As an executive coach who plans company retreats, its hard to be objective, however, I understand a leader’s reluctance in hanging the “closed” sign on the door, and hauling an already overworked team to a pricy out of town venue. Sounds frivolous right? First of all, a retreat need not be exotic or overpriced to be effective. There are spectacular venues close to most major Canadian cities and your coach should always have your budget in mind. Secondly, consider shifting…
After completing my 5th year in the TriAdventure, I feel more even more connected than ever. The notion of hard work, training and endurance, coupled with rallying the support of people in my network for a good cause has always resonated with me and I’m very proud of the results. When I first began, there were roughly the same number of athletes participating, as there were children at the African orphanage, Nikibasika – one for one. It was easy for…
My mother has always been my greatest role model for how to treat people with kindness and how to approach every human interaction with compassion and curiousity. She was a schoolteacher, and I imagine her as fair as she was kind, and able to provide positive reinforcement when the time was right. She would tell me that it was easy to give attention to the picture perfect pupil at the front of the class who sits up tall and gets…
Taking the Leap into Lotus by Devon Domanski. Earlier this month, I started the first of three Yoga Teacher Training modules which will prepare and certify me as a yoga instructor. It’s an endeavour that’s eliciting excitement and apprehension; confidence and humility; growth and acceptance – a journey I’m grateful to be taking with 17 new friends and 3 very inspiring instructors. My intro to yoga was 19 years ago. I had a high school PhysEd assignment where students had…
Inspiration From Nature, Leadership Insights, Self-Improvement
The other day I was rushing out the door – late for yoga! – with the latest client proposal swirling around in my head, attempting to balance a large coffee and briefcase in hand. I truly needed to slow down, so instead of yoga, I opted to sit in stillness and ask, “What needs to change?” Within minutes of being with my thoughts, it became clear that I needed to grow the EDGE 3 team. With that exciting realization…
Good questions lead to amazing answers — answers that can astound you and the person you asked, and can lead to leaps in success — yours, theirs and the organization’s. Bringing a coach approach is easier than it may sound, and leads to enormous gains. Here’s some helpful tips: Ask open questions — in other words, questions that require more than a “yes” or “no” response. This leads to dialogue without an accusatory tone and builds a comfortable rapport. …
In a world of tighter deadlines, greater expectations, and the constant pressure to increase profit, how does a leader keep their team engaged while still keeping the company out of the red? There has been plenty of dialogue on what makes for an ideal leader in 2012, but here are some of the most actionable items that will give your business an edge. Develop A Solid Onboarding Process: Good training starts from the moment an employee steps off the elevator…
We’ve been to events that make us yawn and yearn for the comforts of our sofa and a glass of wine in hand. On the flip side, events that are planned and executed with great attention to detail make an impact, with the guest walking away with a lasting impression of your brand. HAVE A VISION. It is important to really be able to picture the event; walking through it one step at a time will give you the clarity…
“Diaper backward spells repaid. Think about it.” ~ Marshall McLuhan You might have heard the popular sentiment among child-rearing experts that “the years before five last the rest of their lives.” The theory is that a baby’s earliest experiences of their upbringing and environment is a major determinant of how actualized, happy, and effective she ultimately becomes. The first weeks and months for a hire in a new job are similarly formative. Those of us who’ve worked at a company…
Many of us have been to training programs that have left us invigorated and excited to take on the next big challenge. On the flip side, we have been to those sessions that require an intravenous drip of caffeine for a presenter whose Powerpoint presentation is killing us softly…one slide at a time! So what is does it take to captivate your audience? Here are four key actions broken down into steps to give you the EDGE at your next…