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?

It's June - the beginning of summer and the end of a year of confusion, anxiety, loneliness, lockdown, and turmoil. There is an optimism in the air with new beginnings.

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.

It’s no secret that burnout is rampant these days and it’s one of the primary challenges facing leaders and organizations. Here are some ways you, as someone in a leadership position, can use the weekly or bi-weekly 1-on-1s you already have in place to catch burnout early and nip it in the bud.

It's pretty much physically impossible to leave one meeting and arrive at another at the same time. And what about your biological needs after sitting in a chair staring at a screen for an hour?

Relaxed attentiveness is what you’ll see in a team that is doing its best thinking together. Team members exhibit a state of relaxation, not anxiety, and a calm attentiveness — they’re not multitasking.

There is no managing of time, really. Time management is one of those elusive leadership phrases that, when you pull back the curtain, nothing appears to be there because we can’t actually control time - it just happens.

Cohesion, when referring to a team, may be one of those words that is starting to get worn out, kind of like “authentic” is in the leadership space. But I still love it. Cohesion refers to the sense that each team member has of how connected they and others are to the whole.

What does it actually mean for a team to make a decision, or “agree” on something? Lack of clarity around decision making is all-too pervasive, so let’s unpack your options for decision rules. ‘Decision rules’ are the threshold by which a decision is deemed “made.”

I've been thinking lately about the power that comes from saying something out loud. It's one of the many reasons coaching can make a difference. As I think back in my life, the feelings about phases I was going through stick in my memory because I had voiced them to a friend, colleague, or coach at the time.