» Archive for the 'Leadership' Category

Earth Hour

Thursday, March 25th, 2010 by Maryam Webster

Did you know about Earth Hour? A group of us were lounging on Navajo rug patterned chairs in a coffeehouse the other day, chatting about books, cats, kids & corn-based plastics. It was that languid, full-bodied chat that women have when comfortable with each other, the ambient temperature, satiety of their bellies and certain knowledge that a significant other is looking after the children, cooking or reservations.

Alois mentioned Earth Hour and the room started buzzing. Do you know about this? At 8:30pm on March 27th,

(that’s this Saturday, folks)

everyone who cares about the environment is switching their lights off for one hour to register mass concern and protest environmental policy changes not happening fast enough. I spoke of our pre-cycling/recycling efforts and of JBear’s biking to work. From bed I tread naked feet and comfy home-clothes to my office across the hall, so technically, I’m carbon friendly too.  ;-) Others put in compost heaps, biodiesel, community farming and child minding. We all sighed over reminiscences of the cute long haired hippie boys in the various communes of our youth.

My local co-op housing project in Columbia, Missouri put out the international Anarchy magazine. No, I’m not kidding.  And the oddity was, that I found it in Cambridge, England while living there, at an alternative bookstore called The Grapevine. I recognized the editor, typesetter, copy boy (this was the 80’s, mind) and had gone through crisis intervention training with the magazine’s accountant. They all recycled like crazed weasels, and even had an illegal still in the basement of one of the houses that brewed up some rather fine paint thinner they used to power a car they’d rigged up, decades before the real gasohol engines. I had a memorable date in that car…about which the least said the better.

My girlfriend J- was here today, visiting the Bay Area and taking a training. J. is an amazing lady I feel privileged to know. We  had a fine handful of hours together, chatting comfortably and reminiscing. As I get older, I so deeply value the tone and texture of these mature women relationships. It is so choice, and so eclipses what I had thought deep relationships to be in my youth.  Huzzah for us middlin’-aged broads. It’s a cool place to be.  ;-)   J- passed me this video which is related to the observations above. Thanks for the pointers sweetie – your tribe is up to wonderful things…

There’s more at: http://www.fouryearsgo.org/

Blessings & Lessons From Smart Animals

Tuesday, December 23rd, 2008 by Maryam Webster

bambi-thumperFriendship and love, even across species. This is what it looks like. Check your heart when you look at this picture…that’s what it feels like. (see below for more)

It always amazes me when I meet people who won’t cosy up to another human being, who won’t accept help, whose stiff-necked pride depends on being “completely, totally independent”.  I used to see that a lot back when I was a social worker. And even today, in some who would consider it beneath them to accept a helping hand, or others who won’t reach out to their networks when they really need to.

Now I enjoy my financial independence, being an independent thinker and things like that, but will I accept a hug, a friendly nuzzle or a helping hand?  Oh, you betcha! And revel in the close-knit communities I enjoy being part of.

Come on, folks. It’s the holidays. If you really need to, and even if you don’t – reach out, please. You’ll be doing someone else the immense favor of allowing them the extreme blessing of giving, and yourself the equal blessing of receiving.  No perps, no victims – it’s an equal exchange. Think about it.

Ask  your mom or maiden aunt for a hug. Get your dad to help you check your tires or change a lightbulb. Sincerely ask a colleague’s opinion on your latest product or business thought. ‘Tis the season of giving, so give that blessing to others.

In that, we can all stand to learn a thing or two from our animal friends. The first thing we can all do with more of that this pair of buddies has down: friendship and love – even across different species. Thanks to Certified Energy Coach Carol Sanderell for sending this beautiful photo essay and heartwarming story of the fawn Finchen and her wild rabbit companion seen above.

The full essay (in  both German and English) with loads of pictures can be found here: http://www.tanja-askani.de/ Talk about magic, communication and inspiration! If you’re a big softie like me, you’ll cry tears of joy. Check out her other photos of interspecies communication.  Warm your cockles for darn sure.

Cheezburgerocracy…With a couple’a caveats.

