Becky Robinson's Blog, page 56

Featured on Friday {Fanfare}: @beausides Global Partners in Life

Over the last year, we’ve introduced you to a few of the websites that our incredible team has created for clients like Bill High, Bill Treasurer, and #BKPedia. From design and editing to creation and implementation, the Weaving Influence team offers a full range of website options to meet the needs of our clients (Interested? Contact us!), but our favorite part of the job is the big reveal to the world.

Our team loved being a part of this website redesign as it gave us an opportunity to support the meaningful work that Beau, and his organization, are doing among the orphans of China. Front and center on the redesigned site is the Global Partners in Life (GPiL) Vision & Mission:

Global Partners in Life’s vision is to enhance the lives of young people in China. Our mission is to build relationships by meeting the humanitarian and educational needs of children, youth, and young adults.

Included at the revised and updated site, you can learn more about:

The orphanage.
How you can get involved.
What’s new.
Who keeps GPiL running.

If Beau Sides’ name sounds familiar to you, you might recall our past launches of his two books, Lessons from China (2014) and Unseen Tears (2015). It’s always an honor to work with Beau – something I had the pleasure of doing as we helped shepherd Unseen Tears through the publication process – and if you’re interested in learning more about China, both books would be a great addition to your shelf.

There are children waiting to be helped, and a website waiting to be explored, so what are you waiting for? Spend some time this weekend clicking around the new GPiL website, and don’t forget to share the link with your communities!

globalpartnersinlife.org

Send a tweet to @BeauSides and let him know you enjoyed the new site!

Four Stellar Years of Weaving Influence

On June 1, 2016, we will mark our four-year anniversary! I can’t vouch for how it felt to be a part of the team when the company was born, but I am fortunate to be able to know how it feels to be part of four-year-old Weaving Influence. It feels stellar!

Since we are a mostly virtual team, our meetings are often held via web conference. As we met today, each team member was invited to share their top four moments of their time with Weaving Influence. As each person shared their moments, these themes emerged time and time again:

People and Relationships

Each person who spoke mentioned the power of working with (and for) great people. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to meet in person reminisced about how much these in-person meetings have meant. Joanna Jones praised the “environment we can create together even though we can’t see each other.”

Flexibility

Like many of my fellow team members, I wake up each day grateful for the flexibility I have enjoyed at Weaving Influence. It has made it possible for me to be the caregiver to my elderly father-in-law while doing work I love and contributing to my family’s bottom line. Several members talked about the relief they felt at being able to work and meet their families’ needs. No one takes this flexibility for granted.

Being Stretched and Challenged in Unexpected Ways

When you choose to work for a company that is doing things quite differently from most other companies out there, it can be disconcerting to face tasks which you have no idea how to do, for which there is no road map, using software or equipment that is totally new to you. Several team members talked about how being part of this team has stretched them professionally and showed them abilities they didn’t know they possessed.

I’ve been stretched in more ways than I thought possible. I have learned to lead and discovered strengths I didn’t know I had. ~  Carrie Koens

NOTE: Carrie’s work with us is coming to an end, for now, as she and her husband Peter continue their adoption journey. We will miss you, Carrie. As stars go, you have been a supernova, and we are grateful!

Taking Risks While Being Supported

When Christy Kirk talked about how it is sometimes difficult to find the balance between the pressure to want your work to be perfect and the exhilaration of producing work that, while not perfect, makes an impact on the world, many of us could relate! Not every business supports its workers in the precarious leaps of taking risks which may fail, but this one does.

Families are Valued

Teammate after teammate expressed their gratitude that they could join a child at a school event, leave for a doctor’s appointment knowing they could complete their work on their own schedule, or simply share family developments with co-workers. Speaking for myself, and for many others on the team I am sure, I am grateful that Becky Robinson has worked so hard to sustain a profitable business while recognizing the degree to which family and loved ones matter.

