The Thoughtful Leaders Blog

5 Thoughtful Leadership tips to stopping overwhelm

Posted by Lisa Kohn on May 10, 2012

I am feeling it – that feeling of just too much. Too much to do. Too many deadlines. Too many balls in there air. And while I coach clients and offer keynote sessions on managing overwhelm, I’m feeling too caught in my own stuff to know what I know…so here’s a refresher for me (and perhaps for you). And yes, I did pick up The Power of Thoughtful Leadership to help me remember:

Let the little things slide – Right now, at my house, the bed is unmade, the laundry is unfolded, and there are dishes in the sink. Right now, in my office, there’s a pile of magazines that need to be looked through, a pile of papers that need to be filed, and a pile of expenses that need to be entered. Right now, on my to-do list, are many documents to be edited and a full email inbox to go through…and none of that really matters. These are the little things that I normally do to keep my life calmer and more clutter-free, but there simply isn’t time right now and I have to let them slide. And forgive myself for not keeping up with my own standards.
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4 Responses to “5 Thoughtful Leadership tips to stopping overwhelm”

  1. tim tymchyshyn says:

    by delegating and building the team,

    hey if they don’t want to play, I will find someone else interested in doing a good job

  2. Melisa says:

    Well, we all have been overwhelmed with the task we need to do. But I focus on small things that can be solve easily and keep that momentum. You will never notice that you already finish your without even bothering to check on it.

    • Lisa Kohn says:

      Thanks Melisa. I also find it helpful to make myself notice the things I do accomplish, as that helps me feel less in overwhelm and I’m likely not to notice them if I don’t actively try to.

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Get angry…and get over it

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on April 16, 2012


“I don’t get angry, I grow a tumor.” Woody Allen

Anger is underrated. Or over-criticized. Too much anger can certainly be destructive – personally, professionally, mentally, and physically. However, too little anger can also wreak havoc.

A client recently shared with me a situation he was facing at work. He felt judged, unsupported, and criticized by a co-worker…and he was proudly telling me how he took it all in stride, didn’t even feel angry, and simply went on. When I asked him if he was experiencing any lack of patience at home, or tiredness and headaches, he sheepishly said yes to a few of those, and asked me why.
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Leadership lessons of a stomach bug

Posted by Lisa Kohn on December 22, 2011

How can a stomach virus possibly be a good thing? How can it yield inspiration for a thoughtful leadership lesson? Am I being too “Pollyanna-ish” – looking for the good in situations and circumstances that truly only stink?

With nothing much to do yesterday but recuperate from the stomach bug that knocked me out two days ago, I had time to contemplate this…endlessly. Those who know me know that I always, or almost always, look for good in everything and everyone I can. Perhaps, some might say, to a fault. So as I lay in bed yesterday with nothing much to do because I didn’t have the strength yet to be productive, I thought this through.
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Hit the pause button

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on November 28, 2011
“Half an hour’s meditation is essential except when you are very busy. Then a full hour is needed.” Francis de Sales

Recently I took a month off from work. I shut off my computer, cleaned up my office, forwarded my phone, let clients know I’d be away for a month, and stopped. My intention was to simply become more of a “human being” rather than a “human doing,” as well as to enjoy being a stay-at-home mom with my son’s last summer before kindergarten.
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4 Responses to “Hit the pause button”

  1. Great point, sometimes we are blocking the forest staring at one tree.

  2. Thanks Lisa, need to remember the important things in life always find a way to get done.

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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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How do you seize the day?

Posted by Lisa Kohn on July 7, 2011

I must admit my blog today is very personal…but Thoughtful Leadership is personal and it’s based on bringing our whole self to everything we do and every way we lead. I know my leadership today, my very essence today, is flavored by an extremely private and emotional experience, and if I’m truly living “thoughtfully” then I must acknowledge my situation, my feelings, and my thoughts.
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Can you truly hear?

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on June 27, 2011
“It takes two to speak the truth – one to speak and another to hear.” Henry David Thoreau

Usually when I think about this quote, I envision myself in front of a classroom, emphasizing the importance of listening and truly hearing in building effective relationships. These are both important; that is an undeniable truth.
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Just say no

Posted by Lisa Kohn on May 26, 2011

I have a client who is in overwhelm. How do I know? She personally told me that she has thousands and thousands of unread emails…that she will never get to. And everyone around her has confidentially told me that my client simply promises too much, overcommits, and just plain old “works too hard.” In essence, she “overpromises” and “underdelivers” – which is the exact opposite of what we coach our clients to do. We strongly suggest that they “underpromise” and “overdeliver” – thereby giving themselves some breathing space and wowing those around them with on-time (and even early) delivery of stellar results.
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Lead like a duck

Posted by Chatsworth Consulting Group on March 28, 2011
“Be like a duck. Calm on the surface, but paddling like the dickens underneath.” Michael Caine

When things get frantic, do you get frantic? Can those who work with you and live with you notice your frenetic energy? And do they then get frantic themselves? An essential leadership skill – whether you’re leading an organization, a team, a project, or a family – is to learn to flow with the chaos and show a calm demeanor to the people around you.
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2 Responses to “Lead like a duck”

  1. I once received some feedback about this very issue. It seems that when I took one of the many typing indicators it determined that I was as calm in a high stress situation as in areas that were routine. This was good and bad. The good as you pointed out was that the team remained calm and did not get rattled and unable to perform, the bad is that no one really knew how bad the situation was and therefore did not have the chance to rise to the occasion and help out. I have not changed the nature in which I take stress, but I have found cues to help those around me appreciate the gravity of the situation. Just thought I would share this to enhance your thoughts.

    • Lisa Kohn says:

      Thanks Dwight – that is excellent food for thought and I know I will incorporate it for myself and my clients as we talk through stress, calmness, and reactions. Good for you that you took the feedback and found a way to work with it that worked for you (and those around you)!

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Is it a good thing to be asleep on the job?

Posted by Lisa Kohn on March 4, 2011

I was really, really tired. It was mid-day and I could feel the pressure mounting of everything that had to get done and all there was to cross off my to-do list…but I was really, really tired. I swear it felt as if my head was pulsing and my eyes just wanted to drift close.
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