Good morning, instead of a narrative today, we have a hot seat moment for you: What is your brand? Your “brand” is a combination of your values, your contributions, your attributes, and it is the essence of what you offer to the world. In the next 30 seconds, write down the 3-5 things that best describe Brand You. Do you like what you wrote? Do you feel proud of your brand? Now, identify 2 people who know you and…
As the title of this week’s post says, we all work. Some for money, some as a volunteer, and some in the home, but it’s fair to say that in general, we all work. Because working is such a norm in our lives, we don’t often take time to think (see last week’s post Take Time to Think) about what we actually want from work and prepare to move forward in a way that gets us where we want…
We have the privilege of working with leaders in a wide range of businesses – for profit and non-profit, large and small, service companies and product driven – and one of the major changes we’re seeing in all of them is that leaders are running hard and fast, going from one thing to the next, with not a moment to think. Not a moment to think. These women and men are running companies that need their leadership and yet, they…
In the face of continued loss and tragedy in our world, we heard from many of you saying: “I’m so overwhelmed that I’m paralyzed. What can I do?” These are dark times, with many people on both sides of the aisle still grieving the election and the resulting divisions. We find ourselves stunned by blatant acts of racism, sexism and homophobia in our country, as well as the escalating threats to our safety posed by North Korea.…
Two weeks ago we did a post on losing a great boss. We were touched by some of the stories we heard from you in response. It’s clear that it’s an incredible gift to have the opportunity to work with a great boss. Some of the ways you described their impact included increasing your self-esteem, changing your understanding of your skills, growing you in unprecedented ways, helping you overcome fear, opening doors, etc. Great bosses can change lives. In…
We’re so touched and impressed by the stories of personal leadership that people share with us that we decided last year to create special posts to highlight those people. We’ve called this series, Faces of Leadership. Today we have another great story of personal triumph and leadership from Lorianna Kastrop. It is tempting to let fear control our lives. Fear can be a strong, visceral feeling that is like an alarm bell going off in your head warning you of danger.…
In many companies, managers meet regularly with their team members in what is called a 1:1. Over time, these meetings become the norm; it’s on the calendar and the meetings happen, but many managers report that they don’t really know how to structure those meetings so that they’re helpful for them, as the manager, and to their direct reports. In many ways, these 1:1 meetings are mini-planning sessions. You’re coming together to identify a vision for the…
We regularly hear people talking about their work and what they like about it, where they struggle, and what they wish could be different. And, there is a consistent theme for those people who really love their jobs – they have a great boss. One of the things many of us in the working world today have in common is the experience of the loss of a great boss. Whether your boss has gotten promoted or taken a position…
There’s something exciting about the beginning of the school year, even when you’re no longer a student. The fresh supplies – new pencils, new pens and paper that seem to say, “At this moment my future’s wide open and anything can happen!” Of course, for many of us that feeling didn’t last beyond the first few weeks of school, but the excitement at the beginning of the year was real. There were new possibilities. We meet adults…
As you may know, at Carpenter Smith Consulting, we believe that leadership is the willingness to influence your world and the willingness to be influenced by your world. Recently, we had someone write and ask us this: “You talk a lot about influence. I’m just not sure it’s all that important. What’s made it so central to your model of leadership? What about power and authority?” We love these questions! We know that people often believe that leadership is about…
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.
