T’s the season of the year to celebrate, reflect and pause. How are you doing? How are you stepping into this month with intention, innovators?

T’s the season of the year to celebrate, reflect and pause. How are you doing? How are you stepping into this month with intention, innovators?

How much difference can one choice make?

At first, it doesn’t seem like a big deal. Sharing an idea, speaking up for others, or pausing to listen to those around you may be small acts of kindness.

I forgot that Day Light Savings began last Sunday. I woke up feeling extra hungry and tired but did not know why. It was only halfway through lunch in the afternoon that I realized what had happened.

The first response I often get to this question is our job titles, affiliations, and the work that we do. Yes, that too is you but who are you outside of your work?

Our natural reaction is to say, “I’m too busy and don’t have time,” or even, “that’s rather selfish! I should be serving others”. But this is an important question since how we feel about our job

I’ve changed. And I like it.

I’m getting better at not feeling guilty for sleeping in, treating myself to chocolates, prioritizing my exercise routine, curling up with a good book and enjoying my alone time. I’m recharging for me to be me.

Who’s ready for the beach?:)

I hear you.
After a year of caution, almost every conversation with friends now is about the next travel plans, beach plans, and the plans of getting together with loved ones. I’m still at awe about how much time has passed and yet how swiftly we all adapted to our new way of working.

Who’s ready for the beach?:)

I hear you.
After a year of caution, almost every conversation with friends now is about the next travel plans, beach plans, and the plans of getting together with loved ones. I’m still at awe about how much time has passed and yet how swiftly we all adapted to our new way of working.

As I work across all the leaders and teams, one conversation that keeps coming is of expectation: is it just me or has being a great leader become more demanding?

“Before, I used to just have to define and delegate the tasks well, and that meant I did my job well. Now, I also have to look out for how people feel. I do care about my people.

Giving and receiving feedback is hard. Despite good intentions, we can hurt others and feel discouraged by others. Words are powerful.

I’ve experienced this myself—and continue to do so. While I love collecting feedback as a way to help me improve, I’ve also had “moments” when feedback makes me feel attacked or hugely misunderstood. I intellectually know I shouldn’t take it personally, and focus on the objective learning opportunity. But I always wonder how we can be more graceful in the way we give and receive feedback.

For many of us, it’s been one year since COVID turned our workplaces (and our homes) upside down.

Recently I found myself reflecting on how we as a company have responded to this emotionally and economically challenging time:

What have we learned?
Where can we improve?
How have we been resilient?

Giving and receiving feedback is hard. Despite good intentions, we can hurt others and feel discouraged by others. Words are powerful.

I’ve experienced this myself—and continue to do so. While I love collecting feedback as a way to help me improve, I’ve also had “moments” when feedback makes me feel attacked or hugely misunderstood. I intellectually know I shouldn’t take it personally, and focus on the objective learning opportunity. But I always wonder how we can be more graceful in the way we give and receive feedback.

Dear Friends –

Every year, as I move through the month of January, I experience silent moments of panic, “How did I already reach this point of the month without making more progress on my goals?”

I start to become more aware of all the things that will be hard to accomplish, the changes I still need to make, and the things that are still not clear despite my best intentions. I start to rethink the promises I made to myself.

Dear Friends,

Take a moment to imagine this with me:

It’s 2030. We’re catching up over a yummy meal complete with a perfect summer breeze and a magnificent sunset. As we dip into our desserts, somehow, we’re reminded of 2020. We start to talk about how we felt, what we remember, and what we overcame.

Dear Friends –

As we move into the quiet reflection of the holiday season, I invite you to take a few moments to reconnect with your true purpose, and reflect on what the start of 2021 means for you.

It’s so important, now more than ever, to:

Humbled. Grateful. Inspired.

This is how I sum up our 5 year journey together.

I started InnovatorsBox with a simple but vital question driven by my own experiences:
How can we create, innovate, and thrive at work?

The first time I heard the quote “we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with” I loved it! It reminded me how important it is to surround myself with those who believe in me and challenge me. Over time though, I came to appreciate the other lens of truth:

Growing up, I always wanted to get my homework done before playtime. Not doing so would stress me out. Even if my homework took longer and made my playtime shorter, I noticed how my playtime was more enjoyable. This is one of my earliest memories about the concept and usage of time.

When I wrote down what I wanted in my career twenty years ago, I didn’t realize how little I knew of the future.

This was before:

Smartphones
Zoom
Social media
Global travel
A move (alone) to Europe
A global pandemic…

I was re-reading my favorite book, FLOW, as a way to reduce my screen time. I felt my heart pause as I read this:

“What I ‘discovered’ was that happiness is not something that happens…but rather how we interpret them. […] Happiness, in fact, is a condition that must be prepared for, cultivated, and defended privately by each person. People who learn to control inner experience will be

The first time I aspired to be a leader was when I didn’t see anyone on TV who looked like me. The next time I vowed to be a good leader was when I worked for managers who made me feel limited, unhappy, and micromanaged. And what helped me want to be a humble leader was when I observed the leaders I respect walk their talk with humility, integrity, and effectiveness.

COVID-19 changed everything overnight.

After a few days, I found myself getting numb from the overly informed updates and constantly changing guidelines that made me feel left out, and confused on what to do to protect my people or where to take the business.

“How do I deal with the silence after I’ve asked my team members for their opinions or ideas? I’m trying to build a solid team environment and yet I find myself getting frustrated, and even angry, when they go silent on me.”

“Ugh, he is always late delivering projects.”
“I don’t think she did her 100% here.”
“This is why I don’t like working with him.”

You’ve heard it. You may have said it.

Let me share an observation.

Over the holiday, I noticed something interesting as I took time to unplug. I got a new haircut, pedicure, and even did my dental visits that I’ve delayed most of the year. Then I noticed.

Ouch! Eh!