Blog
Persevere – It Will Get Better (WT459)
It’s been just over a month since Ross and I started our journey in Contessa, (our motorhome). We’ve been happily married for nearly 30 years and yet one month in Contessa nearly brought it all undone. Living in such close quarters has required HUGE adjustments on both our parts. As an only child and an introvert (i.e. I regenerate through solitude), I have struggled to find some time and space for myself. Without periods of solitude I tend to get narky and cranky and passive aggressive. Of course Ross reacts rather than responds and the whole situation just disintegrates. I was doing my...
The Difference You Make (WT458)
I’ve been reading a book called Discover the Gift – It’s Why We’re Here by Shajen Joy Aziz and Demian Lichtenstein (brother and sister). Here’s a quote in the book from Personal Development teacher Barbara De Angelis. I share it because I want to make a positive difference to you: “A lot of us discount what we have to offer because we can’t see how it’s going to make us money, or it’s not going to make us famous, or we’re not going to get invited to be on Oprah. So we believe we are not making a difference. But making a difference is really about the way you show up in the world every day....
What are You Missing? (WT457)
This week I’d like to share a concept that came up during this week’s Leading Yourself and Leading Others workshop and that is the question, “What are you missing?” The question arose because of the absolute focus the team has on a particular issue. They are all united in their thinking and very focussed on their perception of how things should be. To generate discussion I shared the following videos, (it will take you less than 3 minutes in total to watch the two of them): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJG698U2Mvo...
Stick to Your Vision (WT456)
Yesterday we went to The National Arboretum in Canberra (a mosaic of 94 living forests of rare, endangered and symbolic trees from Australia and around the world) to see the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection. We were lucky enough to have a guide explain the history of the Aboretum and a curator show us the difference between plants styled by the Chinese Penjing and Japanese Bonsai methods. According to the Arboretum website, “Prior to the 2001 and 2003 Canberra bushfires, the Arboretum site was mostly covered in pine plantations (Pinus radiata).” Our guide further explained that the...
So Much to Learn (WT455)
Do you remember a time when you were first learning something new? Do you recall how frustrated you felt when you didn’t know something? Do you remember feeling useless, incompetent and stupid when you made mistakes? Well that’s exactly how Ross and I have felt this past week, as we learned to how live in an RV. We left a hose fitting on a tap in a caravan park which meant we couldn’t hook up to water in the next one. The water tap blew off a few times sending water everywhere. We didn’t realise we had to turn our water pump off when we were hooked up to water...
She’s Here (WT454)
My goodness, what a difference 7 days can make. Our beloved motorhome, Contessa finally arrived 2 days ago. She’s here. We placed our order about 10 months ago and for Ross and I, not having children, taking delivery of Contessa was like celebrating the arrival of a baby. And like giving birth, it didn’t all go to plan. The dealership promised us we would be on the road by 10am. We arrived at the dealership at 11:30am, expecting to have a quick run through and be on our way. Three hours later, we were nearly crying. We had no idea the induction or handover would take this long and ours was...
First World Problems (WT453)
This week I had to catch myself. I found myself whinging and complaining because I had to organise to pack and move out of where we were living and wait for a week before taking delivery of our motorhome. “This is placing so much pressure on me,” I complained to Ross. “I was expecting to carry food from the fridge in the home to the fridge in the motorhome. I was expecting to take my clothes out of the wardrobe and hang them up in the motorhome, not to have to organise and pack for the motorhome, storage and the leadership program we’re running in Canberra during March.” I was feeling...
Give Them a Project (WT452)
Many workplaces use the word “team” to describe their employees or various divisions within their companies and yet what they really have is a group of individuals. A team works together to achieve a common goal. Individuals within a group work towards achieving their own results. This week in our leadership experience, the participants experienced what it is like to become a team. At the end of each session, participants are given homework to do; some complete the homework and some do not. Those who don’t complete the homework cause the group to “fail”. In the initial stages, participants...
Information or Transformation (WT451)
This week I contracted to another training company to deliver a course on Business Etiquette. The course was written by the training company and was to be delivered to government employees. It was a fantastic opportunity for me because it helped me to understand that my calling in life, my passion, is to help those who want transformation, not simply information. My leadership experience, Leading Yourself and Leading Others, provides numerous opportunities for participants to become more self aware as well as gain skills to improve communication and...
Is it Lack of Care or Lack of Training (WT450)
How we communicate in business and in life determines the results we get. As leaders, it’s our job to ensure that we train our teams to support them to do their work. This week I found myself reflecting on some communication I experienced with a property officer. As we prepare to move out, ready for our next big adventure in our motorhome, I asked if we needed to do anything to apply for our bond. We had been leasing premises in Newcastle since our return from the USA because we still had a goal of travelling. I was stunned at the response I received. “No, we will release the bond to...