Musings from the EDGE: Winter Edition

December and January are very busy times on the EDGE™.  Clients start to reach out late in the fall because they want to end their year on a high or they are starting to think about the post-holiday awakening and need to kick-off their year with energy.  I love the opportunity to be their energizer no matter the time of year, but my hope is that they continue to find ways to keep that energy going any time of the year.

 It is not enough to be a fire-starter, staying stoked and keeping those you serve stoked, is much harder. You need to re-fuel and spark new embers as soon as you feel the fire dying out – especially in the long dark days of winter.

To do that this year we decided to get a winter change of scenery by spending a few weeks living and working in Texas to jumpstart the new year. (Suburban Outlaw’s Texas Sojourn)

No matter where you are, using tools to ensure you are consistently acting as a leader with EDGE™ is the challenge. I want to bring that same sense of energy and exploration that I had in Texas into my everyday life and routine.

Here’s some ways to do it without leaving home:

I love journaling.  The minute I find myself getting stuck I actually start writing in my journal which I keep in my nightstand in case I’m inspired in the middle of the night (AKA insomnia by rumination).  These are my own musings and affirmations meant to energize and push me out of whatever funk I am in. 

Meet someone new each week.  I try to schedule a lunch or even a phone call with someone new to learn more about them and what they have to offer.

Reading something every day - even a few pages. My stack of books is huge and varied with leadership books surrounded by historical fiction and memoirs.  Two books on my nightstand are written by friends and colleagues: Erica Keswin and Chip Conley.   

Erica Keswin’s book Bring Your Human to Work takes her expertise as a workplace strategist and makes the case for how more human workplaces will be more successful. (Warm 101.3 Radio)

Chip Conley’s book, Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder is a great book outlining how to embrace all you have to offer at any age that can impact and make a difference in the world (and you can find my story on p. 160-161 (Wisdom@Work: The Making of a Modern Elder)

And finally, going out of my comfort zone consistently – this year I’m doing that by retaking the stage in a remount of Erma Bombeck: At Wit’s End at Geva Theatre Center in March.  What a way to kick-off Spring than by seeing what new discoveries can be made in revisiting a character I adore again. (Geva Theatre Ticket Page)

What do you do to re-energize your leadership and take you to the EDGE™?