Move Out of Your Comfort Zone When Leadership is Needed

How do you know when leadership is needed? Why is it necessary to move out of your comfort zone?

As a leadership coach, I am always excited when a powerful question or statement crosses my path or better yet, slams me in the face! The other day, I had such an encounter. Seth Godin got my attention when he wrote, “If you’re not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it’s almost certain you’re not reaching your potential as a leader”. He was talking about the discomfort we sometimes feel as a leader and furthermore, when we identify the discomfort, we’ve found a place where leadership is needed. His list includes:

• Standing up in front of strangers
• Proposing an idea that may fail
• Challenging the status quo
• Resisting the urge to settle

I DO love those moments that move me out of my comfort zone and into what I call a “seat squirming” state. I know when I start squirming, I am on to something, and that something is usually growth!In this episode, I share a positive perspective on Seth Godin’s list for when leadership is needed.I would love to hear from you. What do you think? What is outside of your comfort zone that is holding you back? When was a time you moved outside of your comfort zone and how did you do it? How did it feel on the other side?With love,Maria

Meaning and Significance Instead of Success at Work

What would happen if we shifted our focus to find meaning and significance at work instead of just success?I recently heard Oprah talk about success and significance in the same sentence. This got me thinking…Looking at the word, significance, I wanted to explore the meaning and essence of this luxurious word steeped in depth and richness. I started researching great thinkers on significance and explored their quotes. In this episode, I share with you some of my favorites.What if we shifted our focus from success to significance? How would that look? How would that affect the way we lead?I would love to hear from you. What do you think? How would shifting from success to significance affect the way you lead? What is most significant about what you do?With love,Maria

Influence Your Team and Your Boss

How can I gain influence with my team? How do I influence my boss?I’ve heard repeatedly from my clients, students, and colleagues these questions. While teaching leadership or marketing courses, I’ve often thought…Leading people and marketing are really the same activity. Isn’t the primary objective of both to influence people in the direction of a goal?You may challenge that statement! True, marketing and leadership could sometimes be an activity of manipulation, and not of influence. We have seen and experienced this many times in both marketing and leadership.Both activities of influence and manipulation have power. The key is that only one has sustainability. Manipulation can be an effective influencing tactic, but it is not sustaining; in fact, it is exhausting!Influence, on the other hand, is nurturing, motivating, and full of momentum.  In today’s video are 10 specific strategies to increase your influence.I would love to hear from you. What else would you add to this list to increase your influence? What time did you gain buy-in and what strategy did you use?With love,Maria

Your Perception is Your Reality

Understanding how your perception becomes your reality is a powerful tool.

I love the story of Plato’s cave. The shadows of the people outside the cave and distorted images from the fire flames all created a dark reality in the recesses of the cave. What dark reality exists within the confines of the caves of our mind?

Thoughts are powerful; they are the seeds to ideas, beliefs, creativity, attitudes, knowledge, wisdom, and reality. Thoughts can be our best friends or our worst enemies.

Unconscious thoughts are just as powerful as thoughts steeped in awareness. Negative self-talk are weeds that have grown in our minds. You know these voices, since many of us have cultivated these over years and decades:

• You can’t do...
• You should do….
• You shouldn’t…
• You are too old… too young… too fat… too thin...
• Who do you think you are?

Sound familiar? We could probably add to the list with little effort! These voices come from fear, anxiety, doubt, guilt, and shame. Our behaviors are reflections of our beliefs. If we believe the negative self-talk, it manifests in our behavior with ourselves and with others.Do you ever find yourself stuck, unable to accomplish that goal or unable to overcome a fear of something or someone?The negative voices and gremlins in our heads fuel underlying beliefs we have about ourselves, others, and the way we view the world. It is important for us to step into awareness and recognize the beliefs that no longer serve us. For example, not talking to strangers is a common lesson taught to many of us as small children. As we grew into adulthood, we abandoned that belief, albeit unconsciously.Developing our perception-shifting skill serves us well. In this episode are 3 steps to help you develop your perception-shifting muscle.I would love to hear from you. When have you discovered your initial perception to be false? How long did it take you to shift your perception, and what were the results?With love,Maria

