Angie Morgan's Blog, page 25

Thanks Mom

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus auctor vulputate tristique. Donec tristique enim tempus semper pulvinar. Curabitur ac sem ornare, feugiat quam eget, congue massa. Pellentesque pulvinar non arcu eu mollis. Fusce nec lacinia tellus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus in quam at ipsum cursus elementum. Vivamus sed eros sit amet neque condimentum euismod. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nam viverra, metus eu tempus blandit, velit ante dapibus risus, mollis semper neque nibh vel eros. Curabitur non quam venenatis urna mattis tincidunt. Sed sit amet sem erat. Sed a nisl feugiat, tincidunt nibh id, vehicula nisl. Aliquam nunc erat, imperdiet at felis ac, iaculis luctus nulla.

Duis eu porttitor libero, at varius massa. Sed sodales libero purus, nec vulputate nunc pulvinar eu. Proin suscipit sapien sit amet eros sollicitudin varius. Sed nibh lacus, hendrerit vel rutrum eget, congue vitae arcu. Sed rhoncus auctor venenatis. Maecenas quis congue ex. Vestibulum suscipit metus eu scelerisque consectetur. Nunc vitae augue ac metus maximus condimentum. Vivamus at dolor dapibus, mollis magna et, eleifend ligula. Sed in purus ante. Vivamus commodo ullamcorper neque vitae porttitor. Nunc id tellus non est hendrerit pretium et et turpis. Integer ac ullamcorper nunc.

Fusce egestas neque purus, vitae rhoncus massa dignissim eu. Duis ante nulla, laoreet consequat tempor et, semper in dolor. Vestibulum in consectetur quam. Donec pulvinar elit urna, in bibendum magna lacinia eget. Vivamus sed mi elit. Quisque sagittis mollis porta. Duis egestas massa ac pulvinar tincidunt. Integer blandit cursus aliquam.

Sed sem est, ullamcorper sit amet imperdiet pretium, feugiat a ligula. Cras maximus volutpat sem, at fermentum odio placerat sit amet. Cras rutrum libero at porttitor ultricies. Fusce sodales lectus in tellus commodo, vel fringilla quam blandit. Integer maximus, sapien sit amet scelerisque volutpat, augue enim dapibus nunc, ut finibus magna mi at neque. Suspendisse mi augue, suscipit eu enim a, condimentum faucibus leo. Aliquam erat volutpat. Vivamus magna risus, feugiat vitae elit eu, sagittis dapibus lectus. Nullam a finibus ipsum. Pellentesque at commodo erat, non tincidunt ante. Curabitur auctor in felis ac sagittis. Morbi id nisi sit amet mauris pretium aliquam. Pellentesque ut cursus purus. Praesent viverra pulvinar enim, quis ullamcorper eros accumsan ultrices.

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Do Better, Not Do-Over

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus auctor vulputate tristique. Donec tristique enim tempus semper pulvinar. Curabitur ac sem ornare, feugiat quam eget, congue massa. Pellentesque pulvinar non arcu eu mollis. Fusce nec lacinia tellus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus in quam at ipsum cursus elementum. Vivamus sed eros sit amet neque condimentum euismod. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nam viverra, metus eu tempus blandit, velit ante dapibus risus, mollis semper neque nibh vel eros. Curabitur non quam venenatis urna mattis tincidunt. Sed sit amet sem erat. Sed a nisl feugiat, tincidunt nibh id, vehicula nisl. Aliquam nunc erat, imperdiet at felis ac, iaculis luctus nulla.

Duis eu porttitor libero, at varius massa. Sed sodales libero purus, nec vulputate nunc pulvinar eu. Proin suscipit sapien sit amet eros sollicitudin varius. Sed nibh lacus, hendrerit vel rutrum eget, congue vitae arcu. Sed rhoncus auctor venenatis. Maecenas quis congue ex. Vestibulum suscipit metus eu scelerisque consectetur. Nunc vitae augue ac metus maximus condimentum. Vivamus at dolor dapibus, mollis magna et, eleifend ligula. Sed in purus ante. Vivamus commodo ullamcorper neque vitae porttitor. Nunc id tellus non est hendrerit pretium et et turpis. Integer ac ullamcorper nunc.

Fusce egestas neque purus, vitae rhoncus massa dignissim eu. Duis ante nulla, laoreet consequat tempor et, semper in dolor. Vestibulum in consectetur quam. Donec pulvinar elit urna, in bibendum magna lacinia eget. Vivamus sed mi elit. Quisque sagittis mollis porta. Duis egestas massa ac pulvinar tincidunt. Integer blandit cursus aliquam.

