I still remember early in my leadership journey when I felt utterly alone at the top.  I was in my dream leadership role, yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.  I realized that while managing my tasks, I was missing out on genuine connection—those meaningful conversations about the real challenges and triumphs […]

I still remember walking into my office one Monday morning and feeling buried under a flood of administrative tasks: reviewing enrollment reports, drafting accreditation updates, scheduling stakeholder meetings, and monitoring ongoing departmental projects.  As a leader in higher education, I knew that juggling these responsibilities was just part of the job. However, I also knew […]

We all have one specific memory when we felt a seismic shift in our lives. Maybe it was being let go amid budget cuts. Maybe it was choosing who you had to let go on your team during budget cuts. Maybe it was the new leadership at your company promising groundbreaking changes.  Whatever the moment […]

Early in my executive career, I remember juggling team deadlines, strategic planning sessions, and high-stakes meetings—while questioning whether I had what it took to lead.  There were moments of self-doubt, especially when the pressure mounted, but also sparks of confidence when I saw my team thrive or when a challenging project succeeded against all odds.  […]

My perspective on leadership changed drastically when I stopped relying on big, lofty goals I’d write down at the start of each year (how many of us did that in the last few days?). Instead, I started focusing on the daily systems that bring those goals to life.  I realized that jotting something like “expand […]

I still remember when my office walls were covered in sticky notes, my inbox overflowed, and my goals lived in a forgotten digital file—rarely opened or revisited.  As a woman executive juggling large-scale projects, a growing team, and a personal life I was determined not to neglect, I felt like I was spinning far too […]

I still remember a time early in my executive career when my weeks felt like a series of frantic sprints.  Monday mornings started with me diving straight into urgent requests, back-to-back meetings, and constant demands from multiple stakeholders.  By Friday, I’d often look back and wonder: Did I make any real progress on my long-term […]

When it came to goal-setting, I used to fall into a familiar pattern. I’d start the year bursting with enthusiasm, jotting down both my personal career aspirations and the targets set by my boss that I would be held to.  These weren’t just nice-to-have achievements; they were benchmarks that could influence my performance reviews, shape […]

When I think back to my early leadership journey, I remember how often I felt like I was juggling too many moving parts. I had the basics covered—knowing my team’s job roles, project deadlines, and the progress we needed to make—but the deeper, more personal details often fell through the cracks. One moment in particular […]

Each year, I set my goals enthusiastically in January.  But, like many, I’d fall into a “set it and forget it” cycle. I would write out ambitious annual goals, tuck them away, and rarely look at them again until review time. Out of sight, out of mind—and as a result, I got pulled into the […]