Intuition and Decision Making in the Workplace

Using intuition for decision-making is a powerful technique used by successful leaders. However, using intuition in the workplace may be tricky because Western culture loves proof, anything empirical that has evidential credibility attached to it. I’ll never forget an experience I had early in my corporate career. One of the first meetings I had in my new position leading the marketing division was a meeting with the company president. I was excited and nervous. Having done my homework in the area of our planned discussion, I was ready. The meeting began smoothly and I felt confident in my knowledge and insight. Then, my moment came. The president asked me about my thoughts. I promptly answered, “I feel …” and immediately was interrupted by him with words that cut to my core, “Maria, I don’t care about your feelings, tell me what you know”.That experience was the first of many that unfortunately taught me how to not listen to my intuition. Enter spreadsheets. Luckily, I only followed this mode of operation for a few years, before I realized that my previous way of decision-making served me much more efficiently and effectively, which was of course using my intuition.Intuition is a power tool that all successful leaders use, like an internal GPS. I found through working with my clients that some of these leaders have to re-learn how to use intuition because in many of our corporate and work experiences, we learn how to not listen to it.In today’s episode, I share with you a simple strategy to develop and re-connect with your intuition, by just remembering the acronym:I N T U I T I O NAs always, I would love to hear from you. How have you used intuition in your job, career, or personal life?With love,Maria

Are You Experienced?

Have you ever driven away from your home and looked back to see if you closed the garage door? Awareness is tricky that way. How can we be more mindful at work? Why practice awareness in the workplace?

We must first be self-aware before we can begin effective, meaningful relationships with others. As a leader, awareness is the foundation on which to build your leadership skills. Don’t get me wrong, many leaders go about their day-to-day activities unconsciously leading, struggling, and wondering why it is so darn hard. The answer is that we must first effectively lead ourselves if we are to lead others successfully.Luckily, we can practice three simple steps to cultivate awareness and become a better leader.I would love to hear from you. When was the moment when you became fully aware? What are some steps you use to stay in awareness?With love,Maria

A New Reality, A New Leadership

We have to give it, share it, mentor it, and grow it.

It is love, knowledge, care, trust, love. As leaders, we have a responsibility to be students of those that went before us, stewards of our gifts and talents, and mentors to those that come after us. Our challenge is to go through our own inward journey, describe the lessons we’ve learned, and then return to teach those lessons to the next generation of leaders. “A journey to find the treasure of your true self, and then home to give your gift to help transform the kingdom – and in the process your own life. The quest itself is replete with dangers and pitfalls, but it offers great rewards: the capacity to be successful in the world, knowledge of the mysteries of the human soul, the opportunity to find your unique gifts in the world, and to live in loving community with other people.”[i] Meaning, abundance, and meaningful existence await.Today, we need a new reality. “To prevail in the face of violence, homelessness, malaise, and the many other spiritual challenges of modern life, we need a vision of leadership rooted in the enduring sense of human wisdom, spirit, and heart.”[ii] We need a new generation of leaders who have the courage and wisdom to love themselves, to love their Source, and to love others. We need you, the authentic leader within. “Our journey is a search, often arduous, for our spiritual center. Once we find our own light within, we can share it with others, offering our own gifts from the heart.”[iii] As we claim our light, let us remember the words of Rumi:You were born with potential.You were born with goodness and trust.You were born with ideals and dreams.You were born with greatness.You were born with wings.You are not meant for crawling, so don’t.You have wings.Learn to use them and fly.Rumi – 13^th century poet[iv] New year Blessings to you.With love,Maria

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[i] Carol S. Pearson, Awakening the Heroes Within (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991), p. 1.

[ii] Lee G. Bolman and Terrence E. Deal, Leading with Soul, p. 173.

[iii] Ibid., p. 177.