Sed sem est, ullamcorper sit amet imperdiet pretium, feugiat a ligula. Cras maximus volutpat sem, at fermentum odio placerat sit amet. Cras rutrum libero at porttitor ultricies. Fusce sodales lectus in tellus commodo, vel fringilla quam blandit. Integer maximus, sapien sit amet scelerisque volutpat, augue enim dapibus nunc, ut finibus magna mi at neque. Suspendisse mi augue, suscipit eu enim a, condimentum faucibus leo. Aliquam erat volutpat. Vivamus magna risus, feugiat vitae elit eu, sagittis dapibus lectus. Nullam a finibus ipsum. Pellentesque at commodo erat, non tincidunt ante. Curabitur auctor in felis ac sagittis. Morbi id nisi sit amet mauris pretium aliquam. Pellentesque ut cursus purus. Praesent viverra pulvinar enim, quis ullamcorper eros accumsan ultrices.

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Do Better, Not Do-Over

I – Angie – am like many people out there. My 2021 personal goals aren’t that different than last year’s. My hope is that the concerts I wanted to attend will get rescheduled, the road races I had planned to run will happen, and the trips I had scheduled I can actually take. 

 

On the surface, it can seem like my 2021 is just one big “Do-Over.” Sort of like a mulligan in golf. Yet, I don’t like the “Do-Over” metaphor, as it implies that my 2020 didn’t matter … it didn’t count.

 

My 2020, like yours, was a huge, massive year of challenge and change. I had the highest of highs, the lowest of lows, and far too many expectations that weren’t fulfilled. While there are many experiences I hope I never have to go through again, I don’t want to forget or erase them. They’re part of my life; they matter because they made me wiser, more resilient, stronger, and they also made me value and appreciate the littlest things in life in ways I never could’ve imagined.

 

In many ways, I’m a better person because of these experiences. So, rather than a do-over, I want 2021 to be a year of doing better. 

 

Better to me means:

Using the knowledge I’ve gained to make better decisions about how I spend my time
Being clear on my values and making sure they’re represented in my life more fully
Building a stronger mind, body, soul connection – I appreciate more than ever how these three elements help me endure whatever life throws at me
Committing to being a better service-based leader – I miss engaging in my community in the ways I once did pre-COVID

My hope for you is that as you start this New Year you honor whatever journey has taken you to this point in time. Don’t gloss over your struggles; respect them for the lessons you learned from them and use the strength you’ve acquired to be better as a result. 

 

Here’s to a better 2021 – may this New Year be the year where you continue your leadership development and, as you get better, others around you will be positively influenced by your example.

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Be Better than Your Instincts

The other day I received a voicemail from a neighbor that was charged, uncharacteristically so; they thought my dog was in their yard and they weren’t happy about it at all. 

 

I called my neighbor right back, sharing the news that Sully was taking the day off and had been chilling in his bed all day, so it wasn’t him. This didn’t satisfy my neighbor. He still wanted to be mad – at me. For no reason. Or, at least, for no reason of my doing. 

 

Later in the week, I had several incidents similar to this – in the grocery store, on the road, in texts – where it was just clear to me that the environment we’re in right now is stoking our worst emotions.

 

As we as a nation watch the COVID death tolls climb, even with the promising news of vaccines being shipped, we’re experiencing this interesting concoction of fear, doubt, and worry, with a tinge of hope sprinkled in. We’ve endured this challenging environment for so long and our patience is so thin it’s transparent. It is 100% natural for us to be at our wit’s end … yet, it’s not healthy or helpful to channel our stress and frustration to other people.

 

The hardest leadership environments are the ones where you’re working against the climate you’re in – trying to be positive when it doesn’t come easy and others aren’t onboard with your attempts to strive for the higher ground. So, what’s a leader to do?

 

Double-down on your commitment to being better than your instincts.

 

To help you, you’ll need to supply your own sources of inspiration:

Start your day with intention – remind yourself of what you value and be focused on bringing this center in your life
Listen to the music that soothes you; it’s easier to be calm when you’re surrounded by calm
Go out for a walk … even when you don’t want to – fresh air is rejuvenating
Don’t add more to your plate; where you can, simplify so you don’t invite more stress in
When others bring their stress to you, be open to listening … but be careful not to turn this into a misery session, where complaints go back and forth in an attempt to claim victory over who has the worst lot in life

We need leaders more than anything right now. And we’re here to support you. #beaspark

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Remember the Time You Failed?

Courtney and I are knee-deep in writing our third book right now. One thing we always pride ourselves in is writing about our own, personal failures. We don’t like to hide the fact that when we stretch, we stumble. The stumbles make far, far more interesting stories.    

 

I was reflecting the other day about many of my failures, mistakes, missteps, and misfortunes so we could place content in our manuscript draft. I was doing this on a day, though, when it was gray outside. And it was so cold that I lacked the desire to do something that always inspires me – go outside and run. And I was tired, which always makes me a little testy. 

