following the standard of presenting the “What” we were going to do detailed plan. 

So with all of that doubt about my capability why would I set the intention of writing a book that is meant to inspire people to think differently about business? And then this happened…

• The people in my life who did not appreciate my work are no longer relevant.
• The people in my life who did appreciate my work were very relevant.
• The person who I could depend on to see the future and persist forward was myself. 

Given that logic, what could hold me back? And given the same logic, what should hold you back? No one…

The next time you see someone jumping off a dock into a lake, seeking the thrill of the cold water hitting their body and that sense of accomplishment… Could that person be you? 

Think about it…

And on that thought, if these insights were helpful for you, I extend my offer of The CEO’s Compass – Your Guide to Get Back on Track; is now available on Amazon.  While written for the CEO, the insights and inspiration transcend all professionals regardless of their place in the career hierarchy. 

If you’d like to discuss this article or something that might be holding you back from a major decision, let’s talk. 

Resources

Good Reads

The Self-Employed Life by Jeffrey Shaw

While on vacation this week, I finally had the opportunity to read this book; someone who was instrumental in my journey to take a risk on myself as well as a guest on The Drop in CEO podcast. This work can help anyone who is simply trying to create the “eco-system” to control your destiny vs. one that is by circumstances. 

Good Music

 I Believe by Giuliano Poles

As I listen to this piece, it takes me to a reflective place of realizing the work that I’ve done has been good and has brought me joy. It is calming and celebratory. Something we / you need to do more of. Recognize past successes as the motivation to keep moving forward. 

Good People

Cameron Herold: Strengthening Your Partnership with Your COO

As I was in the final leg of my journey back from Switzerland, on my layover in Washington DC, I was listening to Cameron and was inspired by one of his comments. He says something like Focus on your Zone of Genius and Delegate the Rest.  This speaks to me from the standpoint that we should focus on our strengths to propel us forward and minimize the influence of those things that are “not”. Find a way to push through and around and leverage other resources who are better and can support us in where we need to go. 

As I was racing to turn in my copy for next week’s social media & email marketing campaign and getting the last approvals to my book editor, I found myself at a crossroads and wondering: are these activities going to help me to achieve peace of mind? Even I, who have the best laid out plans, question sometimes if the outcome will result from this effort.

Tell me, are your efforts helping you to achieve “peace of mind?”

It’s important for you as a leader to ponder this and see, feel or know what it is and are you doing the purposeful work to help yourself and the team you lead to achieve “peace of mind.”

Since “peace of mind” is deeply personal, let me show you what it looks like to me and perhaps in my personal experiences, you can reflect inwards and realize moments when you’ve realized “peace of mind.”

I’ve shared with you many times before through The CEO’s Compass, that in business, we seek true North where everything is running with precision such that you can step back and know your leadership has left a legacy.

Your legacy is not in the numbers. People will remember you for how you made them feel, all moving forward toward a common outcome that exceeds individual results. 

Here are a few examples of my own “peace of mind” moments:

• Experiencing moments of uncertainty, but having clarity to know they will find a way: The day I dropped my eldest son off at college, I was saddened when I looked at him looking left and right for someone to connect with as we left him in front of his dormitory. He looked lost, but it was a few months back when we were touring the university that he walked into the community service office and immediately made friends. At the core, my son is a service-oriented individual and connector. I knew he had the skills to connect with people and gave me peace of mind he would find a way and leave a lasting impact on the lives of many. So with that vision in my mind and as we departed his school, I knew in my heart that the momentary vision of uncertainty I saw in my son was just that and I knew that he had all the skills he needed to be successful at school and beyond. That was peace of mind. 
• Knowing right from wrong and why: When my middle son was home from college, we went out and enjoyed a few hours of quality time together. When he started sharing his disappointment in the decisions some of his friends made and how they differed from his value system. In that moment I knew my job was done; or at least for a while. While growing up, he challenged us and always marched to his own beat. Little did I know this was strength of character in the making; only needing to be sharpened with life experiences. The maturity of his self-reflection of his choices and the intersection of differences he noticed in others and formulating his own belief system gave me great joy. He had grown up and knew right from wrong and why it was so; showing me his individualism and the ability to make up his own mind vs. the influence of others. That was peace of mind. 
• Understanding emotional response and the impact on others: My youngest and only daughter periodically showed emotional outbursts and frustration, but who hasn’t from time to time? Yet, these emotional outburst were followed by a brief moment of reflection and then “Mom, I’m sorry I acted that way.” She later shared what was her point of frustration, why she acted the way she did and was sincerely apologetic for the impact it may have had on me. For that, tears of joy came as I saw this young woman having the courage to express her emotion and the maturity to understand her impact on the world. That was peace of mind. 