[iv] Rumi quoted by Wayne W. Dyer, The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-create Your World Your Way (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, Inc., 2004), p. 120. Dr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Secrets and Challenges

The secrets of leadership include awareness, mindfulness, intuition, power listening, and perception shifting. These five skills are innate, although they become buried for many of us based on our cultural upbringing. The great news is that they never go away!  Reconnecting with and developing these five leadership essentials are key to successful leadership. These skills help leaders know themselves better, enabling them to understand and influence others. Let’s face it: leadership is about influence. We cannot influence others in an authentic and effective manner without first understanding ourselves as well as those whom we lead.The challenges that leaders face take on many forms.  When we peel back the layers of challenges or problems, we find that in most cases the same root cause affects everything – fear. Manifesting itself in many forms, fear shows up as ego, micro-management, misunderstandings, and reactionary behaviors. When we learn to recognize the underlying cause (fear), we then will know how to rectify the real problem instead of just putting on a band-aid or superficial fix. When we only treat the problems superficially, we experience the same issues repeatedly.What is your biggest challenge with leadership and what secret solution do you have? As always, I love hearing your insight.With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Reflections and Stories

As we approach the end of a year and the beginning of a new, it is important for us to reflect on our stories. You know these stories; they are well-crafted and visited repeatedly for years and sometimes decades. These are the stories we tell ourselves, building beliefs and behaviors based on these tales. As Plato reminded us, perception is reality. Our thoughts create our perceptions and our perceptions influence our emotional, psychological, and physical response.I am reading Marianne Williamson’s latest book, “The Law of Divine Compensation” and was struck by her discussion about how negative thoughts deactivate the divine law, which falls into three major categories: (1) negative sense of self, (2) anger, and (3) guilt. Wow – the big three!This got me thinking how the big three derail other aspects of our life, including how we love others and how we lead. As we reflect on a negative sense of self, anger, and guilt, let’s explore the following questions:

• Why do we hold on to these beliefs? Is it habit, unawareness, or true to you?
• Is it really true?
• Who would you be if it weren’t true?
• With what loving thought can you replace the negative thought?

Think about this:When is the best time to plant an oak tree? Twenty years ago. When is the second best time to plant the tree? Now.When we step into awareness about our stories and thoughts, we come to realize that we can change those thoughts, and ultimately change our lives. What’s stopping you?With loving thoughts,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com. 

WIIFM?

What’s in it for me?  As an entrepreneur and leader of my own business, I often take this perspective of my clients when I write marketing copy and have client conversations. Framing thoughts this way helps me identify the benefits for clients and potential customers.

The funny thing about this thought, WIIFM is that it is not only on the minds of our customers, it is also on the minds of our team members and those we lead.  While they may not directly ask, “What’s in it for me?” they are definitely thinking it!

If we can frame our leadership guidance and requests with the mindset of what’s in it for them, we can open up new ways to motivate our teams, clients and customers for more engagement, commitment, productivity, and loyalty; resulting in tremendous benefit to our companies and organizations.

Don’t wait for our teams and customers to fill in the blanks of what’s in it for them, just communicate to them up front the benefits and results they can expect from joining you or buying your product or service.

Don’t you just love win-win scenarios?

With love,

Maria

Dr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Are you Tom?

For some of us, finding our passion may be an ominous task or we may wonder why leveraging our passion is even relevant.  However, when we find and leverage our passion, the magic happens.For example, for Tom, the cleaning and maintenance man for a homebuilder I worked with, it meant creating beauty. Tom worked by maintaining and cleaning model homes and guesthouses. He treated these homes as if they were his own home with great care and love. The models and guest homes Tom maintained were so immaculate and clean that you could eat off the floor.Tom passionately cleaned and organized homes in his care, giving the appearance that the homes were just completed and furnished that same day. He delighted prospective customers with all of their senses, from the special aromas he hand-selected, pillows he fluffed, blankets folded beautifully, to detailed floral and accessory arrangements.Tom was passionate about beauty and he shared his unique love by ensuring that those around him too, would experience beautiful sensations as well. The homebuilding company led the sales in our marketplace, due in large part to Tom’s passion.What entices passion in you? What makes your heart sing, your soul stir, and captivates you for endless hours? Where do you first when you go in a bookstore? What section catches your attention, your desire? If you had a day off, with nothing to do, what would be your first choice to spend your day? What would you teach to others? What brings you joy? The answers to these questions will give you some clues as to where you passions lay.What are you passionate about and how do you leverage your passion?With love and passion,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Leading on Purpose

To lead and live on purpose, we must become aware of our values. You may have heard of “values-based” leadership. Aligned with the concepts of love-based leadership, this idea of self-awareness around our values makes complete sense. Our values play such an important role in our leadership. Values are the foundation on which everything in our life is built. Our attitudes and beliefs, our thoughts and our behaviors, all stem from our values.