Tuesday, November 4th, 2008 by Maryam Webster
Yes, We CAN Has Democracy!

This cute kitty comes from the "I Can Has Cheezburger" website. All kitties want is Cheezburgerocracy. ;-)

Barack Obama is the 44th President of the United States. My friend Krishna De says that we should all remember where we were this day, when we heard the news as it is historic, one to tell the grandchildren.

Yes, Virginia, you CAN have another stab at democracy.

Let’s take a look what that will be like in the energy field…

Remember 9/11? Remember how the cameraderie and community feeling nationwide? Remember how good it felt? And remember how that lasted about six to eight months? No more than a year across the land. Then we started getting proprietary,
grabby, “not in my back yard” and looking suspiciously at our neighbors again. So much for national siblinghood and unity.

Now we have another incident that justifiably perhaps, is engendering great joy and goodwill throughout most of America and much of the rest of the world.

But will it last?

History tells us it won’t, not for long. But we can re-write history, you know.

Really.

It’s not even all that hard.

We’re going to learn much more in Magic School shortly, but here’s a pointer or two: Read the rest of this entry »

Certified Energy Coach Program – free Intro Classes!

Monday, August 25th, 2008 by Maryam Webster

Hi there. If you’re interested in taking yourself and your employees or clients to the next level and the many after that, you really do need to check out The Certified Energy Coach Program. We are now SUPERPOWERED with the brand new and completely free to the public Ethos Method, which is like no self-help or therapeutic change method you’ve ever seen before. You owe it to yourself and your clients to come check us out!

http://certifiedenergycoach.org

My colleagues Nina Price, Sabrina Reich and I welcome you to the wonderful world of Energy Coaching and look forward to getting to know you on this fast-paced and informative class. Bring all your questions about the CEC Program, Energy Coaching as a profession, its use in leadership and business or any others you might have.

Here’s your connection information for our series of free intro classes:

MARK YOUR CALENDAR NOW:

Thursday, August 28th at 10am PT / 1pm ET / 6pm UK
Wednesday Sept. 3rd at 5pm PT / 8pm ET / 9:30/10am Thurs. AUS
Monday, Sept. 8th at 2pm PT / 5pm ET / 11pm UK

Bridgeline Number:  712-421-6384
Conference Access Code: 4695712#

You’ll be welcomed to our call center when you get on the line. Though we welcome dialogue in the class,  if you’re in a busy place, please do use your phone’s  mute button. On this bridgeline, press 6 to both mute
and un-mute your phone.

Looking forward to sharing the power of ETHOS and the amazing changes of The Certified Energy Coach Program
with you!

Warmly,
Maryam Webster
Director, The Energy Coach Institute
and Certified Energy Coach Program®
http://certifiedenergycoach.org

Ain’t it a Pip?

Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 by Maryam Webster

I just wrote the below to the folks taking the 12 Keys to Bliss class with us over at ECI and thought I’d share, as it really applies to all of us. I get the daily motivational niblet from TUT.COM. The messages come, "From the Universe" and they always touch or tickle me. This one though, my mom would have called a real pip. To wit:

Every once in a while, with gaps in time that stretch for eons, someone like you comes along who instinctively trusts their inner senses more than their physical senses, the unseen more than the seen, and whose life-insights are so piercing that they unwittingly blow the entire model of spiritual evolution to smithereens.

"Gabriel, did you register Maryam Webster’s epiphany yesterday? Raise expectations on all human beings another 72 gigatrons, and tell not a soul."

How do you do that?
The Universe

It’s worthwhile to note that this message is sent out to everyone who signs up. This is one of the more fruitilicious ones, but it does have a point. How can we all:

  • trust our inner senses
  • trust the unseen
  • stay present
  • have piercing life insights and epiphanies
  • do what we do for the highest good of all

Post a commment if you like. The folks in the 12 Keys course have been having a busy little dialogue about this in the ecampus, but I can’t share that with you here. You can however share your thoughts for others to read if you like. Just hit the button below and let us know: How would you feel if this message came to YOU, with your name on it, telling you that these things had already happened, were a foregone conclusion. What might the difference in your life be?

