🎃 October 2024: Life, Leadership, Laughter, Loss

I want to believe that Autumn is in the air, though the forecast here in Santa Barbara is for temperatures in the 80’s the rest of this week… ??

September felt eventful for me personally: I was called to jury duty (which happens to me EVERY YEAR and I would like to know WHY!?) and the trial was thankfully resolved last minute; I presented StrengthsFinder to two large groups (45 the first night, 30+ the second night), I filmed another video training (this time on resilience and thriving), I got certified in Google AI Essentials and then Generative AI, and in the meantime coached with four different non-profits, two higher education institutions, one tech client, and multiple individual clients.

Meanwhile, I am waiting in (impatient) anticipation for my online course on managing Gen Z employees to be released – I’ve been told that October is the month, so stay tuned…

I do not take any of these opportunities for granted, and am so thankful each day for the conversations I get to have. Here are some of the resources I used in the past month:

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❤️‍🩹 Self-Care Checklist for Leaders. There are WAY too many articles out there on #selfcare and "wellness" that are too basic, lack any real-life descriptions, and feel like they were written by AI on a deadline. This one is different. I strongly encourage you to take 10 minutes to read it and then follow its advice to use its framework weekly.

As I shared with a client, we eventually reach the point where we desperately need to learn how to manage ourselves. No one can or should do it for us! This article provides real options. #hbr #selfmanagement #mindfulness #resilience #thriving

🔍 Life Examined: Leading a good life doesn’t always mean leading an easy one. This is a great podcast discussion on what it means to live the good life, which might also include hardship and challenge. I especially like this as an expansion of the message I sought to communicate in my recent video training on #resilience and #thriving.

💣 Why Leadership Training Fails. As someone who provides leadership training on a regular basis, I appreciate this article. It is a reminder that leadership training should not be a casually planned one-off or something used to just fill some time. We need to be strategic in how we equip people and set them up for success. Check it out. #professionaldevelopment

🎬 1:1 meme. I laughed but also cried (and definitely sent it to several people…) when I saw this - a little too on point!

👨🏽‍💻 Finding a Remote Job. I receive at least one or two contacts per week from people looking for help with making a career pivot or needing help in finding a job. It’sard to say where the job market stands right now, but I see a lot of anxiety from where I sit. This link provides 8 resources for remote job listings.

😪 Finding Meaning: the Sixth Stage of Grief. A recurring theme in my #coaching is that of #grief. Certainly, many people grieve the loss of loved ones, but there is also grief at the loss of a relationship, a career, a position in a particular company, or basically the loss of how you thought life was going to be! I also recommend What’s Your Grief: a grief website for the rest of us.

QUOTABLE:

“Stress is a FACT of life, but should not be a WAY of life.” Jordan Friedman, stress management coach.

Thanks for reading… please feel free to pass this post along to co-workers, friends and family. And contact me with questions, feedback or inquiries into a complementary 30-minute coaching session at kelly.soifer@ksleadershipdevelop.me. Ciao! 👋🏽