Starting Your Week On the Right Foot

This morning I sat down at my desk for the first time in almost two weeks and immediately I was overwhelmed by the daily tasks of my job. Have you ever felt that way? It can be a paralyzing feeling. For me I get caught thinking that there is so little time and so much to do. I often don't know where to start. I had that feeling this morning. As I sat staring at my computer screen trying to figure out where to start my eyes wandered to a copy of the LeaderShape vision I have pinned to a bulletin board near my desk. I sat there for a moment and read…

VISION

A just, caring, and thriving world where all lead with integrity and a healthy disregard for the impossible.

As I read that the feeling of being overwhelmed slowly went away. I was grounded once again in the purpose of all of these daily tasks. Really for me it isn't about how many emails I need to return or how many glass pebbles need to be ordered. It is about working every day to create this world.

As you start your week, I encourage you to find your grounding. We each become grounded in different ways. It may be by looking at a quote, reading a poem or a scripture that brings meaning to you. I could be revisiting the vision you created a LeaderShape. It may even be picking up the phone and calling someone you are care about. Or simply spending a few moments in quiet meditation. However you find your center, I encourage you do it everyday….never forget why you are involved in the organizations you are a part of, why you do the work you do or spend your time in the way you do. Don’t forget why these things are important to you.

“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.” Ashley Smith, Author

Do You Know Your (Women's) History?

"We have a responsibility in our time, as others have had in theirs, not to be prisoners of history, but to shape history." - Madeleine K. Albright

A good friend of mine shared on his Twitter account on March 1st, "It's Women's History Month. Just in case you know any."

Today is international women's day.

Women and men have all had significant women role models in their life. But how are you educating yourself, your friends, and those around you about women's history?

The National Women's History Project (founded in 1980) is a good place to start. The site provides great information on news, events, and resources.

So start with yourself. Then spread the word.

"I personally measure success in terms of the contributions an individual makes to her or his fellow human beings." - Margaret Mead

Star in Our LeaderShape Video!

We’re making a video to celebrate 25 years of The LeaderShape Institute and would love for you to appear in it.  Whether you’re a past participant, facilitator, On-Site Coordinator, Program Coordinator or Guest Leader—we want to hear from you.

Whether or not you can make it to our 25^th Anniversary Gala on April 9^th in Chicago, we would love to honor the breadth and diversity of the LeaderShape Community, that stretches from 1986 to today. Take 15 minutes out of your day to be a part of something special! 

Take a photo of you holding a sign...

It’s very easy—you don’t even need a video camera!  Get complete details including where to send your snaps here:  http://tinyurl.com/4886ycd

...we'll add text based on info you share with us!

The deadline is March 15^th so don't delay (we need some time to edit!). Regroup with other LeaderShape friends and have a photo shoot!  We’d love to be bombarded with your photos and your creativity.

The video will open our Celebration in April and will be posted to YouTube for everyone to enjoy. Questions? Contact us at lead@leadershape.org.

YouTube Contest Winner

We are so happy to announce that Joe Cimino from St. John Fisher College is the winner of our first ever YouTube contest. We'll be showing the video at our 25th Anniversary Celebration in April. Want a peak at it? Take a look...

Joe's Video: I am LeaderShape

A huge thanks goes out to everyone who participated in our contest. We received many wonderful videos by people we are so proud to have as a part of the LeaderShape community. We were also overwhelmed by the response to the voting. Thanks to all who took the time to review the videos and voted for the one they found to be most compelling.

Do you have a story about LeaderShape to share but didn't submit a video? You can "Share Your Story" on our website.

Good Enough

What is good enough? I'm sitting in the Dallas airport on my way back to Champaign thinking. Scary. I know. I'm thinking about my expectations and whether I have set them high enough for myself and for that matter LeaderShape. Jim Collins wrote in his book, "Good to Great" that the enemy of great is being good. We have very few great things in the world precisely because we have so many good things in the world. It is good enough. I'm wondering if there are times when good enough is OK. Hang with me...

So, I'm in the airport because I was just visiting the site for our California national session and it was not perfect. Shocker. I know. It was good. In fact, it was very good. The only trouble I'm having is that it is not as good as "when I went through LeaderShape." I'm wondering how many times do I miss opportunities because they are good because I'm holding out for great. I'm all for striving and having high expectations of everything in my life, but what if it is costing me all that is good right in front of my face.

Hmmm...I still think Collins was right, but I'm going to make sure that my line of sight continues to have my vision as well as what is good, worthy, and noble in my own front yard. Might make the journey to great even that much more enjoyable.

Caring, Courtesy, Community

An interesting thing has happened to me in the past couple of months. Twice now I have left a business and found that someone had parked so close to my car that I couldn't open the driver's side door. I had to get into my vehicle through the passenger side, crawling over the gear shift to get to the driver's seat. During the week of the most recent "people are parking too close to my car" incident, one of my colleagues had the same thing happen to her.

As you can imagine, many a thought ran through my head (some not so kind). In the end, what I found myself stuck on was what this act, although small, said about caring, courtesy, and community. What do my actions say about my beliefs in regards to caring, courtesy, and community. For that matter, what do your actions say about these things? Are we adding to the community or are we taking from it? Are we all behaving in a way that treats our fellow community members with care and courtesy? If not, let's start.

We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow humans. ~Herman Melville

Bringing the LeaderShape Community Together

The LeaderShape Institute is turning 25 this year and we could not be more excited! We are planning a celebration in Chicago on April 9^th.

Will you be there? We sure hope so!

As you read this, you might be saying: “Oh, that’s neat that LeaderShape is turning 25. But really, I don’t think this event is for me.” STOP right there….this is FOR YOU!

This anniversary celebration is a chance for every member of the LeaderShape community to come together and celebrate an experience that has been so special to so many people. That is the great part about the LeaderShape community! It may have been 6 months or 16 years since you attended The LeaderShape Institute but every member of this community has that experience in common. What a great opportunity to come together, share memories, catch up with old friends and make some new ones.

The night will start with a reception and an opportunity for people to reconnect with people from their session. We’ll then have a delicious dinner. Followed by a keynote speech from Eric Saperston. Eric is a really great guy who is going to share with us a little about his journey in life and the power that each person has to make a difference in the world. Our celebration would not be complete without some balloons (maybe in castle form?!), great food, flipchart paper and lots of fun.

Here are details about the event: https://www.leadershape.org/25th-Anniversary.aspx

Spread the word and make plans to reconnect with your Family Cluster! We can’t wait to see the community gathered together to celebrate this very special occasion.