The most significant contributions we make to the world will never be measured in dollars and cents. ~ Becky Robinson

Throughout this morning’s discussion, I definitely had the sense that each person talking felt that their teammates were each “stars.” It takes stars of all shapes, sizes, and brightnesses to light the evening sky, and at four years old, the Weaving Influence constellation is particularly bright!

 

Image Credit: 123rf/vician

WI Star Word Cloud Credit: Tagxedo Copyright 2016

Featured on Friday: #ATD2016 – A Review in Pictures

If you missed the photos on our Facebook and Twitter channels from ATD this week, keep reading! Becky, Christy, and Kylah just got back from this year’s event and plans are already being made to go back next year.

The team had a wonderful time catching up with old friends and clients, making new connections for Corporate Champions, and experiencing in-person meetings with people who have attended our webinars in the past.

From the first day through the last, the #WITeam had a great time mixing and mingling, as you can see from the photos.

One of the highlights of ATD for Becky was catching up with Ken Blanchard and Bill Byham.

Christy, Becky, and Kylah enjoyed chatting with author Susan Fowler.

Michael Beck stopped by our booth on the last day to say hello.

Bev Kaye and Chris Cappy grabbed a photo with Becky during their visit to the WI booth.

And last but not least: Julie Winkle Giulioni was one of our very first book launch clients at WI – and my (Carrie) first launch from start to finish. Almost 4 years after Julie’s launch (Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go – co-authored with Bev Kaye), Becky and Julie finally got an opportunity to meet in person. What a great highlight of an outstanding event!

One of our first clients – Julie Winkle Giulioni!

Did you attend ATD? Leave a comment about your favorite speaker or event!

When Starting Out On Snapchat, Remain Fully Clothed

Have you heard of SnapChat?

In 2011, a Stanford University junior and his buddy were trying to figure out how to send pictures to girls which would disappear shortly after they were viewed. (I’ll leave the types of pictures to your imagination. They probably weren’t screen grabs of the night’s homework.) From the humble beginning user count (127 in July 2011) to now, Pictaboo became Snapchat and now has 100 million daily users. (Learn more about Snapchat’s history here.)

I am one of the 100 million and I am scrambling to figure it out!

WHY should I figure out Snapchat?

Why am I scrambling to figure Snapchat out? I have several reasons.

Brands are increasing their presence on Snapchat. As an influencer, I want to be able to demonstrate to a brand that I am proficient (and trust me, I’m hardly proficient yet!)
I work for Weaving Influence, and we help authors grow their online influence. I’m not sure how many of our authors are going to be a demographic “fit” for Snapchat but if one of them is, I don’t want us to be in the position of saying, “yeah, we don’t really know much about Snapchat”
I have teenagers! I like seeing what is going on in their lives! I don’t know if there is any academic research about this, but I am positive there is a correlation between adults being open to learning new applications and teenagers being on those applications. Although she wasn’t personally pictured, I felt like I was experiencing my daughter’s Disney College Program service celebration virtually real time through the DisneyHousing Snapchat account!
It’s fun! Many of my friends compare it to “old Twitter” (when people used to actually interact with one another and find deeper connections). I’m not sure that’s the right definition for me, but where else can I spew a rainbow out of my mouth just for the heck of it?

HOW Do I Figure Out Snapchat?

Now that we’ve discussed the why, let’s talk about the how.

I can tell you that I am in no way equipped to do a thorough 101 on Snapchat (but I have found some great resources!). If you want the 101, I recommend Snapchat for Influencers from MomSpark and Lynda.com’s Snapchat Tutorials. Note: both resources charge a fee. It is a sign of how hard Snapchat has been that I have been willing to cough up cash to figure it out. In the meantime, here are a few lessons I have managed to learn! For the ones I learned from other Snapchat users, those users get shoutouts:

Navigation. Honestly, my navigation strategy is swipe furiously up, down, left, and right until I get to where I want to be. This is pretty much the least logical interface I have ever used. Practice makes perfect though, and I am getting better at ending up where I want to be.