Knowing your values, helps bring clarity to what is significant to you. Take a look at your calendar and review how you spend your time. Do the activities on your calendar align with your values? If not, why not?Looking at our values is a conduit to our inspiration and our passion. We have developed our strengths, in part, because we value those behaviors, and at some level of awareness, we’ve felt passionate about those activities. With the alignment of our values, our strengths, and the flame of passion and inspiration, leadership effectiveness is certain.This is the road to fulfilling our purpose. Leaders who live and breathe passion are irresistible; they are inspiring others with vision and hope.What do you value and how do your values influence your leadership? I love hearing your thoughts.With great value and love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

From Chaos to Order

We are in the home stretch of this year, looking to complete the goals we set. Clearing the clutter from our space will support us in the last quarter stretch, taking us from chaos to order.Below are 7 simple steps my friend Dr. Dorothy Bonvillain and I came up with based on Gail Blanke’s book, Throw Out Fifty Things^[1], to guide you as you move from room to room. You can use these same steps in your home, office, car, and any other space in which you spend time.

1. Label each of your 5 boxes or bags:
   1. Donate
   2. Trash
   3. Sell
   4. Move to another room
   5. Unsure (only one box)
2. Remember the rules of engagement:
   1. If you makes you feel bad, toss it
   2. If it adds nothing positive, toss it
   3. If you have to think about it too hard, toss it
   4. No room for fear, toss it
3. Set a timer to one hour before you plan to stop, and stick to it!
4. As you go through each space, put items in the appropriate container:
   • Donate. Many items that you donate may be a tax write-off.  Be sure to list everything you are donating and get a receipt from the charitable organization.  Be sure to check with your tax advisor on specifics.
   • Trash. Throw away those items that cannot be donated or sold.  Come on, you know those items when you see them – the single sock cannot be sold at the Salvation Army and no one is going to buy it for a rag!
   • Sell. These items may be sold in a variety of ways, depending on their value.  Yard sales, consignment shops, Ebay, and Craig’s List are some of the most popular ways to sell perfectly good items to someone else.
   • Move to another room. Don’t stop your momentum to take items to their appropriate room.  Put them in this container and use the last hour you committed to this process to relocate those items.
   • Unsure.  Only ONE box per room for this one!  These are items that you are truly torn about what to do.  The rules are very specific for this one:
     • One box per room.
     • Label the box with a date six months from now.
     • On that date, go through this same process and see what you can donate, trash, or sell.
5. Use gallon zip storage and sandwich bags to hold and organize small items such as jewelry, makeup, screws, rubber bands, paper clips, etc.
6. As you go through your spaces, “To Do” items are going to come up for you.  Write these items down so you can act on them after your timer is done.  Don’t let anything distract your momentum.
7. Make the process and event, a celebration.  Turn on some music that energizes you, and celebrate the transition from the old to the new, un-cluttered space.

Congratulations on clearing your space and keeping your eye on the prize!With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

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[1] Blanke, G. (2009). Throw out fifty things: Clear the clutter, find your life. New York, NY: Grand Central Life & Style.

Clutter Stress

This is the time of year when we go through our closets, files, and other places that tend to get cluttered throughout the year. Perhaps this de-cluttering ritual exists to prepare ourselves for the holidays and many more guests in our home. In any case, it is always so freeing to go through the ritual of de-cluttering and taking back our space.When we are surrounded with clutter, our stress levels increase making it more difficult to stay alert and committed to our goals and tasks. Clearing is so helpful for us to stay focused on our work and reaching our goals in the home stretch of this year. It gives us the white space literally and figuratively to work with clarity and without distraction.In today’s blog, I want to share with you a book that has helped me tremendously with this process. The book, Throw Out Fifty Things^[1], author Gail Blanke suggests Four Rules of Disengagement.  I like the simplicity of her rules and have simplified them even more!  These four rules are a powerful guideline for un-cluttering.Rules of Engagement:

1. How you feel: If the stuff in your space hinders movement, makes you feel bad, feels like it weighs you down, is in the way of getting to something, get rid of it.
2. Addition factor: If the stuff just sits there adding nothing to your life, saps your energy, does not give you joy, get rid of it.  Remember that standing still is not really static, while everything or everyone around you moves forward, standing still is just another way of moving backward.  Get rid of the negative to make room for the positive.
3. KISS principle – Keep It Simple Silly:  There is no reason to make these keep or toss decisions complicated.  If you have to think about keeping or tossing too long, get rid of it.
4. Kick fear to the door:  You are reclaiming your time, creativity, and productivity.  You are reclaiming your life!  This is not a dress rehearsal, this is it, your time, your life.  You can’t afford not to un-clutter.  As Nike has taught us, Just Do It!

In Thursday’s blog I’ll share with you 7 steps to guide you as you move from room to room. Good luck!With love,Maria

Dr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

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[1] Blanke, G. (2009). Throw out fifty things: Clear the clutter, find your life. New York, NY: Grand Central Life & Style.

Where Did the Time Go?

We are deep into the fall season and closing in on Halloween. Thanksgiving is just around the corner, kicking off the holiday season. So many joyful ceremonies, practices, and events fill the season with activity. The challenge for some of us is how easily time slips away during this very active time of year.You may want to consider a pause now, to refocus, plan, and strategize how you are going to enjoy this active season and still accomplish what you want. Be cautious and aware that activity does not necessarily mean productivity. We can easily busy ourselves with the actions of web surfing, shopping, and internet chatting. The illusion that accompanies this busy action is that we’ve been “working”. With awareness, you can guarantee this will not happen to you.A few simple steps can help you maintain you focus and accomplish what you set out to do:

• Turn off your email notifications and only check it at scheduled times throughout the day.
• If you enjoy social media, save it for the end of the day like a reward for staying focused.
• Put your phone on “Do not disturb” when you are working on a task that requires your 100% attention.
• Close your door for un-interrupted time each day so those around you know not to disturb you during those times.
• Move your desk so it is not facing the door.
• If people have a tendency to park themselves in the chairs in your office, remove the chairs and only bring them in for meetings.
• Unclutter your mind by purging “to do’s” onto paper.

These very simple steps will help you focus with greater ease.What are some strategies you do to maintain your focus? I am sure we all would love to know!With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Lead Without Being Bossy

I often come across leaders who want to be strong leaders but don’t want to be bossy. Many of the leadership models and examples they’ve experienced are aggressive, pushy, and downright nasty…and they don’t want to be like that!Yet, this same group of people doesn’t want to be “weak” or considered pushovers. They don’t see strong leaders being taken advantage of, not listened to, or not respected.Well the great news is that you don’t need to lead at either end to be a great leader.Strong, powerful leaders all have something in common and it doesn’t hurt or require you to do something super-human.Follow these seven practices and you’ll be leading without being bossy in no time:

• Ask questions before you talk. Find out what your team needs.
• Listen, really listen to their responses.
• Get dirty. Don’t ask your team to do anything that you would not do.
• Walk the talk. Maintain your integrity and do what you say you are going to do.
• Take responsibility for yourself and your team. When you honor them, they will honor you.
• Care about your people, individually and collectively. Remember that actions speak louder than words.
• Don’t rely on unspoken expectation. Be very clear what is expected of your team and of you.
• Invite people to participate rather than telling. Rarely, if ever, will your team decline the “invitation”. If you are following these principles, your team will not only accept the invitation, they will probably follow you wherever you go!

What else would you add to this list of being a great leader without being bossy? As always, I love hearing from you.With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Analysis Paralysis

In my corporate career, I saw many afflicted with analysis paralysis. In our “show me” culture, we want to see empirical proof of everything. If you can substantiate something on an Excel spreadsheet, you gain instant credibility.Historically, ever since we entered the Science Age, we’ve not really given anything much significance or credibility unless we could “prove” it.The prove it mantra has served us well in some respects, especially for the skeptics, but this practice has also stifled us. When we only rely on evidence and proof, we may overlook something even more powerful. Our insight and intuition is also proof—only it is intangible. We know something to be real or true, sometimes with an even stronger compelling feeling than the physical evidence that is in front of us. So why do some of us become paralyzed and in the cycle of evidence and analysis?Fear.Fear is what keeps us paralyzed. We want more proof, more analysis, and more evidence to substantiate our decision. If we are afraid to make a decision, then we want even more analysis and proof. This paralysis causes us to miss opportunities in our business, organization, and life.When you feel yourself wanting more and more proof, stop and get serious about some reflection and stillness.It is time to move into action. Do your due diligences, your homework, tap into your insight, and stop long enough to listen to your intuition—then move into action.With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com. 

