What We Carry – The Journey of Self Compassion
By Andrea Chilcote
Perfectionism. It’s a label thrown around often, sometimes carelessly. It can be used in a pejorative way yet can be worn as a badge of honor. Perfectionism is not a mental health disorder—it’s a personality trait. And like any personality trait, taken to an extreme, it can be debilitating.
In this series, I seek to help readers lighten the load of the burdens we all carry, often unconsciously, that cause us to be less than compassionate, kind, and loving toward ourselves.
What We Carry – The Journey of Self Compassion
By Andrea Chilcote
Do you genuinely care about the people in the team or organization that you lead? One of the messages readers have found most affirming in my new book, What Leaders Need Now, is the idea that compassion is a legitimate and essential leadership quality in a world in which the majority of employees are “quiet quitting” (not engaged), according to Gallup’s 2023 Global Workplace report. One client put it simply: “Times have changed, and people need people who actually care.”
The Way I Carry Things
By Andrea Chilcote
A moment of truth is defined as a critical or decisive time on which much depends – a moment when a person or thing is put to the test. I was put to the test in January 2014, caught in Atlanta’s epic snow storm that paralyzed the city and left thousands of people stranded overnight in cars, grocery stores, and hotel lobbies.
Raveling
By Andrea Chilcote
It was early evening on a Friday night. I replied to an email from a client, stating that I had been traveling all week and would get her what she was requesting on Monday. Shortly after hitting send, I glanced at the preview pane and noticed a typo. I had told her I had been “raveling” all week.
Attention Please
By Andrea Chilcote
I’ve noticed something lately – no one seems to be listening.
During an intense bout of post-holiday travel, I encountered many customer service personnel attending to the business of planes, trains and automobiles. Despite a fair amount of cheeriness given large crowds and weather-related delays, few appeared to pay attention to the matter at hand. Many seemed lost in their thoughts as they asked me questions I had already answered.
In My Own (Crazy?) Way
By Andrea Chilcote
On Monday I joined some friends for coffee, friends who meet regularly at a time I’m usually on a plane or have some scheduled task. Since I’m not a regular member of this group, I was in for surprise.
One member, my friend Sheppard Lake, is a life coach. So at these gatherings, she regularly leads exercises designed to – well, coach us in life.
Don’t Wait Too Long
By Karla Boyd, Ph.D. and Andrea Chilcote
The extraordinary events of the past months have brought most of us face-to-face with new fears and anxieties, and they are playing out in the workplace. In last month’s article, the authors, Karla and Andrea, concluded that organizations are recognizing the very real need for support for leaders and employees at all levels.
How Are You Doing?
By Andrea Chilcote
“How are you doing?” What would you answer, right now, if a friend or significant other asked you this question? What about a co-worker? Your boss? Would you even know the answer?
Perhaps, if I asked you that question, you would start speaking, thinking out loud. You might feel your way into it, but it’s likely you would not know how you were doing when you started to speak. Or, maybe you would not want to talk about it.
Calling in Support for the New Future: What Leaders Need Now
By Karla Boyd, Ph.D. and Andrea Chilcote
The extraordinary events of the past months have brought most of us face-to-face with new fears and anxieties, and they are playing out in the workplace. Are organizations recognizing the very real need for support for leaders and employees at all levels?
It’s Not About The Pajamas
By Andrea Chilcote
During a recent webinar, my colleagues and I affirmed the notion that the use of video is a significant plus for the many conference calls newly-virtual teams are involved in. We were asked: “How you do convince a team member to use video when he wants to reap the work-from-home benefit of wearing pajamas?” I responded, perhaps too quickly, that the pajamas themselves were the problem and that this individual needs to get himself dressed for work.