Do any of these experiences resonate with you?

They can be seen in your children, nieces / nephews or even the people you lead at work. While people can develop these essential skills on their own, when you as a leader can mold individuals in your care and help them to make a greater impact on society it leaves a legacy.

Your role is to steer the ship towards true North (Peace of Mind) which can only be achieved if you keep a watchful eye on all the compass points:

• Purpose 
• Performance
• Past 
• Pride
• People
• Process
• Platform
• Peace of Mind 

This mindset requires bravery on your part, because most experts will speak to you in terms such as profitability, market share, differentiating business model as a testament to your leadership accomplishments. Unfortunately, they are devoid of human impact and leaving a legacy.

The outcome of what you do should be an emotional & physical experience knowing you have sustainability made a difference in the lives of individuals, teams and ultimately customer / client experiences.

Most take the popular road, claim success for achieving a result, but remain forgotten memories for most. You, however, have the insight to seek a road less traveled and achieve Peace of Mind for a lasting impact. The CEO’s Compass – Your Guide to Get Back on Track is that resource that following the road less traveled and will yield rewards that only the others dream of having.

As I finish writing this article on a balcony in Zurich Switzerland where I have the good fortune of a loving husband who sent me to Europe to see my children, I pause and reflect on my journey. 

My eldest son and his wife are here for 3 years while she enjoys an amazing post-doctorate assignment and he is interviewing for multinational companies to leave his impact on the world. My middle son is in the military in Germany; ascending a career founded in the principle of protecting the rights and freedom of others. He will join us in Switzerland later this week to celebrate his birthday.  While we are enjoying a rich culture with family, my husband will return my daughter to college to continue her studies in Architecture. Her purpose is to create environments for people to live in beautiful urban communities built on a foundation of culture and creativity. I’m so proud of all my children and as a parent; I have Peace of Mind.

If you liked this article and would like more resources like this, The CEO’s Compass is coming out later this month and you can be the first to be notified to order your copy. 

As always, I offer you The Drop in CEO Podcast as a resource to receive insights and inspiration from industry leaders who have found Peace of Mind while doing purposeful work; and you can too!

Resources

Good reads

Eat that Frog by Brian Tracy a gentle reminder that time is our most precious commodity and to make the best use of it. I am forever in pursuit of being more efficient and doing the most valuable work I should be doing within my zone of genius and you should too. 

Good music

Woods of Chaos by Rob Costlow is a mischievous piece of curiosity and inspiration that I was listening to as I finished this article. 

Good people

Maulik Parekh on The Drop in CEO Podcast said something so profound. People say thank god it’s Friday. They don’t say thank god it’s Monday. Why is that? Because so many people are not happy with the work they do. However, in the Gig economy, more and more people are moving towards freelance work. This should be sending a strong signal to those who employ others, they need to evolve the value they provide to their employees; else the will have a hard time filling roles needed to sustain their business.

When I was dropped into a new role as the VP of Quality, I sought to gain knowledge from stakeholders so I could quickly see the challenges I needed to address. I met with the VP of Sales who said the number one goal was to be the favorite partner of our customers. I gained the insight that they were focused on building loyalty vs. simply striving for being #1 in market share. I then moved onto the VP of Operations who said meeting the budget & operations KPI’s each month were top priority. When I asked what about the cascading the overall strategy to the masses, they responded they would keep an eye on that and the people needed to be heads down focusing on the monthly objectives. I gained the insight of action oriented leadership and seeking to motivate people month after month to focus on a result. 

Through this insight the Leadership Divide became quite apparent to me: 

• Some leaders focus on “Purpose”
• Some leaders focus on “Performance”
• When leaders do not focus on both… The Leadership Divide unfolds

As I reflect on this week’s podcast with Jeff Haden on Motivation – Why Motivation Doesn’t Guarantee Success it validated The Leadership Divide I saw as an outsider looking in at the differences in leadership perspective. Motivation to achieve a result and having the discipline to stay the course will get a result.

In our conversation we spoke about preparing for a half marathon and eventually crossing the finish line; claiming success. But what was the purpose of doing the half marathon? During my conversation with Maulik Parekh (episode goes live 8/6/21), we discuss building a sustainable future based on aligning everyone on a single purpose to achieve an outcome.