What’s on Your Plate?

Sometimes we find that we have too much on our plates. Okay, that can be both literal and figurative. When we have too much on our plates literally, we experiences unhealthy consequences such as weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more.When we have too much on our plates figuratively we become overwhelmed and stressed and we suffer unhealthy consequences such as weight gain, high blood pressure, heart disease, and more. Deja vu!As we move into the fourth quarter of the year, it is a good time for us to look at our plates and see what’s there.The following exercise is one I do with my clients and is very helpful to take a good hard look at what’s on your plate:

1. First, section your plate into eight different sections:• Spiritual• Work/career• Personal growth• Family• Financial• Living environment• Community/volunteer• Health/wellness
2. Next, identify challenges or issues from the sections of your plate.
3. Finally, review each section of the plate and answer the following questions:• What can come off my plate?• Where can I take control and shift some of the responsibilities?• Pay close attention to your feelings as you complete this exercise. Do you feel resistance in an area, relief, or something else?

When you complete the exercise, commit to at least one change on your plate per week between now and the end of the month. Remember, it takes at least 21 days to set a new habit.Good luck and let me know how it goes!With love,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Imagine Leading in Peace

Imagine all the peopleLiving life in peaceYou may say that I'm a dreamerBut I'm not the only oneI hope someday you'll join usAnd the world will be as one. - John LennonYesterday would have been John Lennon’s 73rd birthday.When I look at lyrics from his famous song, Imagine, I am struck by the simplicity of his statements and the call to action. Living life in peace is possible in our world, our countries, our communities, our organizations, and our families. Peace begins with us, and feeling peaceful within ourselves. Of course, our internal peace is steeped in self-love.Feeling peaceful in our workplaces is sometimes challenging, but not impossible. To shift to peace, requires awareness and a commitment to live life in peace. Envision who you would be living and leading your life in peace and hold that vision until it becomes reality.Yes, it is true…I am a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us.With love while holding the dream,MariaDr. Maria Church, CPC, is a leadership coach, speaker, and author of Love-Based Leadership: Transform Your Life with Meaning and Abundance and her upcoming book, A Course in Leadership: 21 Spiritual Lessons on Leadership, Love, and Life. Maria holds a doctorate of management in organizational leadership, teaches at several universities, and is CEO of Dr. Maria Church International LLC, a leadership coaching, development, and training firm. For more information, visit www.DrMariaChurch.com.

Bring on Resistance?

I just watched an interview by Oprah with writer, Steven Pressfield. A thought struck me during this interview and I had one of those “Aha!” moments. Pressfield wrote in his book, The War of Art, “Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance”.I felt a pang in my heart when I heard this. Was the pang for the unlived life or a deep knowing that resistance still plays a role in my life?Perhaps both.What I love about Pressfield’s teaching on resistance is his explanation that resistance is a force of in nature, a natural occurrence that exists when we have movement or action. The key is to recognize this as something that will happen as we evolve and grow; that it is not us (even though it takes form in our thoughts) and that we just need to push through resistance. One such way to push through resistance is meditation. Meditation can actually bring us up above the resistance, like a hurdle jumper on a track. The runner does not stop and turn back with a hurdle—she jumps over it. Meditation allows us to jump over resistance.The other aspect about this understanding of resistance is the positive side of resistance. Resistance can be a beautiful affirmation that we are moving closer to action, movement, and creating something significant. If we are not feeling some resistance, we are not growing and expanding. Woohoo – bring it on!As always, I love hearing your thoughts. What are you resisting and why?Without resistance or hesitation,MariaContent copyright 2012. Dr. Maria J. Church. All rights reserved.