How to record a voice snap. I learned this one from Austin Iuliano, who sent me a snap after I had added him following #ChatSnap, a weekly twitter chat for Snapchat fans held every Wednesday at 1 pm ET. He explained how to leave a voice snap (you hold down the phone icon and talk … it’s that easy!). Once I knew, I was able to teach others.

How to change the length of time your snap stays on screen. My friend Neil (thetk42one on Snapchat) said, “your snaps don’t stay up very long.” I had not taken the time to figure out how to change that, so he sent me a tutorial (in pictures). Now everyone has ten awesome seconds to see my incredible snapchat creations!

That Snapchat metes out replays sparingly. This one I learned from my daughter, who explained you only get a limited number of replays (darn it!).

That there’s a difference between sending an image to your story and sending it to an individual. this lesson came courtesy of SnapChat ninja Laura, who sent a message saying “You’re great but I don’t need to see your images every. single. time.” Message received! (And we’ve had QUITE A FEW LAUGHS about many Snapchat-related incidents.) I still can’t figure out why someone would WANT to go to my story … guess I just have to keep working on making them compelling!

How to use filters, how to follow others, and many other lessons. My Type-A parent community especially understands that “bite sized is best” when it comes to learning Snapchat. Their Old Farts Guide to Snapchat is a) useful and b) contains links to some really fun snapchatters!

BUT, Honestly, What Are the Bad Parts?

It’s hard on the middle-aged memory. Since snaps disappear after a certain amount of time, the process strains the already-addled brain. I have had more than one occasion where I received a witty response ……. to a snap I couldn’t remember at all.

For brands, it’s difficult to track ROI-related metrics. Not that it’s easy to track ROI via other channels, but with Snapchat it’s even more of a mystery. This article explores Snapchat’s difficulty measuring “the core metrics necessary to prove success.”

It can be distracting. Just ask Kourtney Kardashian, who was pulled over by law enforcement mid-snap. (Obviously a choice she made, just saying it’s yet one more distraction!).

Snapping Up Some Conclusions

The community around Snapchat is the most generous community I’ve run across recently in their willingness to help a newbie learn. And they don’t wait to ask what you need to know. (Or heck maybe I’m just giving off an utterly clueless vibe!).

In the context of my work with Weaving Influence, it is imperative that an organization which prides itself on helping authors navigate the online world be “up” on apps which are becoming more prominent. I am betting the other brands who are doing the same will benefit from their choice.

Now, about the “fully clothed reference” in the title. You may wonder why I say that. Here’s why. A while back, I got a message from Laura (the leading lady in my Snapchat education journey) with this message: “UMMM……”

Her  message was in response to this lovely image which was in my “story” and a direct message to her (because this was before she cut me off from that dual story/message approach):

I had no recollection of taking this picture or of sending it to my story OR to my friend. (I do actually know what it is … it’s the view from my dining room table of the light fixture above, which I apparently immortalized during some of my frantic swiping across the screen trying to figure out how to navigate Snapchat.)

That’s why I say, if you are one of the approximately 75% of Americans who take their smartphones to the bathroom with them you might want to save your Snapchat experimentation for another time.

Otherwise, you might inadvertently send your own personal image right down the toilet.

Featured on Friday: @TeamBuzzBuilder

When I met Becky Robinson on Twitter four years ago – and then came on as a contractor with her new company – one of the first things she told me about was a team that she was putting together, creating “buzz builders” for book launches. As a bookworm myself, I loved the idea of a group that centered around reading books and supporting authors.

Fast-forward and I was given the opportunity to have a lot more personal interaction with our Buzz Builders when another team member, Joanna, went on an extended maternity leave. Prior to her departure, Joanna had become our primary point of contact during launches as she sent out guest posts to bloggers and connected authors and Team Buzz Builder members for interviews.