When we think about a greater purpose, the half marathon I discussed was really around personal accomplishment and having the courage to try something new. If I didn’t complete the half marathon, I still achieved the greater purpose of having the courage to try. 

Why is this important? Let me tell you the rest of the story…

During my entire time within this organization where the leaders maintained their divided leadership styles, I never saw them truly coming together and working in tandem.

Instead, I witnessed leaders tolerating differences and pushing through each month. Often times there was finger pointing on why the customer wasn’t being serviced or sales simply doesn’t understand operations. A Leadership Divide doesn’t serve anyone and results over the long term were not sustainable. 

With the Leadership insight that focusing on both Purpose & Performance gave me clarity to do the following and help steer my organization from being last to #2 out of 4 regions in 18 months:

• Create a Framework of One: Working as One Team, Working in One Way Towards One Goal – to be #1. 
• Monthly One to One’s with my people helping them to build Strategies & Roadmaps with an 18 month view to help them align on Purpose
• Changing my role from focusing on monthly results (this upset my leadership) towards developing a highly talented staff to have greater influence and alignment with plant managers towards an aligned purpose. 

When I implemented this approach aligning Performance and Purpose, I was able to achieve True North or Peace of Mind. We got the results, but it played out based on a sustainable mindset and building future capability. Even more importantly is the legacy we leave behind. Four of the six people on my team have since moved on to new roles with higher levels of responsibility and impact. Ultimately; isn’t this the sustainable impact we need to achieve and leave our legacy?

If these leadership insights resonated with you, I now offer to you The CEO’s Compass – Your Guide to Get Back on Track . We will be informing you very soon how to order this book and you too can change the course of your organization days…. not months. This book is coming out later this month and you can be the first to realize The CEO’s Compass may be the solution to getting to Peace of Mind for your organization. 

I also offer to you a free 30 minute call to see where you may be off track and how our offers can help you to leave a lasting impact. 

Resources

Good Reads: 

Profit First by Mike Michalowicz

While this serves as a business book to give you the tools to enjoy profits from your business, it’s at the essence a mindset shift in prioritizing your leadership style. When we distill what is important such as building leadership skills in our people first, the long term benefits of the business will be realized and sustained. Focusing on executing the tactical elements of maintaining a budget are necessary, it’s a roller coaster of one month achieving your goals and then next month reactivating when you don’t. Slow and steady and realize the profits of your business or investing in people are a more sustainable approach. 

Good Music:

Never Look Back by Giuseppina Torre  – a very uplifting song I love to listen to especially while running. It helps me to overcome challenges and drive myself to push on. 

Good People:

I’m so inspired by my conversation with Jeff Haden, the Author of The Motivation Myth. As I listened to the interview as a “listener” vs. the “host”, I realized that motivation comes from within and it comes with practice and dedication; realizing small wins and the determination to keep going. 

As I came up on the 11th mile of the Indianapolis half marathon with little energy to continue, the skyline was in view and later pulled me over the finish line.

I had invested months of training to take on this challenge for the second time; to equal my first performance at the Long Brand Half Marathon of 3 hours and 13 minutes. As I crossed the finish line realizing I was able to pull out the energy I needed to complete the event, I reached my goal and finished in 3 hours and 13 minutes.

Have you ever felt off track at work; endless meetings, activities and reports and you can never find the time to pause and plan your day?

Have you ever wondered what it would look like to have a week without meetings and have time to simply think and write down your thoughts or put post-its up on the board and just start at words & concepts?

Do you feel exhausted and just wish you could have a good night’s sleep and have energy for your favorite activity? 

All of these things are possible if you set the intention to do so; investing in yourself will enable you to be a better leader.

We don’t often stop, but I can assure you that if you take the time to “fix” yourself, much of what you need to “fix” at work will fall into place and you can achieve peace of mind.

When a colleague at work asked if I could join a group to do a half marathon in Indianapolis I knew it was possible. I knew that I had to clear my calendar and set the intention to follow the training regiment that included incremental runs to get you to at least 11 miles of the 13 mile event.

Training is not easy, but given the right mindset, I have found anything is possible. It is the blend of brute force to get myself into the flow of running and then once there, staying on course until I’ve completed the training for that day.

The beauty of my love / hate relationship with running is once you get into flow, the mind can be free to drift, think and even reach moments of inspiration. It was during one of those moments that I came to the realization of how to get out of the turmoil I was in at work. The “framework of one” came to me. I would bring together my region of 8 plants to create “one team”, working in “one way” towards “one goal” to be #1 in all the regions. That inspiration enabled me to move my region from #4 to #2 in 18 months.

