Wisdom comes with open questions that feed our curiosity. But it also takes courage to explore what may be hidden. I watch my clients grow in their own wisdom with questions that reveal their deepest truths, clarify intentions, create possibilities, provide deep insight, and drive new directions. With this in mind, I recently reached out and asked them what questions were tugging at them.

Read on for their questions. What resonates with you?

There are two themes running through this article. Love and Fear. Two biggies that are intimately entwined and yet distinctly different. One allows you to expand, and the other shuts you down.

One of the roads to transformation happens when intentions are guided by love - our passions and deep concern and care for our teams. This means we, as leaders, are most successful when we are open to all possibilities. And it is in our openness where fear may be triggered.

I’m often asked about the qualities of a great leader. While we all bring our own special magic to our roles, common threads are repeatedly present in great leaders and even greater teams.

The best leaders don’t walk in wearing their titles on their sleeves. They arrive prepared to listen. They observe. They ask questions. The best leaders I see in my practice are humbled by the responsibility's weight and the work's importance.

They hold themselves accountable to their bosses.

They also hold themselves accountable to their teams.

I call this on-purpose leadership.

How many times have you said to yourself – I should have…! And how often has that statement stopped you dead in your tracks? Feeling like you should have done something differently?

Feeling guilty or having a SHOULD shake your confidence at the core can change your brain chemistry.

Guess what? We become what we think. But we also have a choice!

We can choose not to believe everything we think.

For those of you who know me and have followed my writing, you know how much I believe in defining personal purpose – a purpose that transforms people and places. But there’s often a more complex side to purpose we often miss. Or choose not to discuss.

Some questions to consider: How often do you wake up or start your day with a list of things you must do? What deadlines cause you to hyperfocus…deadlines that might even create goal anxiety or stress? When might you be so intent on getting things done that you disconnect from the others around you? If you are a manager, when do you solely focus on doing and forget how to inspire the best in your teams?

What good doers are we!

What if everything came down to this very moment? Who I am. Whom I love. What I did. What didn’t I hold onto?

What might that moment look like? That moment of glorious clarity and stillness. Would I be satisfied with the choices I made? Was I free enough to take risks and fly? Can I be grateful for what I have? Because, in reality, it’s all I need. It’s all I’ll ever need.

As a leadership coach, I listen to the fears my clients face every day through their personal stories. And I am certainly not immune to my own fears. Like everyone else, I am reminded of them more often than I may like. Yet, whenever I face fear, I give myself permission to free my heart and mind. It is a conscious choice to move beyond pain and be open to the possibility that freedom from fear brings.

Many of us have made choices in our lives that weren’t easy, but they were the right thing to do. It takes courage to do the right thing. As leaders, we make choices in our organizations that can be difficult. However, the choices we make to authentically support our employees are “the right thing” to do and demonstrate genuine curiosity and commitment to unlocking potential.

Change is a funny thing. It’s full of ups and downs, the ins and outs, and sorting through all the possibilities. Often, we get more than we bargained for when we enter transition – our journey of change. And if part of that transition is to do some reflection and self-care, the changes can be surprising!

Are you too attached to your ideas?  To your opinions?

I recently posted a Zen quote on LinkedIn that I believe stretches us to create space for those things that may make us uncomfortable, but also open doors to new possibilities.

The quote? “If you wish to see the truth, then hold no opinions.”

There is this space…stuck inside.  Making it hard to breathe.  Making my heart hurt.

It sometimes feels like my very own black hole. 

Its name is fear.

Today I was rummaging through files, seeking some inspiration. I ran across a document and a memory I would like to share with you.

I was facilitating planning with an organization that was stuck. They were buried in old words and old perceptions that no longer served them or their company. And I could see them sinking into the muck of “I don’t know where to take this”.

I was on a call last week with a client. The talking, talking, talking went on and on.  It became farcical as their voices got louder and louder, and the words tumbled over each other – scarcely a breath…fighting to be heard.  It was exhausting.

A colleague recently posted on LinkedIn that his career success is credited to the six bosses he had worked with over the years. Then he realized they were all women. I told him he was “a lucky guy.”

The secret to actively living and celebrating our future is found in our willingness to unlearn what we have learned in the past.  This new-found path is about resilience, experimentation, curiosity, originality, and feedback that flows between all stakeholders and creates trusting relationships.  

What would it take to give yourself permission to play?   

I’ve been asking myself that question lately.  In the world of Covid, I’ve been working longer and harder than ever.  But I need to play – to release an energy that is lit from within.  What does it look like?  Inspired?  True?  Fun?   

Whenever a box larger than a shoebox makes its way into our home our cat, Wendy, claims it and climbs in.  She’s also been known to find rest in small take-out food bags and even a stock pot.