When she left it fell to me, as the Book Launch Director, to take over. I followed her notes, built relationships, and for the last year and a half have found it to be one of the most enjoyable parts of my work with Weaving Influence. As I prepare to move on to new adventures and Joanna has returned, I’m handing the communication back into her capable hands. It’s fun that we’ve come full circle.

Who are the Buzz Builders?

If you don’t know this already – our Team Buzz Builder folks are some of the best supporters out there. They freely give of their time, talents, online space, and social media audiences when it comes to our launches and promotional efforts.

They are polite, enthusiastic, forgiving, and generous. They are bloggers, leaders, teachers, speakers, salesmen, doctors, and authors. They are husbands, wives, grandfathers, grandmothers, right-wing, left-wing, and centrists. But above all else – they are readers. 

While they may have different backgrounds, careers, faiths, or political leanings – their love of learning, leadership, and community are what bring them together, making supporting our books their common ground.

What are the Benefits?

Well, just for starters…

Free books for every launch you join (PDF’s – when available – for those in our international community)
Internal community building on our new (this year) Facebook Community page (request to join)
The ability to connect with authors in the leadership and business worlds
Opportunities to guest post on the Weaving Influence and Lead Change Group blogs
Unique content (new or repurposed from their new book) from leadership/business authors to use on your blog or LinkedIn account
Invitations to our FREE webinars with top thought-leaders and authors

And if you don’t want to take MY word for it, here’s what some of our Buzz Builders had to say when I interviewed them for their highlight Featured on Friday posts over the years…

“I am blown away by the quality and quantity of support materials that are available to us to help promote the authors and their titles.  I have not seen anything like this level of support anywhere else.” — John Smith, The Strategic Learner

“I have also learned so much from the books that I have read through TBB and find they add value to me every day at work and even at home.”  — Chantal Bechervaise, Take It Personel-ly

“I’ve been so impressed with the level of engagement of the team and the support offered by Weaving Influence’s exceptional people. […] Being involved with everyone here has been a privilege and a lot of fun.” — Dawn-Marie Cornett, LinkedIn

“If anyone is interested in extending their personal connections with some of the leading characters in our field, this is definitely one way to do it!” — John Thurlbeck, Wear Consulting, Ltd

“I appreciate that Team Buzz Builder supports and promotes all members of the community and their blogs.” — Alli Polin, Break the Frame

“Not only do I get to serve, the books I have reviewed have now become part of my arsenal of “go-to” references.” — Kimunya Mugo, Lead By Choice

“I love the opportunity to interact with brands and other bloggers in a meaningful way and Team Buzz Builder offers this!” — Christopher Lewis, Dad of Divas

“I’ve found that the books I receive through Team Buzz Builder (TBB) are always beyond the cutting edge, which helps me to stay at the top of my game.” — Rebecca Henderson, Amazon

“I can count on the Buzz Building team to present me with books tailored to my interests.” — Jennifer V. Miller, The People Equation

“Each contact with the TBB team is a learning experience.  You really get a sense of being a part of the team.” — Andy Uskavitch, SuperVISION Motivation

“Being a Buzz Builder, I have a steady stream of books to read on important topics, plus I get to listen in on author chats and have even gotten personal emails from them. I get to surround myself with people I consider probably the most positive members of the human race.” — Jane Anderson, Insite Skill

Ready to JOIN this incredible team?
Sign up today!

Are You a Leader That Hides in Plain Sight?

This post is part of our 2016 Team Buzz Builder Guest Blogger series. Today we are pleased to introduce you to John Thurlbeck, 

I have a notion that many leaders hide in plain sight. By this I mean they have the title leader though they don’t function like one. At least not as one you might expect to bear the title leader.

You would notice this in their behaviour. They do ‘command and control’. They do ‘my way or the highway’. They prefer ‘do as I say, not as I do’. They micro manage. They avoid decisions and when they can’t, they tend to favour expediency driven by emotion, rather than rational and logical driven by data.

