Field notes
for the leadership journey
Leadership
Meetings are a strange thing. They can be amazing or terrible, a boost or a drain, a catalyst for innovation or an obstacle to morale. Depending on their purpose, structure and timing they can propel teams toward success or devalue the team. The rhythm and purpose of...
Many years ago I began coaching leaders, although I didn’t know what to call it (funny story for another day). Naturally, the coaching was aimed at helping leaders grow their leadership capacity and competencies. But after a few years of coaching I realized every...
Do you have a filter for saying YES and NO? You should. YES. We feel the pressure to say it. We feel badly when we don't. We love when people tell us YES, but we often hate saying it to others. It's a cheap word in our culture that often comes at a high price...
Coaching
Are you weary?Are you feeling more on edge than normal?Are you stressed?Are you longing for some refreshment and fun? Goodness this last year and a half has been a doozy! We’ve experienced grief and loss on somany levels. It’s taken a larger toll on our minds, hearts,...
It happened again this morning in one of my coaching conversations…. That “aha” moment when insight, recognition, or inspiration appears and a lightbulb turns on inside. It’s one of my very favorite things about journeying with a client: helping them experience...
We don't need more painful fallout stories in the news to realize this has been a brutal season to lead through. Stay Forth Designs exists to help leaders GET HEALTHY so they can lead well for the long haul. Our coaching and experiences are changing lives, so we...
summaries
Dangerous Calling is one of the few books I read year after year, and every time I read it, it challenges me. Paul David Tripp masterfully weaves real-life stories and often forgotten spiritual truths into this book. As the pages turn, the wounds, temptations, and...
It’s rare to find a book where every chapter invites you into a new way to think and a better way to live. David Brooks, a popular columnist, and author, walked through a valley and emerged on his second mountain with a refined and weathered view of life. He recorded...
Talk about timely! This book is nailing leaders between the eyes right now. In his typical concoction of honest, sarcastic, and well-researched John Mark Comer lays out the problem; hurry is slowly killing us and our relationships. But he also builds a hopeful and...
Church
I competed in a race at the Talladega Motor Speedway. The redneck deep in my DNA has my mullet blowing in the wind, while my arm is hanging out of the window of my lifted truck, and blasting “Sweet Home Alabama” at the mere mention of ‘Dega. But before you think I...
This past Saturday, my daughter and I went to Denver to participate in a peaceful protest against the murder of George Floyd and the mistreatment of POC all over America. As we marched around the capital, I saw that man… you know the one… he stands on the corner with...
I spend a lot of time with church leaders. Sometimes we’re sharing a meal, sipping a coffee or sitting around a fire pit. Other times we’re digging deep into their life and leadership in a coaching session. While there are several studies out there about pastors I...