In my thinking for one, self-esteem would not be an issue. Neither would courage, bravery, personal strength or any of the other traits that people seem to have trouble with. This is a small subset of all the possible personal betterment practices. As a spiritual practice, this list above pretty much covers what a shaman, priest or priestess does. As spiritual teachers in our own lives, who are we when we have these skills native in us, and intact and functioning since birth?

In a future week, we’ll learn how to reinvent your early life to give you what you would like to have from birth onwards as skills, tools or other resources. And we’ll experience how our life changes in moments, and the different timeline that arises. Generally speaking, a much more copacetic timeline. Interested?

Your feelings on this would be lovely to read.

Warmly,
Maryam

Why Women In Middle Managment Need Leadership Coaching

Saturday, December 1st, 2007 by Maryam Webster

As  business demographics face shifts in North America and Europe, many women are moving up in rank from middle management to executive leadership positions. The baby boom executives are nearing or already in retirement. Smart companies are focusing on internal promotion rather than external recruitment. Promoting from within can have great advantages for the company, while sometimes leaving the new leader and their team with gaps in their knowledge and process. 

Whether you are currently in a leadership role or ready to become the leader, if you work in a group, manage a team, multi-task in your department, oversee projects, deal with multi-national contractors or adjudicate between colleagues, you need Leadership Coaching. You may be a brilliant negotiator, financial whiz or a technical genius. But do you have what it takes to manage other high-level employees? Particularly if you’re coming up from middle management to fill slots left by retiring executives as is currently happening in the American workforce.

Get Leadership Coaching, Below



Forbes magazine
puts it this way:

"There is going to be a real premium for companies to try to retain talent," says Mark Marcon, an analyst with Robert. W. Baird. "And the talent out there to replace the people retiring is going to be scarcer and scarcer."

As a result, companies will have to rely on younger people to take on management roles, says Gary Burnison, Korn/Ferry’s chief operating officer. And they will have to identify candidates who might have been overlooked in past years. "What we see is a war for talent," Burnison says. "Despite all the technological innovations of the past century, a simple truth remains: people make businesses successful."

Leadership coaches aren’t just for executives who are struggling to get the job done. Those overlooked middle-managers, in fact, might be prime candidates.

Leadership coaches often work with managers who have been highly successful, but see barriers preventing them from reaching the C-suite. Some are technical whizzes who don’t have the interpersonal skills to manage a large staff.

In other cases, coaches are called in when there has been turnover on an executive team, and the senior officers need to get to know each other. Leadership coaches can help a new CEO adjust to his or her position, or aid a board trying to develop a succession plan.


Do you realize what opportunities are now opening up for women in business? Barring the women’s work movement during WWII, we have never had such corporate opportunities like this before. And yet, many of us are blocked from achieving the positions and opportunities that they see in their own companies.

Why?

What I see commonly in the women I coach is perception of the invisible "glass ceiling" barrier preventing their upward momentum. While we know much of the glass ceiling is perceptual, some of it is actual. Barring real covert discrimination however, persevere without exception and believe deeply in yourself.

Leadership Coaching For You

If you are a woman in middle management and  leadership positions are opening up that you would really like to acquire, don’t allow this to stop you. Here are some coaching tips to help pull you forward:

1) If nothing stood in your way, no glass ceiling, no discrimination, no derailment – what could you accomplish?

Hint: Using only the skills and talents you already have, where you sit at present.

2) If you are short political savvy or knowledge of corporate culture, how can you acquire it in the swiftest, most comprehensive way possible?

Hint: This is the time for corporate mentorship. If you don’t already have a senior mentor in your company, now is the time to cultivate one.

3) If your communications, people management or interpersonal skills are off, or you have personal barriers to leadership success, get leadership coaching while you’re still working in lower or middle management. It is imperative when such opportunities as executive retirement open up spaces for others to advance, that your skillset be in place.

Hint: If you’re a woman in management looking for leadership coaching with cutting edge blockage removal tools, see who I coach here.