Everyday Leadership for Smart Women

“What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.”

~Emerson

One of the basic tenets of most parenting advice is that kids will do what you do, not what you tell them to do.

If you yell and scream when angry, they’ll be more likely to yell and scream when angry (even when you tell them not to). If you talk about people behind their backs, they’ll be more likely to talk about people behind their backs (even when you tell them not to).

And conversely, if you recover from mistakes and setbacks without berating yourself or others in the process, they’ll be more likely to handle mistakes and setbacks without shame and self-blame.

We know this to be true, whether we’re parents or not.

(and we hate this is true when our kid does something that we KNOW came from us. extra ugh)

What we forget is that it’s just as true at work with our colleagues, team members and clients, as it is at home with our kids.

Listen in to learn how this translates at work. 

Recommended Resources:

The Leadership Reset -- begins November 26th!  

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Hello Captain Obvious!

Four years.

Or maybe longer because to be honest, I’ve lost track.

Let’s just go with four years. That’s how long I’ve been using Notion to power my…well, everything.

Now before you non-Notion users delete this message, I promise it’s not really about Notion. Notion plays a secondary role in my repeat performance of, “Captain Obvious, starring Steph.”

This isn’t really about Notion, the tool.

It’s about Notion, the idea.

This week I launched the first issue of Notion for Leaders — a newsletter for leaders who want to leverage the power of Notion to keep them connected to what matters most.

It’s a true labour of love, and the perfect intersection for my amibitions around both Notion AND leadership.

But I can’t help but reflect on the fact that it took me four years to launch something.

Listen in to hear what became so obvious.

Recommended Resources:

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Read the full Leadership Letters version here

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Derek Sivers on “Obvious to you. Amazing to others.”

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The world needs your leadership

Welcome to this special crossover episode! 

Today I bring you an episode of The Happier Approach - an amazing podcast by my dear friend, Nancy Jane Smith. 

She invited me to her show to kick off a new series about rest, and I thought you'd enjoy it too! 

We talk about the different kinds of rest, why the pandemic really shook up our understanding of rest and hustle, and how tricky it can be to give ourselves permission to rest -- even when we know we need it. 

You can find Nancy's podcast here. 

What makes a great leader?

You don’t have to look far to find any number of think pieces and social posts declaring the strategies, tactics and traits leaders need to develop and grow to be effective.

Today, I’m wading into this conversation with the five traits I’ve come to believe are critical to help leaders lead well.

Here they are at-a-glance:

1. A willingess to interogate their own thinking, beliefs and assumptions.
2. A belief that there is enough success and opportunity to go around.
3. A curiosity-over-certainty approach to problem-solving and conflict.
4. An ability to stay humble while also championing their work publicly.
5. A commitment to continued practice and personal development.

Listen in as I dive into each trait in more depth.

Recommended Resources:

Recommended Resources:

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Join the conversation on LinkedIn here

Shine Theory

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The world needs your leadership

Hello and welcome back to the show!

In today's episode, I give you a raw, behind-the-scenes look at leadership in real life -- or put another way, the tricky season I've been navigating lately and why I had to step away from the podcast for a while. 

If you are looking for my regular actionable leadership insights - come back for the next episode. 

But if you're feeling it too - or in a season that's asking a lot, listen in. 

AND - interested in the Notion Leader O.S. I mentioned at the end of the show? 

Sign up to receive my weekly Leadership Letters and you'll be the first to hear all about it. 

In today's episode, we talk about loneliness in leadership. 

Because it's a real thing, and it's often under-acknowledged. 

Let's talk about it. 

Recommended Resources:

 
Join LEAD.Well – a community of practice for women who want to be better, braver leaders

Basecamp, Rachel Hollis, Human-Centered Leadership, and Vulnerability Hangovers

A behind-the-scenes look at LEAD.Well

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The world needs your leadership

Who gets to be a leader?

Short answer: you do.
​
​More nuanced answer: you do, and here’s why you might not automatically see yourself that way.

Recommended Resources:

 
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Be the author of your own ambition

A behind-the-scenes look at LEAD.Well

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The world needs your leadership

If I’m honest, a big reason I got (and have stayed) off Instagram since June 2020 is because I’m easily influenced by other’s ambitions.

As I would scroll my feed, passively watching post after post go by of someone’s perfectly curated version of success, I’d find myself wanting things I hadn’t ever considered wanting or second-guessing the plans and desires I’d already thought were iron clad.

It took me way too long to realize that spending time engaging in other people’s plans inevitably warped my own, leaving me in idea limbo more times than I’d like to admit.

Finally, I decided I’d had enough.

Maybe it was the clarifying effects of the pandemic or perhaps it was just the compounding impact of Instagram’s algorithms, but on June 17, 2020 I posted for the last time.

And in that moment, I made a commitment to act on my own ambitions by doing all that I could to reduce the noise and influence of everyone else’s.

I haven’t looked back (well, mostly).

Has it helped you might wonder?

Listen in to hear more.

Enjoy the episode. 

Recommended Resources:

Join LEAD.Well – a community of practice for women who want to be better, braver everyday leaders

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The world needs your leadership

"Good for her, not for me."

Leadership is a practice, not a position.

This is our guiding principle inside LEAD.Well, my community of practice for women looking to become better, braver everyday leaders.

What began as essentially a paid newsletter has now become a thoughtful, curious community of practice for women and non-binary folks to reflect, develop and practice their leadership.

Today, I’m taking you behind-the-scenes, sharing about LEAD.Well’s origin story, how it’s changed and evolved over the years (thanks pandemic!), and what it looks like today.

The doors are open for our spring enrolment until May 2, 2022 as we kick-off our new Leadership Essentials program inside LEAD.Well on May 3rd.

If you’ve been curious about whether LEAD.Well is right for you, this episode will give you a complete look at what we do inside LEAD.Well, why it matters and who this community is right for.

And if you’re ready to join us, you can do so right here. 

Enjoy the episode!

Recommended Resources:

Join LEAD.Well – a community of practice for women who want to be better, braver leaders

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The world needs your leadership

"It's not about my ambition for my team members; it's about me supporting them with theirs."

Nekolina is the manager any employee would love to have.

As the Director of Communications for ATB Financial, Nekolina leads a team of 10. Unlike many managers who get promoted based on their technical skills, but struggle with leading people, Nekolina has made it her life's work to be an empathetic, people-first leader.

In this episode, we explore her leadership philosophy of 'giving a leg up,' and why she believes that investing in deep listening and active support of her team members is the best place she can put her time and energy.

We also talk about some of the challenges that come with being a people-first leader and how she navigates them (think boundaries, differing expectations etc).

This is a thoughtful, important conversation for anyone who leads others.

Recommended Resources:

Connect with Nekolina here on LinkedIn

David Irvine

Basecamp, Rachel Hollis, Human-Centered Leadership, and Vulnerability Hangovers

StrengthsFinder 2.0

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