By investing in my body and mind, I was able to unleash moments of inspiration that would help me to get back on track to “peace of mind” , the true north of The CEO’s Compass; my book coming out later in 2021. 

But now back to you… have you ever taken the time to simply pause and reflect; engage in an activity that gives you joy or physical satisfaction and experienced a moment of “peace” or “inspiration”?

When we feel lost, investing in ourselves can be exactly what we need to return us to our fullest potential in leadership. 

The choice is yours. What will you do now to achieve Peace of Mind and reach your fullest leadership potential. If you need someone to talk to, a free call is all you might need!

Resources:

Good Reads: 

Free PR by Cameron Herold

How to be your own PR firm or build internal capability. Cameron shares the best tips and tools to get started. Just finished this book and I cannot wait to get started. Great resources!

Good Music:

I will wait by Mumford & Sons

This is one of my songs on my playlist that is very uplifting and helps me when I’m running to press on 

Good People:

“Amy McDonald: How to Successfully Drop into Leadership Roles” We had an amazing interview and discussed never accepting the “status quo” and always having a plan “B”. 

A recent client had asked if I could help them with a business issue. When I hung up the phone after being awarded the contract, I knew “what” to do, but I wasn’t sure “how” to do the work. There was a brief moment of uncertainty of needing to “Perform” and guide them with a set of tools, creating a “Platform” that had not been developed yet. That moment of self-doubt could have cost me the contract, but would that have saved me from making a huge mistake?

How often do you fall short of taking on a new role or challenge because of the dreaded question of “how” were you going to do the work?

As children we have no fear. Our parents remember the number of times they’ve taken us or siblings to the emergency room to put us back together only to take on daring challenges the next day. We want to become writers, public servants, teachers, business owners and then at some point in the spectrum of life doubt and narratives coax us into a box. Often that box is a result of self-preservation, our natural instinct of survival kicking in.

I’m no stranger to self doubt. For many years, it held me back. But when I read the book Brave, by Margie Warrell, I soon realized I was the only person holding myself back. When she started to help me frame things in the context of what success would look like if I took more risks vs. the “fear of failure” narrative that holds us back from greater potential.

Do you live from a place of possibilities or a place of fear? 

When I arrived on the first day at the client, all eyes were on me to guide them through the process and build trust we were going to meet the challenge. Little did they realize in the background, I was searching for the approach and the tools that would align our collective skills to achieve a successful outcome. I was still very uneasy about “how” this would all work, but I trusted myself that I’d been in this situation before and with time, research and organization, I would provide a platform and framework to achieve the result.

Can self-doubt be helpful in some situations? Instinct is great, but the key to successful decision-making is simply to trust yourself.

Trust in yourself to be resourceful and believe that the process of moving forward will always take you down the right path. In the end, the project was a success, the client became confident in the process and we performed as one team.

All leaders have doubts about who they are and how they can serve. The difference is what they have to overcome:

• Trust in yourself that you have the skills and resourcefulness to find the answers
• Believe in your process of moving forward and despite the unknown, always moving forward to achieve an outcome
• Show Confidence in your presence so the team can align on the process and outcome. Your team senses confidence and in turn, you feed off of their confidence. 
• Pause and reflect on what you were able to achieve and use that to remove any narrative of self doubt in what you can accomplish.

If you can no longer remember what event in time caused you to doubt your leadership skills, simply release it. You are amazing and you can do anything you set out to do with Trust, Belief and Confidence. Be well and I wish you amazing success!

The CEO’s Compass shares more insights about Performance & Platform and it can be an additional source of inspiration for you.  If you would like to learn more click here to get on the waitlist for the release of The CEO’s Compass – Your Guide to Get Back on Track – coming out soon in 2021. 

Resources

Good Reads

Brave by Margie Warrell one of 3 books I read that made the difference between starting my own business and fearing I was not capable. I’m indebted for this piece of work that was part of who I am today. 

Good Music

A Little chaos by Angèle Dubeau – this is a light hearted, lively and dynamic piece that reminds me life can be chaotic, but how you approach it can breath beautiful music into your day and be a source of inspiration. I may have shared this one already with you, but it is a song that resonates a lot with myself and my brand. 

Good People

Michelle Moore on The Drop in CEO Podcast this week: while we summarize these guests at the end of the month, this release came when I was on vacation and really resonated with me. We work so hard to multitask and believe we are efficient and instead we are actually hurting our productivity and creativity. It was for that reason I have taken on experts who can do the work I’m not best suited for so I can focus my energy on my “zone of genius.” My vacation and listening to Michelle Moore were great reminders of that fact. 

