Last week we talked about how important it is for individuals to grieve and heal their losses in order to move forward. Just as with individuals, organizations, as a whole, get “attached” to a truth and when that truth fails to materialize or is no longer true, they, too, need to grieve the lost future in order to integrate the new one. When we say “organizations,” we are describing the people who make up the organization and who by…
Have you stopped and really thought about what an employer is looking for in an employee? Most of us get very caught up in what we are looking for in a job and employer. For instance, we know the type of work we want to do, the hours we want to work and the environment that we want to work in, but rarely do we consider what an employer needs. I would like to challenge you to pause, step back…
There comes a time in each of our lives when we are faced with painful, life-changing events over which we have no control. Whether it’s a big event or a small event, it will require two things of us: time to grieve and time to heal. The life-changing events we speak of here don’t have to be catastrophic in nature. Life-changing events can include: being passed over for a promotion, not winning an RFP, working for someone who is…
One of the more challenging aspects of being a human is that we have the ability to cognitively understand the need to change and what needs to happen to bring about a change, but we struggle with practicing the behaviors that will actually sustain the change. Often, we hope that change will occur without us actually changing. Ah, humans. We are a funny species. We tell ourselves that because we understand that we need to change and because we understand…
One of the things we regularly remind our clients is that everything is a communication. And by that we mean, everything. What you wear, how you stand, how fast you talk, what your eyes do as you listen, how quickly you return a call or email, how you set up your office… you get the picture. And, that means that if everything is a communication, so is silence even though you may have believed it is a lack of communication. As…
Here we are once more, on the brink of a New Year. We are entering this New Year having just experienced a heart-breaking end to the old. And yet, we would encourage you to look forward with commitment to growing in your ability to love and be connected – to yourself and your sense of purpose, to your family and their success, and to your world and its commitment to caring for all people. In George Valliant’s new book,…
Once you have successfully gotten past an organization’s initial job screen (by submitting a solid resume that documents your skills and experience that gets you “in the door”), your next task is to stand out in the interview. To do so, you must be prepared to demonstrate more than what is in your resume. When you interview you must bring more than a list of tasks and experiences from your past; you must bring your intellect and creative energy to…
Here we are again – it’s the holidays. We are already being bombarded by ads online, on TV, in the paper, on buses, even in bathroom stalls to take advantage of the after-Christmas sales. Buy, buy, buy and you will be happy. But what we know is that consuming does not make us happy. It provides us a sense of satisfaction for a moment and then we are on to the next thing looking to feel filled-up. …
We had a different post prepared for today, but in light of the tragedies in both Oregon and Connecticut, it seems important to devote this week to the power, and importance, of your leadership to the healing of our world. There is, in each of us, a leader. We urge you to bring the leader in you forward and offer your voice to help build and maintain healthy: streets, neighborhoods, communities, friends, co-workers, and family. By bringing…
There was an advertisement on the radio recently and they opened by saying, “No matter what’s happening in the world, your world is still happening.” We don’t remember what they were trying to sell but we did think that the statement captured an important nugget of truth. Often, as we work with leaders, of all walks of life, they will say things that diminish the importance of their stress, their pace, their health, in short, their lives. …
We stand shoulder-to-shoulder with leaders, teams, and individuals who are passionate about growing in their leadership and in their ability to create cultures of psychological safety and engagement.
Carpenter Smith Consulting is a Women Business Enterprise, Oregon Cert ID 7047.
