The Thoughtful Leaders™ Blog

Live longer through thoughtful leadership

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on August 29, 2011

“To prolong life, worry less.” Ancient Chinese proverb

Have you picked up a magazine lately that didn’t offer suggestions on how to live a longer life? There are endless ideas about new, perfect foods we all have to eat, exercises we all need to start (or stop), pills we should take, sleep we must get – the list goes on and on. It seems we are on a perpetual quest for the answer to a longer life. Is it possible the Chinese had a great suggestion centuries ago?
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Filed under: Awareness,Care for self,Choose,Personal growth,The Thoughtful Leaders Minute - Tags: confidence, productive thoughts, stop worrying, stress —

Eating peas and other lessons in change

Posted by Robyn McLeod on August 25, 2011

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver tackled school cafeteria food in the “unhealthiest city in America” – Huntington, West Virginia – in his television show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. A recent article in Booz and Company’s Strategy + Business examines how Oliver’s journey toward promoting healthier ways of eating in Huntington provides great lessons for leaders looking to effect change in their organizations.
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Filed under: Change and grow,Communicate/communication,Managing - Tags: behavior changes, change, create lasting change, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution —

Practice to get it right

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on August 22, 2011

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Aristotle

We often have the best intentions yet fail to stick to our commitments. We decide to change our behavior – to act differently or treat someone with more care and concern – and we do… but only once or twice. Then we wonder why things aren’t different and nothing gets better.
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Filed under: Change and grow,Personal growth,Take action,The Thoughtful Leaders Minute - Tags: commitments, excellence, habits, Personal growth —

What’s the balance on your emotional bank account?

Posted by Lisa Kohn on August 18, 2011

Bank accounts are relatively easy to understand – you make deposits of money so that you have a balance on which to draw, and you make withdrawals of money when you need to. The goal is to have more money in your account than you’re withdrawing so that you don’t overdraw and bounce a check. What could that possibly have to do with leading thoughtfully???
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Filed under: Awareness,Communicate/communication,Show gratitude - appreciation - Tags: build strong relationships, emotional bank account, Stephen Covey —

Use your demotivation for you

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on August 15, 2011

“The biggest secret in life is that there is no secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” Oprah Winfrey

Have you ever looked towards the goal that was set for your team (or your division, or yourself) and known, for sure, that there was no way to reach it? There are few things as demotivating as a goal that is too much of a stretch, that is too impossible to reach. “Why even try?” we think, as we refuse to get started. “There’s no chance of success,” we bemoan. “Why bother?”
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Filed under: Achievement,Setting goals,The Thoughtful Leaders Minute - Tags: demotivation, Oprah, setting goals, Success —

Swimming toward big dreams

Posted by Robyn McLeod on August 11, 2011

At the age of 61, former long distance swim champion Diana Nyad just attempted a feat that no one else has ever completed – a 103-mile, 60-hour swim from Havana, Cuba, to Key West, Florida. In watching and reading news accounts about her historic effort, I am reminded of what helps anyone succeed in going for their dreams and goals:
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Filed under: Achievement,Choose,Setting goals,Take risks - Tags: Diana Nyad, dreams, goals, inspiration, motivation, Success, support —

Get out of your head

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on August 8, 2011

“If you work on your mind with your mind, how can you avoid an immense confusion?” Seng-ts’an

We often get caught in our own minds trying to find a way out of a problem. Like an animal caught in a maze, or perhaps a gerbil going round and round in its little wheel, we circle through our repetitive thoughts trying to find a solution to what’s in front of us.
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Filed under: Awareness,Take action,The Thoughtful Leaders Minute - Tags: confusion, inspiration, problems, solutions, stumbling blocks —

Five tips to igniting your passion

Posted by Lisa Kohn on August 4, 2011

Have you ever noticed that there are times you’re really engaged at work and times you’re not? There are projects that fire you up and projects that drain you. There are people you love to work with and people whom you simply can’t seem to stand being in the same room with.

In order to be your best at your job, in order to lead most thoughtfully and effectively (whether you “lead” from the top, bottom, or middle of an organization) you need to find and follow your own passion. You need to fuel yourself with projects and people that keep you engaged and connected to your work.
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Filed under: Care for self,Change and grow,Managing,Thoughtful leadership - Tags: enthusiasm, passion, reengage, thoughtful leadership —

Five harsh words that changed my life

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on August 1, 2011

“Sometimes I go about pitying myself, and all the while I am being carried across the sky by beautiful clouds.” Ojibway Indian saying

Years and years ago a very good friend of mine helped me enormously. I was talking with him, I suppose endlessly, about a situation I was facing. I was complaining, I suppose also endlessly, about how hard it was and how confused, lost, and hurting I was. My friend had listened to me discuss this same subject many times before, and I guess he realized that I wasn’t moving through the issue. I was stuck. So he turned to me calmly and directly, and said, “Get off your pity-pot.”
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