Lifting Leaders Podcast

Try or Do? That Is The Question!

It’s a question that is surfacing, more and more, these days. Do you want to try to make a positive difference, or will we make a difference? Please join us as our delightful guest, self-proclaimed natural-born motivator, Carla Ondrasik, challenges our thinking on this topic. Listen in as Carla shares her story, beginning with her childhood, where independence and doing was encouraged, through a career of “doing” fascinating jobs that tested her skills and fortitude and ultimately helped her find the love of her life, musician John Ondrasik, known to many as Five For Fighting. Carla walks us through her philosophy around not trying but rather, doing, which is something that more and more parents and leaders may be looking at. Hear how our learning and experience shifted our focus toward experimentation over trying and how this discussion has prompted us to rethink that, a bit. Interested in how to begin shifting from trying to doing? Learn about a few fun ways in which leaders and parents can help others unlearn the habit of talking about and promoting trying over just doing. We had such a fun time with Carla Ondrasik and we hope you’ll listen in and learn more!

Victoria Campbell & Andrew Coopman – One Dynamic Duo Making the World a Better and More Melodious Place

What a delightfully fun episode we recorded this week! We were so excited to welcome back our guest from one year ago (Episode 43), G. Victoria (Vicki) Campbell, who was joined by her co-book writer, Andrew Coopman, who is a director, choreographer, and playwright of various theater projects, nationwide. Together, this dynamic duo shared some of the joys and more than a few of the challenges associated with creating an eco-musical, while they were both on different continents. Join us as we learn more about what inspired them to write/develop this eco-musical, called Treeson and how the project has evolved over the past year, as they prepare for their one-night premiere, on April 22, 2024 (Earth Day). Gain insights into some of the tiny details that keep them awake at night as they continue to power through, towards the big premiere. There are more than a few laughs in this episode, as well as an update on available tickets. If you want to be a part of this spectacular event, please check out the link for the theater club, 54 Below to purchase your tickets. We will be there and hope to see you there as well. Finally, have you completed the HOPE survey yet? Please check out the link below. There are only four questions (plus the demographics) and,

Coaches Corner – How to Cope, When Life Gets in the Way!

It seems like life just keeps getting more and more busy and, we don’t know about you but, we sometimes feel the tug between home life and work life. How do we keep our home priorities and challenges out of sight and out of mind, as we navigate work? How do we leave work behind so we can enjoy our personal spaces? These challenges have existed for years and, while we used to hear, “leave your personal life at the door, when you enter work,” we all know that this is just not possible, most of the time. After all, we are humans, with all the wonder, baggage, challenges, joys, and sadness, that make us who we are. In this episode, we depart from our usual approach, by NOT referencing articles from our favorite business resources. Instead, we offer, from our own experiences, some gems to consider, as you work through all the things in life, that sometimes get in the way. This Coaches Corner is full of food for thought, around things like Sacrifice vs Service, the importance of prioritizing, setting boundaries and delegating. Looking for new insights on this topic? We hope you’ll listen in. Have you taken the opportunity to complete our HOPE survey yet? We Need Your Voice!

Coaches Corner – Here it Comes Again…Change!

We all have at least one thing in common…we all must navigate through change. At work, home, or wherever you spend more than a moment, you experience change. Some changes may be easy to manage but there are changes that feel like huge lifts. But do they have to be? We thought it might be a good idea to visit this ever-present topic, while we are in the middle of our first quarter of the year, when many of us may have already tucked away our New Year’s commitments and plans. Listen in and learn about a few different models that business and change experts map out processes pertaining to the topic. Learn about models and concepts from James Clear, James Prochaska, Doug Silsbee, and Brene Brown. Listen in and hear more about how 360 degree assessments and coaching play a role in change. This Coaches Corner is full of gems and we hope you will find it insightful. Have you taken the opportunity to complete our HOPE survey yet? We Need Your Voice!