You will know them, and you may even be one. If this is the case, let me help you. I prefer leaders who lead in plain sight. My experience tells me that others do too.

You will know them by their behaviours. They are ethical and authentic. They have strong values, morals and vision. They share a common cause and a passion for excellence. They do not tolerate mediocrity. They care about their colleagues and peers. They tend to inspire and motivate, rather than repress. They ‘walk the talk’ and can engage at all levels of an organisation. They have frailties and shortcomings. They play to their strengths and surround themselves with talent that complements their abilities.

You will know them, and you may be one. If this is the case, let me help you improve. I prefer to bring more of my humanity to my leadership role. I do this with a strong focus on my moral values. These are:

Wisdom – I think carefully through decisions though I can do this quickly, occasionally too quickly. I have decades of experience behind me, much of it hard won.
Fairness – I have always regarded myself as a fair person and have received feedback to this effect.
Courage – I was raised to say what I mean and mean what I say. I have some scars and a lot of achievements.
Self-control – I pride myself on this though I have had my moments.
Trust – I tend to trust people till they prove unworthy of that trust. Not always ideal but it’s largely worked for me.
Hope – I am an eternal optimist and display great positivity. I also believe fervently in practising an attitude of gratitude.
Humility – I am a Myers-Briggs ENFP, so I acknowledge my extraversion. I often, however, feel humble and display humility but I rarely do deference. I also don’t suffer fools gladly.
Love – I demonstrate my care for others in many ways, often through random acts of kindness.
Honesty – I have travelled a journey from young firebrand and maverick to a seasoned diplomat. However, I practice openness and honesty and will not shirk an issue. My comfort zone or personal space is close to me and I think this helps.
Excellence – I believe in and practice providing excellence wherever I can though I have empathy for constraints and understand that, sometimes, good is good enough. I do not strive for perfection and see excellence as the incremental improvement of quality.

Each day I strive to be a better me, a better leader and a better example for those around me. I draw consistently on my moral values to guide and illuminate my learning. I continue to learn each and every day.

How might moral values help you in your future journey? In what ways might you bring more humanity to your leadership role, and how might you lead better in plain sight?

John’s five-word story is ‘Helping you solve your problems!’

John transforms leaders, teams and organisations so they deliver better outcomes and impact to those they serve! He has worked for 40+ years in the private, public and voluntary and community sectors, leading and managing transformational change in ‘turnaround’ situations. He is a highly regarded and successful storyteller, speaker, OD consultant, trainer/facilitator, coach, and author, working across the UK and Europe.

Recognised and recommended for great results, expertise, sense of humour and high integrity, John is known as an inspirational and empowering people and organisation developer. From his personal experience, John will show you how to survive and thrive in complex environments by developing the characteristics of transformational leadership.

Featured Image Credit: 123rf/Helder Almeida

Author’s Image Credit: Contributed by the author

What Twitter’s Identity Crisis Means for You

Twitter is suffering an identity crisis. The decade-old social platform was once a place for sharing fresh ideas and sparking social justice initiatives. It was credited with helping launch the Arab Spring, a massive wave of protests and government turn-overs in the Middle East. Now, it’s most known for being the space where Kanye and Donald Trump go to call people names.

Here are the issues facing Twitter right now:

Young users are turning to SnapChat and Instagram.
It’s become a home for trolls, bigots and name-callers.
Its stock price has dropped to all-time lows (but it has slowly rebounded this month).
The number of tweets sent now is nearly half the number sent just two years ago.
Facebook is aggressively going after its live video and news audience.

In a nutshell, existing users are tweeting less frequently, new users aren’t coming on board, the value of the company is dropping and the competition is getting fiercer.

