Up in Northern New York State, my dad is just finishing up another round of artisanal sugaring (producing maple syrup from the sap that runs in the spring). It's a hobby that bridges the depth of winter and sailing season — a hobby from which my brothers and sister and I reap serious maple syrup dividends.

Out of all my siblings, I live the closest to our father, so I see him the most frequently. The way I contribute, albeit meagerly, to his sugaring efforts is to save glass jars for him. Old syrup mason jars, peanut butter and pickle jars, and those jumbo jars the kalamata olives from Costco come in.

I save the jars, but I draw the line at removing the labels.

I recently offered to help a community group I'm a part of to prepare for an upcoming meeting that promised to be potentially divisive. Having facilitated groups in dialogue and decision making for years, I knew how to approach this in a way that would address both the human need for the inclusion side of things, as well as the tactical, how-do-we-move-forward side of things.

I received a "thanks but no thanks" response to my offer. I didn't trust that the reasons given for not wanting my support were the real reasons, even if the real reasons remained unconscious to the decision makers.

Besides a few bobs, I've had long hair most of my life. I have spent years trying myriad ways to keep my hair out of my face, It might be a combination of having a relatively small forehead and a habit of slightly tucking my chin down that caused my hair to fall in my face very easily. Even just seeing it in my peripheral vision bugged me!

In The Fifth Discipline, Peter Senge illuminates the key to achieving personal mastery. I think of personal mastery as becoming the best version of ourselves. It doesn't mean that we don't have more to work on (we always do). It does mean that we get to master-level effectiveness in knowing ourselves and knowing how to achieve that which we intend to achieve.

There’s this one intersection in the next town over where I run a lot of my errands. You can go straight through the light, or you can turn slightly and loop around. If you know the light cycle well, you can “cheat the system” and save on wait time.

I’ve been using the Enneagram with several clients lately. Although I’ve been using this model for years, I continue to marvel at how well it resonates when someone learns their type, and how helpful it is for taking steps toward growth.

Clients often bring to coaching dilemmas involving other people. What those other people might think, what they did that was absurd, how to have a conversation in which the other person will actually listen, etc. In his book, Reboot, Jerry Colonna devotes a whole chapter to “the irrational other.”

In our closest relationships that support our growth and development, alignment is naturally in flux. When things get messy or confusing, or trust falters, how do we straighten it all out?

Ok, time for some personal talk. This one is for you, my lady friends. How does your monthly cycle affect your leadership strategy? Or your presence? Or your mindset? I’ve talked before about managing our energy as the key to managing our time and achieving balance.