Valentine’s Week Gems – Loving the Earth

Yes, it is Valentine’s Day week, once again…a time when people all over the country show their feelings of love and gratitude, toward their loved ones and the sale of flowers and chocolate confections goes through the roof! What about showing our love for the Earth, for nature, for our environment? Join us as we unearth gems from a Psychology Today article on this very topic. Learn about not only the three primary motivational systems but an emerging fourth system that focuses on loving the Earth. Discover the impact of bringing love and joy into the acts of loving and navigating our Earth. Ever heard of the term, Earthing? Listen in and find out more about this. We truly enjoyed recording this episode and we Hope you will enjoy learning from it. Have you taken the opportunity to complete our HOPE survey yet? We Need Your Voice!

Coaches Corner – Unpacking Joy

It has been said that Joy is one of the most vulnerable of human emotions. It can be as brief as a moment, or it can last longer if you practice ways to elongate it. The stars don’t have to align for one to feel joy. It can actually happen during tough times as well. However, we, as humans, often rob ourselves of our joy by foreboding it. Want to know more about that? What does gratitude have to do with joy? What part does joy play in psychological recovery. Listen in and you will learn more about all of this and much more. However you listen, we hope this episode will be insightful for you. Have you taken the opportunity to complete our HOPE survey yet? We Need Your Voice!

Human Flourishing - Unpacking the PERMA Model – Unearthing Gems from Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley (Parts One & Two)

Human Flourishing…It has been our topic of choice, over the past few weeks, for good reason. We envision the world being a better place, if leaders will learn about and practice the components that lead to Human Flourishing. Join us as we unpack the PERMA model that we learned about, during our interviews with Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley. Listen in and learn how simple acts can touch more than one component of the PERMA model. Want to know more about the actions that lead to Human Flourishing? Listen in and then take action!

What’s All This Buzz About Human Flourishing…An Insightful Discussion with Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley (Part Two)

Kristal Roberts and I hope you had an opportunity to listen in on last week’s episode, with Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley. That was part one of this two-part mining expedition, on the topic of Human Flourishing and it set the foundation for the deeper dive we take in this episode. These two Organizational Development professionals discuss how the collective power of individual mindset and behaviors, even coming from varying states of mental/emotional wellbeing is what it takes to achieve more systemic Human Flourishing. Want to know more about why Judy sees Human Flourishing as a “big, hairy, amorphous challenge?” Listen in to find out. Knowing that Human Flourishing is seen as not so much of a “nice to have” state of being but, rather, a new imperative for all of us, it seems important for us to learn as much as we can so we can decide how it might fit into our worlds. One of the many takeaways from this rich episode has to do with ways in which leaders can help further and foster Human Flourishing in their organizations. We hope you will listen in on the entire episode. You will find a wealth of information on this important topic, and we believe it will be an insightful mining journey.

What’s All This Buzz About Human Flourishing…An Insightful Discussion with Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley (Part One)

While it seems like forever that experts have been concentrating on negative human behaviors, burn out and depression, there is a rising buzz in the world of psychology and organizational development that is shifting much of the focus toward something called Human Flourishing. Join us, as we welcome Judy Oyedele and Sasha Farley, two Organizational Development professionals who bring their expertise to the podcast and share their journeys to this complex world of Human Flourishing. Learn how they define flourishing and how it differs from fixing what’s wrong. Discover the PERMA model and how it’s linked to Human Flourishing. Learn how flourishing differs, in different countries and cultures and why Judy and Sasha say that Human Flourishing is a team sport. This topic is so important, during this time we are living in, and there is so much information to share, that we are bringing Judy and Sasha back, for our next episode, as well. Don’t miss this episode, though, as it sets the foundation upon which our next conversation will be based. We know there are a lot of gems to be found in this episode, and we think you will be glad you spent time mining with us.

Happy 2024! – It’s All About The Plan…or is it?

Happy 2024! We are back after the holidays that were filled with family, friends, and lots of fun! Want to know what we did over the holidays? Are you interested in learning what’s coming up, for us and the podcast, in 2024? Listen in, as we share a little about our holiday experiences and shift the discussion toward the value of having a plan, for your year, while being open to all the new and unplanned moments that will inevitably grab your attention, when you least expect it. Why is it important to allow yourself to step away from your plan? What’s the best thing that can happen, when you do? Listen in and you’ll find out. OH! We’re continuing to promote our HOPE Survey this year so, if you haven’t taken the opportunity to complete it yet, we Hope you will do it, this year. You will find the link on our website.