 

Knowing what my mood was like, I decided to take the exercise in a different direction. Alongside my list of epic misses, I began to write some of the valuable lessons gained from them. Some of them brought a smile to my face. Some of them made me laugh out loud. All these lessons, though, were reminders that as we tell our story, we can give airtime to the negative … but the value of the experience needs appreciation, too.    

 

The yearend is always a time for reflection. 2020 was challenging for all of us in many different ways. There were times when we came up short, missed a goal, or experienced a setback. There were times, too, that despite how hard we tried we weren’t our best. 

 

My hope for you is that as you do your year in review, sure, acknowledge some of your missteps with an eye for accountability. But also demonstrate a moment of self-compassion as you think about the reward gained from the experience. I promise you, it’ll make you smile … it could even make you laugh. At the very least, on your quest to becoming a better leader, it’ll make you realize that there’s so much joy and value in the journey – whatever progress or setbacks come with it.

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Extend Your Gratitude, Appreciation, and Any Help You Have to Offer

“Help us.  Buy a cake at our Mall location.”

 

Those words were written on the sign outside my hometown’s Dairy Queen – we have two.  One is located near a mini golf course, the other – as the sign indicates – is at the mall. 

 

I, Angie, saw this sign during a routine kid commute last week.  The words Help us stopped my heart.  I thought about the franchisees who invested in the two Dairy Queens in my community.  When they bought into the business, they were investing in themselves, their dream.  Now, amidst the pandemic, their dreams are dying.  They, like so many of the people in our communities, are really struggling to stay afloat.  This was their plea to their community to help them stay solvent.

 

I thought about what it must have taken for these folks to be so blatant in their ask for help and their specific request; I then thought about others in my life who likely need help, but haven’t found the courage to ask for it. 

 

Asking for help is a hard, humbling proposition for anyone.  It’s one of the most vulnerable things we, as leaders, do.  It’s the recognition that we, as individuals, are in a really tough spot and can’t get out of it without the support of others.  Many of us hate to feel so exposed like this, but let’s face it – we’ve all been there before. 

 

Knowing how hard it is to ask for help should be a call for us, as leaders, to not wait for others to do it.  We should take the initiative to offer our support in as many ways as possible so that we’re useful with what we have.  It often doesn’t take money to help someone; sometimes it’s just a phone call.  Believe me, we all have something to give. 

 

This Thanksgiving, that’s my simple request – make the time to extend what you’ve got to others so we can be a source of inspiration.  Share your appreciation for the work your colleagues do, extend your gratitude to your family (who may not be joining you at the table, but are there with you in spirit), and commit time to helping in ways that you can. 

 

Little things add up to big things.  And big things?  Well, those can mean the world to someone else.

 

With gratitude,

Angie and Courtney

p.s. I bought a cake … it’ll serve as a wonderful complement to the pumpkin pie I plan on serving this Thursday.

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What’s Your Role in Creating a Collective Win?

My oldest son, Judge, and I were talking the other day about how everything in our society feels so divisive – sports competitions inevitably produce winners and losers, the election where you’re either blue or red, pro- or anti-TikTok, and mask/no mask.  

 

We discussed how powerful winning feels and how frustrating it can feel when you’re either on the losing team or when others are on a different side of an issue and you’re not feeling heard.    

 

We wanted to see what experiences exist where everyone feels like a winner – that regardless of your religious, political, social media preferences, or sports affiliations, we could share in that wonderful joy in a moment in time. 

 

Here’s what we came up with initially: 

Music.  We’ve all been to concerts where differences don’t matter because we’re united in the moment.
Celebrations.  We can all rally and come together on a milestone birthday or celebrating someone else’s accomplishments.
Books/Ideas.  One great sentence or one powerful quote can lift our collective spirits for days.

To carry this idea further, we wondered about whose responsibility it is to ensure these collective moments are kept alive in our society to ensure we, despite our differences, can have shared, positive experiences.

 

In my mind, it’s all of our responsibility.  If you’re reading this right now, you’ve already expressed interest in living your life as a leader – you see yourself as someone who influences outcomes and inspires others.  To lead well right now in this challenging time, my challenge to you is to find an opportunity to be intentional about creating a collective win.  Start a book club with your work team, take it upon yourself to find out everyone’s birthday on your team and make these days special, or find some music that you’d like to share. 

 

Small things, over time, add up to big things.  Be that SPARK in someone else’s life to remind them that there’s something bigger than our differences – it’s our collective desire to experience joy.