CEO Jack Dorsey, one of the founders of Twitter, has been back at the helm since June. He hasn’t righted the ship yet, but he has made a few small changes:

According to Bloomberg, Twitter will no longer count links and photos against the 140 characters. This should start ‘soon’ but no actual start date has been released.
Twitter created a “like” option to replace “favorites.”
It’s now listed in the app store as a News product.
Periscope launched last summer to strong numbers.
Twitter will start streaming the NFL on Thursdays this fall.

None of these changes are earth-shattering, and some were met with anger initially, but they are helping to slowly, very slowly move the company forward. While some analysts say Twitter’s days are numbered, I wouldn’t count Twitter out just yet. But I do recommend being very strategic on the platform.

Tweet content that is targeted for Twitter users which means information and inspiration. Save personal insights for another platform.
Use images when possible to rank higher in Twitter’s new algorithmic feed but don’t share directly from Instagram.
Try Periscope video. There’s a sizable audience though Facebook video is putting up some strong competition.
Continue to retweet valuable content from others.
Aim for an engagement rate above 1%.
Slow down your rate of tweets to focus on quality over quantity.

There is no way to predict if Twitter will find its way or become the next MySpace. For now, it’s still a valuable platform for brands and thought leaders.

Image Credit (Modified): 123rf/Natalia Lukiyanova

Featured on Friday: Looking Ahead to #ATD2016!

In 2011, Becky Robinson attended her first ATD International Conference. It was at that event where she first met Ken Blanchard (who she’s hopint to seeing again this year) and Jim Kouzes (who she’ll be speaking with this coming Monday in a FREE webinar, along with Bill Treasurer).

It’s been 5 years since her first experience there, and now she’s headed back and taking some of the #WITeam with her!

If you’re planning to attend the ATD International Conference, May 22-25, add booth #448 to your itinerary. Coming from both coasts, as well as Michigan, Becky, Christy, and Kylah are looking forward to their meet up in Denver, CO.

In addition to enjoying the opportunity for part of our virtual team to connect in person, Becky, Christy, and Kylah are also looking forward to spreading the word about our free training and development opportunities, both through our webinars as well as through our Corporate Champions program.

There is so much to take in at ATD, from the sessions to the workshops to the booths. In fact, after you stop by and see our team at booth #448 (and register to win one of our giveaways – more on that in a moment!), don’t stop there!

Make a note to visit Ken Blanchard’s team at booth #401
Our friends from Berrett-Koehler at booth #909
Stop and see Christy at the CTI booth (#739)
Of course, you won’t want to miss seeing Bill Treasurer at the Giant Leap Consulting booth (#627)
Plus so many more!

The Giveaway!

Yes, in addition to the fantastic learning opportunities you will experience at ATD, you will also have the opportunity to enter to win either a Thought Leadership Snapshot (valued at $200), or a Strategic Consultation (valued at $1500). What’s included?

Thought Leadership Snapshot: We take a broad view of your social media profiles and online assets, and then provide strategic recommendations for improvements to your online profiles.
Strategic Consultation: After conducting a thorough review of your existing online presence, we’ll work gain a clear understanding of your goals and collaborate to identify the core audience for your work; exploring next steps, creating a strategic plan, and providing tactical recommendations. Through our work together, we strive to lay a solid foundation for your future success.

Are you ready for ATD? We look forward to seeing you there!

Feedback: It’s Not Just for Millennials

I’ll never forget the first boss I worked for who actually understood feedback.

Coming from a previous job in which I had received little to none, I was ready to put my head down, get to work, and earn the respect of my new peers. As a good Midwestern girl I also wasn’t accustomed to tooting my own horn. Who likes to sit around a bunch of horn tooters? No one.

What I didn’t expect was a manager who understood that the path to my success was to actually report it to his own superiors.

We worked in a close team on projects that affected various parts of the company. He knew what I was working on day to day, but gave me a lot of freedom. So when I landed a win, he celebrated with me and immediately prompted me to “send it around.” (This was code for politely bringing the win to the attention of anyone who might possibly be interested in or affected by it, usually in the form of a mass email.)

