Measuring One’s Worth

I met her for the first time when I was about fourteen. She was newly adopted into a family I often babysat and was an adorable, impish bundle of energy with flashing eyes and a smile that warmed your heart.

While her energetic spirit and curiosity no doubt provided challenging times for her adopted parents and her two older siblings, there was just something about that child that made the world seem so right when she wrapped her arms around you in the most loving of hugs.

Life got more challenging as she got older and started school. That never… More Posted on 10-12-08

Triple Bottom Line

My heart goes out to the 800 employees and families of John Deere who are surely still reeling given the recent news of the pending plant closure. While I suppose on some level we shouldn’t be surprised, I still find myself questioning the corporate decision-making process.

I suppose if the only measuring stick being used is money, the decision to move manufacturing to Mexico and Wisconsin makes sense. Call me Pollyanna, but I think a company has a responsibility to do more than just make money especially when they’ve been successful in a community for almost one hundred years.

Like… More Posted on 10-04-08

Being a Mentor

While I’ve often thought I’d like to have a mentor, the truth is I never thought much about being one. 

Now thanks to a special young man from Niagara, I find myself in exactly that position.

I must say it’s kind of fun especially because Cameron Sault is without a doubt, a young man to watch. 

While some in Niagara will know him as a Junior B Hockey player, he was identified as an emerging leader by Stacey Green, one of his instructors in the Recreation and Leisure Services Program at Niagara College.

Upon graduating this year… More Posted on 09-22-08

A Six Pack of Competencies

With both the American and Canadian elections in full swing, there’s a lot of talk about leadership these days.

Seems women are being hard hit. Both Hilary and Sarah were slammed for being too aggressive and strident even though they both have impressive track records. Instead of admiring her juggling abilities, this week I actually heard an interviewer ask Governor Palin if it was possible for her to be vice-president while raising a family. It’s a question that no one would even think to ask a man. 

But maybe just maybe it’s because women aren’t building on their unique… More Posted on 09-15-08

Nature Heals and Restores

Last week some friends and I drove out to visit another friend who lives in a wonderfully restored rural home that they lovingly refer to as “the ranch”.

The view was spectacular, the weather was sunny and warm, and sitting on their front deck drinking lemonade and “activating” - as they called rocking in their wooden rocking chairs - was absolutely delightful.

I could almost feel the stress ooze out of my body.  Even more than the rest of us, my friend Carol just lapped up the ambiance, smiling like a Cheshire cat, savouring every minute we spent there.… More Posted on 09-07-08

Empowering the Team

I guess the shoe is on the other foot now.

In previous work environments I was sometimes asked for my opinion on a specific matter or to provide feedback as part of a larger group. It was frustrating to find that when the final decisions were made, it often appeared my voice hadn’t been heard at all. Consequently I wondered why I had bothered to contribute in the first place and would be tempted to hunker down and just mind my own business.

Nowadays the position is reversed as I’m the one who as project director is soliciting feedback… More Posted on 08-31-08

Importance of Sports

Except for the somewhat puzzling, seemingly excessive, Canadian TV coverage of volleyball, I must say I’ve really enjoyed watching the Olympics even though it resulted in far too much late night TV.

Unfortunately, instead of being inspired by the Olympics, exercise in our house has consisted largely of wrestling for control of the channel changer or sprinting for snacks during the commercials.  Ironic isn’t it? 

I am crossing my fingers in hope that with the Olympics now being over I’ll be motivated to let my own games begin.

I’ve also been thinking more about sports because we just hired… More Posted on 08-25-08

Losing Ourselves

It’s been a while since my last pajama party.

Our all-female community development team (we’re working hard to change that) needed some intense planning time. As a result, one of our staff offered up their family cottage. At virtually no cost, it would allow the nine of us two days of uninterrupted work as well as some fun bonding time.

Although it seemed like a good idea at the time, I learned I’m much too old for sleepovers.

It took me another two days to fully recover from the aftereffects of too little sleep and too much… More Posted on 08-18-08

Creating Communities that Care

Not that I’m name dropping or anything but I had a meeting this week with Susan Aglukark, a unique, three time Juno award winning singer.

It’s a long story as to how that came about, but the point is that her name and a comment she made during our conversation is responsible for the thinking tangent that prompted this column.

During the talk, Susan, who is by the way a lovely, intelligent, thoughtful woman known for her social activism, shared a bit about the cultural influence of her Inuit background.

She explained that the harsh reality of the… More Posted on 08-10-08

Exploring Nature

One of the qualities I love most about my husband is his amazing patience.

It was especially evident during our recent vacation with our respective extended families at a Haliburton cottage. Ultimately the two weeks included fifteen adults, four kids, one surprisingly wimpy Pit Bull, one Shih Tzu, and two somewhat yippee Bichon Frise.

Both the dogs and the kids were absolutely delighted with the outdoor setting and the activities. Always safely buckled into life jackets the kids rowed, paddled, swam, explored, and chased bubbles and dragonflies until they were so tired they couldn’t see straight. One night my… More Posted on 08-03-08

Boomer Reflections

As I write this column I’m sitting on the deck of a cottage overlooking the appropriately named Paradise Lake. Lots of time to think, perhaps too much?

I certainly could have begged off from doing this column - the editor was quite okay with that - but somehow my overdeveloped work ethic and conscientiousness meant I didn’t provide advance notice and therefore feel obligated to meet my regular deadline.

I’m also struggling somewhat, yet again, with the realization that I’m simply not very good at doing nothing. There’s an Italian phrase, “Il bel far niete” that means the beauty of… More Posted on 07-11-08

It’s Time to Unplug Our Kids

My good friend Carol is deeply committed and works hard to live a healthy, active lifestyle. She’s inspirational in terms of how she manages to build fitness into days jammed with the demands of a busy and meaningful career balanced with caring for her immediate and extended family. 

One of the things she somehow manages to fit into her day is walking her nine year old daughter to school. While I’m sure there are days when it would be a whole lot easier to drive, she chooses instead to not only spend quality time with her daughter but to… More Posted on 07-07-08

Investing in Yourself

It was a first for me.

And, while I knew it would likely be a good experience, I didn’t anticipate that it would also be quite so emotional.

The occasion was my first ever therapeutic massage.

A badly broken ankle several years ago has managed somewhat insidiously to impact my gait and hip, ultimately throwing the right side of my body off kilter.

Over the past few years I’ve flirted with physiotherapy, orthodics, and acupuncture all of which provided some, but not a lot of, relief.

Although not a good thing, over the last six months,… More Posted on 06-28-08

Can Leadership Be Shared?

My brain hurts.

I’ve just come off a very intense three day think-tank with a small group that included individuals I’ve known and admired for years as well as a number of talented new colleagues.

Incredibly diverse in their thinking, experience and skills, they all came together to help advance an initiative focused on improving the quality of life in communities.

As I was the only one who knew everyone, it was a tad stressful. Going in, I crossed my fingers and hoped they’d all play nice.

Mostly they did.

However there were tense moments along the… More Posted on 06-22-08

Only You Can Prevent Data Smog!

Although I am an admitted information junkie I must confess that recently I’ve suffered from a bit of data overload.

Although normally I can handle it and even enjoy it, I think data is like food – best when served in reasonably-sized portions from several food groups leaving one satisfied but not stuffed.

Today it seems the amount of information is enough to choke the heartiest of eaters, even when chewed properly.

The constant spew of email, voice mail, phone calls, meetings, newspapers, magazines, memos and more is overwhelming.

While there are experts giving us lots of information on how… More Posted on 06-07-08

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