Making A Difference

Where, oh where, has this little blog gone?

Has it really been four months since I updated this site?

Oops.  How embarrassing.  Sorry, Internet.

Wow, hardly can be calling myself a "blogger", now can I? 

Well, gentle reader, it has been four months since my last post.  The dog didn't eat my homework; nope, I've just been darn busy.  Doing what, you may ask? (Or not.  But I'm going to tell you anyway.)

• Attending the Leadership program from Coaches Training Institute to strengthen my own leadership skills - in my life, my work, in the areas I want to make a difference in.  I've already learned a ton more about myself, met some awesome peers and colleagues, and am stepping more into who I am authentically as a leader.  Not bad, huh?
• Stepping into more team coaching and training work - fun, challenging, edgy!
• Collaborating with new partners - great to be learning with others in this way.
• Coaching, coaching, coaching!
• (and, trying to exercise more, strengthening my spiritual practice, potty training my 3 year old, making art with my 5 year old, reading books for pleasure and learning, and going out on dates with my husband.)

I've been saying that I've been hitting my "sweet spot" lately - meaning (indulge me here: I'm not a tennis player) that I'm swinging and really knocking it over the net.  I'm doing the work I've dreamed of doing, that I'm meant to do, and I'm apparently doing it well. 

To wit:  I've been getting feedback from others on the order of:  "wow, you're really good at that."  "you have a way of saying things that really provides clarity."   "will you please take on this gigantic project for us, and we'll pay you well for it." 

Um, gosh, OK.  Or, really, more accurately: thanks, Universe.  I owe ya one!

I'm off to California next week for Leadership Retreat 2.   The rest of May is crazy busy as well, but I'll try to ignore you all less... and write more. 

Or better yet, come play with me out here!

-- How 2008 going for you so far?

-- What's the "sweet spot" you're currently hitting?

Making a Difference - 2008 Style

Someone I spoke with recently asked, "How do you know you've made a difference with your coaching clients?"

Wow, great question!

Since I don't measure 'accomplishment' or 'progress' of my clients with pre-post tests or use a client satisfaction survey, I can't give numbers or percentages; instead I know from what my clients report throughout the coaching process, as well as my own intuition. 

Feedback from clients and my overall sense is that the changes clients experience are meaningful but can be subtle.  Or they're meaningful and decidedly not subtle: career shifts, whole new perspectives embodied, stepping up grandly to a new level in life.  It's always up to the client and their goals.

So, what change and difference do you want to impact this year?  Taking a stance with and for you, here is what I want for you, my dear readers:

Change that is meaningful - whether subtle or radical.
That aligns with your values.
That opens up a new world (or two) for you.
That brings you even more into service and relationship with your greater purpose.

That's my challenge to you - will you take it on?  Let me know.

My Thanks to You

One of the many things I am aware of being thankful for this season is the opportunity I have to do the work I do:  coach amazing men and women on their path of creating greater fulfillment, balance and purpose in their lives.  I say this all the time to clients, but it is a true honor for me to witness and journey with all the people I work with as a coach, including you here in the blogosphere.  I am lucky and blessed.

In this spirit of thanksgiving and reverence, I have a request of you: if you feel you have received something beneficial from your experience with me as a reader of this blog, please pay it forward, and let me know when you have.

If you're not sure what I mean by "pay it forward", consider:  From what you've experienced here on this blog, what has touched you or made a difference to you?  What can you share that could touch someone else?

From who I know my readers here to be, I don't doubt that you've probably already paid forward in many ways, and I am glad to know you are all out there, making a difference in your own individual worlds, organizations and communities.  Whether this is a regular practice or a new idea, I'd love to hear about how you are extending what you experience here on this blog out into the broader world.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Going to APHA?

I'll be in Washington DC November 5th & 6th at the American Public Health Association conference as a coach in their Career Mart.  You can sign up for low-cost coaching sessions here, or just stop by the Exhibit Hall and say hi!  I'd love to meet you!

That's entelechy for ya!

Here's a little brain snack for you... I don't know about you, but I love learning new words. Here's one that crossed my desk recently: Entelechy. 

No, it's not a new disease spread by lack of hand-washing.  It's not a sound of a sticky hand being removed from the surface of a table.   It's actually a great description of what most people I encounter are wanting to further explore and claim: their own internal motivation source for growth and development.

I've yet to put this word one in action in my day-to-day vocabulary without sounding like an airbag, but I love the definition: 

Entelechy (from Dictionary.com):

1. In the philosophy of Aristotle, the condition of a thing whose essence is fully realized; actuality.
2. In some philosophical systems, a vital force that directs an organism toward self-fulfillment.

Isn't it cool that there is a word for this?  It made me grin, even if I'll probably never say it out loud to a real person:  "Nice entelechy you got there, buddy!"

---

What's a word that captures what you are all about?
If you could make up a word, what would it be?