I was an exceptionally bright child with a gift for language and speaking; having been the star performer in our kindergarten play. But when it came for the teachers to add comments to the report cards… it would read the same year after year: “Debbie is an excellent student, but she tends to talk too much”. Bamm! and so it begins the journey from being an obvious Extrovert to being squeezed into an Introvert box.

Having come to this realization just now (and yes this is a blog to share my “a ha” moment), I want to share my story to support my mindset shift and for others to maybe benefit from societal mis-branding and not having realized true potential. Don’t get me wrong, being branded the introvert and following the nice quiet path of an engineer and later the Head of Quality for a leading corporation has been just fine. However, if we look at the clues along the journey, you can see why I’m frustrated and had to write this article.

Being a smart child was cool because I got special treatment like going to a higher grade to learn what the bigger kids were doing or going to special classes to take tests and do puzzles and get extra books to read. During the summers, I would go to summer reading programs, win prizes for all the reading I did, but what I really enjoyed were writing plays, making puppets and performing at some of the art programs. This subtle clue shows the need for self expression and performing. But when I was skipped to a higher grade because I was starting to get bored; things changed for me for a number of years.

When I showed up for 6th grade I was challenged, but immediately I was bullied as being different and with the harder coursework, it took me a few years to rise again to an A student. Hitting the books and keeping a low profile moved me from the extrovert to the introvert tendencies for several years and I was acknowledge again for my grades and staying focused.

Fast forward to high school I started taking more challenging courses and with that came a spark for speaking up when I could not understand the concept. Even though I would raise my hand repeatedly to get clarity on a topic, the students would give me a hard time and ask me to put my hand down because I asked too many questions. Of course I would see teachers after school to get what I needed, but peers were asking me to keep it down. For me the speaking up and immediate need for resolution leads me to believe the extrovert was coming out who needed self expression.

So let’s dial it up a notch and take you to college, again I followed the nice introverted path of studying science and engineering. By this time my self esteem was crushed due to family matters (another blog someday) and playing it safe and quiet was my best bet to navigate through the challenges of a top engineering education. Staying focused on the goal to gain independence and was key which I later achieved.

But then this happened: I got into a selective program in my senior year called the Professional Leadership Program (PLP) and this select management program helped engineers prepare for going into the workforce. I can’t remember the circumstances now, but I must have evolved again to be a speaker and was voted by the team to be the spokesperson for our end of year event. So peer recognition as a leader and speaker was starting to peak out again.

After college, I enrolled in Toastmasters to practice speaking which I absolutely loved. I later received a district award for young professional women; having to give speeches in front of tens and hundreds of people along the competitive program. I was expressive and despite nervousness at time; I experienced amazing flow and energy while giving speeches. This later fed my soul by taking assignments that would allow me to do presentations and training. The thrill of preparing and then delivering content that needed to influence people was a real “high” for me and was a source of strength and satisfaction.

But I want to share one more tough story, before I end this so you can see how as a early career engineer, my extrovert tendencies were squelched yet again and pushed me into the Meyer’s Brigg or any other test used to profile people of an Introvert.

During a meeting to discuss the required credentials of a quality engineer, I was in a heated discussion with myself, the plant manager, and corporate quality who was guiding the process. There were points of disagreement between operations and corporate and without thinking I spoke up and said “isn’t this an operations role”, meaning don’t we have the final say on what we need. My comment stung for which I later received multiple lashings. I was told I should not have said that or I should not have spoken up and better to have discussed any dissension off line. Well that feedback was the nail in the coffin to think before I speak. For so many years I stayed quiet to avoid conflict and the risk of saying something inappropriate!

So fast forward to the present, I’m still a practicing engineer who has to think and plan how to best service my customers in my consulting business. But the freedom of being my own boss and the following clues has confirmed I’m actually an extrovert:

• Talking to my husband all day about every minute detail about my business; thank goodness he’s a great listener
• I’m posting video on Linkedin, writing content almost every day, volunteering to be a podcast guest, doing webinars and publishing articles for my professional organization
• I love to talk to people; actively networking 40% of my time, I seek opportunities for public speaking and I just had my son put up three whiteboards so I could start putting all my ideas “out” on the wall vs in my head.

So given my short (okay long!) history of speaking up and out, I have to believe I’m an extrovert who lost their way due to societal norms. It is only now that I can reflect on where I am most comfortable; being on a stage to express my thoughts and interact with people; a true sign of an Extrovert!