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I’m Not Here Right Now

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Vivamus auctor vulputate tristique. Donec tristique enim tempus semper pulvinar. Curabitur ac sem ornare, feugiat quam eget, congue massa. Pellentesque pulvinar non arcu eu mollis. Fusce nec lacinia tellus. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Phasellus in quam at ipsum cursus elementum. Vivamus sed eros sit amet neque condimentum euismod. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Nam viverra, metus eu tempus blandit, velit ante dapibus risus, mollis semper neque nibh vel eros. Curabitur non quam venenatis urna mattis tincidunt. Sed sit amet sem erat. Sed a nisl feugiat, tincidunt nibh id, vehicula nisl. Aliquam nunc erat, imperdiet at felis ac, iaculis luctus nulla.

Duis eu porttitor libero, at varius massa. Sed sodales libero purus, nec vulputate nunc pulvinar eu. Proin suscipit sapien sit amet eros sollicitudin varius. Sed nibh lacus, hendrerit vel rutrum eget, congue vitae arcu. Sed rhoncus auctor venenatis. Maecenas quis congue ex. Vestibulum suscipit metus eu scelerisque consectetur. Nunc vitae augue ac metus maximus condimentum. Vivamus at dolor dapibus, mollis magna et, eleifend ligula. Sed in purus ante. Vivamus commodo ullamcorper neque vitae porttitor. Nunc id tellus non est hendrerit pretium et et turpis. Integer ac ullamcorper nunc.

Fusce egestas neque purus, vitae rhoncus massa dignissim eu. Duis ante nulla, laoreet consequat tempor et, semper in dolor. Vestibulum in consectetur quam. Donec pulvinar elit urna, in bibendum magna lacinia eget. Vivamus sed mi elit. Quisque sagittis mollis porta. Duis egestas massa ac pulvinar tincidunt. Integer blandit cursus aliquam.

Sed sem est, ullamcorper sit amet imperdiet pretium, feugiat a ligula. Cras maximus volutpat sem, at fermentum odio placerat sit amet. Cras rutrum libero at porttitor ultricies. Fusce sodales lectus in tellus commodo, vel fringilla quam blandit. Integer maximus, sapien sit amet scelerisque volutpat, augue enim dapibus nunc, ut finibus magna mi at neque. Suspendisse mi augue, suscipit eu enim a, condimentum faucibus leo. Aliquam erat volutpat. Vivamus magna risus, feugiat vitae elit eu, sagittis dapibus lectus. Nullam a finibus ipsum. Pellentesque at commodo erat, non tincidunt ante. Curabitur auctor in felis ac sagittis. Morbi id nisi sit amet mauris pretium aliquam. Pellentesque ut cursus purus. Praesent viverra pulvinar enim, quis ullamcorper eros accumsan ultrices.

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I’m Not Here Right Now

“Your mind should be in this room with you right now,” my yoga instructor reminded me (and others) in my most recent class.

 

She was right – my mind should be in the room.  But, for me, Angie, it wasn’t. 

 

I was thinking about my work to-do list, my sons’ weekend plans, the letter I just received from school alerting that there was a COVID case in the building, that there were no groceries in the house, and about the texts from yesterday that I still needed to respond to.  And, then, of course I started thinking about the consequences of my mind not being in class … did the practice still count? 

 

Anyway …

 

I’ve talked to so many of you this past week who’ve been feeling just as scattered as I’ve been. 

 

It’s like: 

Our attention spans are shorter than before
Our windows to relax and refresh are smaller than ever
The amount of “stuff” coming at us is greater than it’s ever been
The people who depend upon us really need us right now

My challenge in this moment is both embracing and acting on a contradiction that I know leads to balance – slowing down to speed up.

 

It’s hard, though, isn’t it to shift down when we feel like moving faster will allow us to keep up?  Yet, shifting down will allow us to reclaim one of the most critical components to the value we bring to our work and life: our brain. 

 

As leaders, we need to be thoughtful, considerate, present, and engaged.  We can’t do this at a breakneck pace.  So, in addition to yoga (and other self-experiments), here’s what I’m committing to this week to do a mental reboot: 

Creating “air” in my schedule – 15 minutes of unscheduled activity between calls/meetings to catch my breath
Initiating dial-down time – carving out 20 minutes between work and life where I can transition so I can be present
Setting the mood – playing soothing music at work that mellows out my mind
Being more intentional with what I say “yes” to*
Being more deliberate with what I say “no” to
Conducting my own, personal, start/stop/continue audit to ensure my time is best spent

I’d love to hear what practices you’re implementing.

*I recently said “no” to coaching my son’s basketball team at the Y.  I really wanted to say yes, but just decided I didn’t have the time to squeeze it in.

Register for our upcoming webinar

We invite you to join us for our next webinar, The Way It’s Going to Be, on November 18 at 1:00 pm ET.  We’ll be taking a look at the shifts happening in the way we lead, live and work as we picture the way things will be going forward.  Register now. 

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The Surprising Tie Between a Top Ten Song and Leadership

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet consectetur adipiscing elit
Quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua

Quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.

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