Yesterday, I sat in a coffee shop near the White House with my colleague, Susan Dunlap, refining the design of a short program for women lawyers called Reactionary to Visionary.  As Susan and I worked through the flow of the program, I kept thinking about the challenge of shifting from reactive to purposeful, from being at the mercy of your day to living out a day with a sense of calm and focus.  

As a leadership coach, I find virtually every person with whom I work is struggling with surviving (never mind thriving) as they manage daily life.  We are moving fast, handling much, and barely pausing to check in with ourselves to see how we are holding up.  Ironically, the deep commitment that drives this behavior fuels exhaustion and depletion instead of invigorated, inspiring leadership.  Over the weekend, I plan to spend time reflecting on this phenomenon and how it affects my own life and my understanding of how best to support leaders who are in dire need of renewal, perspective and self-care.  I'd like to invite you to take fifteen or twenty minutes to slow down and check in with what YOU are really needing for personal sustainability right now, too.  As Susan and I reminded ourselves yesterday, pausing is the first step.

Next week, I am hosting Betty Sue Flowers on Visionary Leader, Extraordinary Life.  Like Lynne Twist, Betty Sue is someone whose life and perspective inspires and guides me.  For many years, she has been helping people and organizations develop extraordinary visions and the capacity to manifest them.  A poet, teacher and student of life and the emerging future, Betty Sue's warm, down-to-earth style belies the brilliance of her vision and depth of her wisdom.   I hope you'll join me for this special conversation.