I cringed every time! Why did I need to take the extra step to brag on myself? Couldn’t anyone with interest see for themselves all the success I was having, since it was all public? And if they really wanted a report on my progress, couldn’t I send one at the end of the quarter?

There may have been some gender, age and regional differences that contributed to my hesitance, but that manager taught me that within a workplace, perception is everything. I could be working my tail off landing dozens of wins each week, but others were busy with their own work. Other departments didn’t have time to look into everything I was working on, but sometimes — as is human nature — they did have time to question the way I was spending my time!

This was the importance of the feedback loop, which even OPM feels is worth noting on their website. Quick email notes to let someone know their idea had paid off — or posting a win to a channel within the company’s internal social media platform — went a long way towards boosting perception of our work, but also helped me get to know the various departments I was helping. As a result, I also got to know other department heads much better, and that helped my own career.

Of course, not every job allows the opportunity to brag publicly about everyday wins. But feedback is more than an employee to employer loop- it also runs the other way. According to Globoforce and Gallup statistics, 39 percent of employees say they don’t feel appreciated at work. Sixty-five percent said they wanted more feedback, and 69 percent said they would work harder if they felt their efforts were better recognized.

Scary, right? And it’s especially true for millennials, who, yes, badly crave feedback (and will leave your company if they’re not getting it)! My former manager, the one who was so great at both giving feedback and prompting me to give it to others, still teased me mercilessly about this. But as one young woman said to the blogger linked above, “I would rather my boss tell me now that I’m doing it wrong than I do it wrong for the next 20 years and don’t get to where I want to go.”

Lastly, there’s the client/vendor feedback loop. This is an especially tricky one, but it’s also especially important. If you’re a dissatisfied customer and thinking about leaving a particular brand or vendor in the dust, try expressing the “why” to them first. (You may have noticed online retailers getting more and more desperate about this, mainly in the form of feedback surveys, as customers get pickier about who to stay loyal to.) Chances are the store, or your support team, want to make you happy and keep your business! It’s costly for everyone involved to have to close a contract and then look for new business.

Management author Bruce Tulgan, who has written a book about managing using feedback, recommends having lots and lots of boring conversations, instead of one “big” conversation.

What boring conversations can you have today?

Image Credit: 123rf/alexskopje

Featured on Friday: Mothers Day Edition

Today we’re doing something a little bit different – we’re talking about moms. It seemed appropriate, with Mother’s Day coming up this Sunday and so many working moms on our team.

When I first started working with Becky in 2012, her youngest daughter was just starting Kindergarten and there were a number of calls that autumn when Becky would say to me, “I’m sitting in the school hallway right now, she just needs to know I’m here.”

In school, in life, in business – isn’t that what we all need sometimes? Just to know someone is there if you need them? In many of our lives – at least in the early days – that person is often our mother. Don’t get me wrong, dads can be great pillars of support as well (mine certainly is), but when you’ve had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day and all you want to do is cry, mom is the safe haven. Thank you, Mom!

To continue down this path of gratitude for mothers, I asked several members of the Weaving Influence team to share something personal about themselves as a mother, or about their moms. I absolutely loved the answers that I got, and I believe you will too.

We’ll start this post off with “our fearless leader,” and mom of 3 girls, Becky Robinson.

“I love the opportunity to include my kids in my work and have them glimpse what it means to be an entrepreneur and business owner, while balancing family life too. 

For example, I recently took one of my daughters to a bookstore event in hopes of meeting local authors for Hometown Reads. She loves books, like I do, and it was fun to incorporate a little work during a Saturday outing. 

I’ve involved my girls in other ways over the years, with helping to ship authors’ books for launches, and having them do small chores like shredding at the office. I also love when they can meet clients and team members, like we did last summer on the #witour. They got to tour Chick-Fil-A headquarters, have a pool party with Jennifer Kahnweiler, and enjoy many meals with our amazing team.”

