I write a lot about my grandmother Elsie (my mom’s mom) and the four simple words she shared with me. She was a force of nature and profoundly impacted who I am today. You can learn more about Elsie in a talk I gave in March 2020. Age and circumstances meant I did not get …
The white F-150 rolled up behind me as I approach the stop light. Not unusual in the rural-ish community I live in. For context and in full transparency, I can get really high and mighty when it comes to F-150s. Who really needs a truck like that for driving around town?!?! Except, of course, when …
Many of the big life decisions I have made have been with the privilege of doing so in relative privacy. And while significant to me, they have not created any anxiety about the large-scale fallout or ramifications. Last night’s announcement that Jacinda Arden was stepping down as Prime Minister of New Zealand was anything but …
In my early 30s, I was feeling really sluggish which was unusual for my high energy and normal go-go-go. And while it was a busy time of life — I was a single, self-employed father of two rebuilding just about everything — the progressive change in my energy levels was more than an inconvenience. I …
I connected with a friend this week who leads a very successful service business. Lots of people, lots of money, lots of pressure. He is very good at what he does and has helped build a business that impacts thousands. Truth be told, I am super jealous of his professional success. #OneDay During our chat, …
Crying? Me? Why do you ask? These red and swollen eyes? Just allergies. Honestly! Well, ok…truth be told, I’ve been balling like a baby. We just finished The Good Place on Netflix and I feel like I’ve lived a lifetime while watching this show. Simply put, it is brilliant. I laughed, I cried, I learned …
“Leave leadership out of it”. It was the second time I had heard that statement in a week and it caught me off guard. Even more this time. How could we leave leadership out of servant leadership? Isn’t that the entire purpose of this Four Simple Words journey to figure out how we can lead …
I am sitting in one of Elsie’s favorite places, surrounded by memories of her and Clifford, aunts and uncles, cousins and second cousins once removed. The chair is in the kitchen at the farm house she and Clifford bought in 1942 just outside of the village Chaffeys Lock, an hour north of Kingston. The chair …
Our Four Simple Words Forum #2 with CV Harquail this week about the connections (and tensions) between feminism and servant leadership was brilliant for a number of reasons. The conversation really challenged a lot of my thinking about what feminism is, my role in it and being aware of the MANY barriers that people who …
Our Four Simple Words Forum this week with my friends Glenna Banda and Melanie Lang was a lot of fun. The three of us shared some experiences around serving teams remotely. It was a great chat and had me reflecting on how I need to be adapting my leadership in these dramatic times of change. …
This week was filled with Zoom meetings. From hardly using the platform 3 weeks ago to now running my day, I have to say it is a great tool. Privacy issues aside (yes IT friends, that is a big aside) Zoom is allowing me to serve clients, expand my volunteering in creative ways, check-in with …