My hope is that they will know that work can fit into life and they can accomplish big things while making a difference for their families, too. @beckyrbnsn 

We have two team members named, “Christy” – Christy K. and “Christy V.” When I asked for “mom” stories, Christy V. shared her appreciation for her mother, “I wanted to note what a wonderful influence my mom has been on me. I can’t imagine raising five kids under the age of six and she did it with such grace and compassion. She has truly been a staple in teaching me so much about life.” And then she went on to share how this year, Mother’s Day had become personal – news that we are so very excited to be able to now share with all of you!

“This mother’s day is a special one as one year from now I will be celebrating as a mother myself! We are having a baby in October! Working for Weaving Influence will be the perfect job for me during this transition as I can still work from home while caring for this baby. It really provides the perfect work/life balance.“

Congratulations, Christy V. (and hubby!) – we know you’ll make a wonderful mom!

Christy K. also shared a very touching story about her mom, a reminder of how each one of us begins to see things differently as we get older and have children of our own.

“My mom stayed home when my brother and I were little. She decided to go to work when I was in junior high. Part of my school day ritual had always been coming home and telling my mom all about my day–probably in more detail than she wanted, but she always listened, asked questions, was involved in these daily recaps. When she went to work, she made a point of being available every day when I would get home from school. I would call her at work and she would take time to hear my triumphs and travails.

At the time, I didn’t realize that making a space for that daily call might cause her difficulty at work.  As a working mom myself now, I understand how hard it can be to get businesses and managers to understand the importance of family-even when we’re at work. I can only imagine how my mom–returning to the work force–had to juggle to make that time for me each day, but she did, because she knew it mattered to me and it mattered to her.”

“What a gift to have a mother who always put me first. I cherish her now more than ever.“

I loved what Paula shared about her mother… and the accompanying photo!

“This is my mom’s (Letha) first selfie. I have lost track of how many selfies I have taken. The amount of selfies I have taken is not (I hope!) an indicator of narcissism — they’re mostly to encourage my fellow fitness fans — but still — for a Baby Boomer I take a LOT of pictures of myself.

What I love about my mom is that she has handed down the value of humility and putting others first. Even if she were younger and part of the social media craze, I doubt she would be taking very many selfies. Maybe offering to take the pictures (but worrying about getting it right) but probably encouraging everyone in the pictures by telling them how great they look. 

She makes a difference by encouraging, behind the scenes. And the people who do that in this world sometimes create more powerful impacts than the ones in front of the camera.“

Last, but certainly not least, is Amy’s contribution. Amy’s a mom of 4 who spent years as a working mom — in some cases working right up to her due date — who knows what it’s like to juggle a career with raising a family. Because of her previous experience in the 9-to-5 world, she really values the flexibility that working with Weaving Influence has given her.

“I’m so blessed to work in a company that allows me to put family first and be there for all the amazing things my kids are involved in or to stay home with them when they’re sick.

I’m the working mom who still makes it to all the track meets, band performances, lacrosse games, and field trips.

My oldest graduates in less than a month and I realize just how fleeting these years are. I wouldn’t want to miss a moment!“

See? I told you this would be an enjoyable post to read! Maybe it triggered some memories of your own, or gratitude for something your mom did that you had forgotten about. While chocolates and flowers and dinky mugs that say, “World’s Best Mom” are nice – why not do something different this year and write your mother a letter of thanks? Let her know that her years of just “being in the hallway” when you needed her, did not go unnoticed.

On a personal note: Some of you might know that I’ve got some life changes of my own going on. After 16 years of just-the-two-of-us bliss, my husband and I are shaking things up as we prepare to bring home 5 children (all siblings) from Costa Rica this summer, and learn how to be a family. Life, as we know it, will never be the same, but next year I’m sure I’ll have a better appreciation for my own mom… another mother of 5.

Happy Mother’s Day to moms everywhere, including those who have been “like a mom” to so many.