by Heather Plett | Dec 2, 2009 | Leadership, things I've learned
I am just bursting with good energy today. BURSTING! I want to write a post and tell you all about it, but I’m having a hard time putting into words what has happened this week. I keep starting and stopping, typing and then deleting.
I think I need to stew over this one a bit – let it mellow – before I try to explain what good things have happened, and how some really challenging things have shifted into amazing possibilities.
For now, let me tell you a few things that have become more clear to me this week:
- When I am authentic and vulnerable with people, more often than not, I will be supported in ways I couldn’t have imagined.
- When I really trust my leadership gifts, I am capable of more than I could have dreamed.
- When I recognize that I don’t have to do this alone, I am caught off guard by how powerful teamwork can be.
- When I acknowledge the fear, but then go forward anyway, I surprise myself with my capacity for boldness.
- When I slow down, value the time for contemplation and reflection, and ignore the people who would like to rush me, I am way better off in the long run.
- When I trust my own vision and wisdom in an area I am immersed in, I am much further ahead than when I assume others have more expertise than I do.
- When I get my ego out of the way, and let God guide me through rough waters, I don’t have to paddle so hard.
I feel a little like crying right now, but the tears would be good tears. They would be tears of relief, healing, and happiness.
by Heather Plett | Dec 1, 2009 | Uncategorized
December 15th will mark a big day around here for the Fumbling for Words blog. It will this blog’s 5th anniversary AND if all goes as planned, it will also be my 1000th post! That’s a lot of reasons to celebrate, so I’m cooking up some goodies to share (yes, there WILL be prizes) and a few things to inspire your creative juices.
In the meantime, though, I have to cram in a few posts between now and then to get to 1000. And next week I’ll be on the road, so posting opportunities will be slim. Soooo… I need your help with a couple of things…
1. Interview me! As I was looking over my blog archives, I came across a few posts where I’d answered people’s random interview questions and they were really fun to re-read. So here’s your chance – leave a comment on this post asking a question about whatever you’d like to know about me. I’m an open book, so go ahead and ask… My shoe size? My bra size? (Yes, I already posted about that, so if you dig hard enough, you’ll find it.) What’s my favourite childhood memory? What’s the hardest thing I’ve ever lived through? Just ask! (But don’t ask my kids’ favourite question – who’s my favourite daughter? If it’s Monday, it will be Nikki, if it’s Tuesday, it will be Julie, if it’s Wednesday, it will be Maddie – the rest of the days are free-for-all.)
2. I’m looking for some guest bloggers! With my busy travel schedule next week (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI – here I come!), I won’t get to blog much, so this is your chance to speak your mind at Fumbling for Words. The topic can be your choice, but I’d like it to be something fairly uplifting/celebratory/inspiring/creative in honour of my blog-iversary. Maybe you’d even like to write something about what has inspired you most at FFW? If you’re up for the challenge, send me an email at heatherpl at mts dot net. I’ll need all submissions by Friday, December 4th so that I can set them up to post while I’m away.
Thanks for being part of the lovely little community hear at Fumbling for Words!
by Heather Plett | Dec 1, 2009 | Creativity
Well, Art Every Day Month is over in just a few hours. I wasn’t fully successful at creating art every day – life got in the way a few too many times – but I made an effort, and that’s good enough for me.
This afternoon, I showed a friend the “Strength of her hands” painting, and he marveled at how I find the time – with a demanding career (that involves travel), three active children (who like it when I show up for volleyball games, soccer games, and band concerts as often as possible), and all the other things that need to be done like housework, laundry, grocery shopping, etc. – to paint and write.
There are a few answers to that question. For one thing, I do as little housework as possible, and (sadly) it shows. Marcel does a fair bit (because he’s home more than I am), and the girls are old enough to contribute, but we’ve grown used to living with “good enough” when it comes to housework.
For another thing, I find snippets of time when I can – while I’m doing laundry (it helps that my studio is right next to the laundry room, so I can sneak in there), when the youngest (and most demanding of my energy) member of the household is asleep, etc. – and I make do with that. Since I travel, I bank time now and then, and occasionally take a day all to myself when I can get longer periods for more concentrated work. The TV holds very little temptation for me, so most of my leisure time is spent with a book, a computer, or a paint brush.
This month, one of the things that worked for me was that I included Maddie in the fun. She loves nothing more than to “do art with Mom”, so she and I often disappear into the studio for some art fun after supper. She’s getting old enough now that she can get absorbed in a project and not need constant care and attention from me, so it’s working fairly well to do parallel projects with her (or sometimes we do joint projects).
The truth is, I know myself well enough to know that if I don’t find at least a little time for creative activity, I’ll go stir crazy. The longer I’ve been away from a creative project, the more I start getting agitated and grumpy and the people around me suffer. So it’s best to find the time (even just 15 minutes here and there make a difference) and everyone in the household ends up happier.
I’m grateful to people like Leah who inspire us to try to be creative every day. Thanks Leah!
******
A few other art-related tidbits…
- Bailey, you can scratch “The War of Art” off your wish list, because your prize copy will be in your mailbox soon (along with the piece of art I promised you in return for your contribution to my studio)!
- I’ve been looking for an opportunity for Nikki to get a little more exposure to the world of fashion design (since she’s not able to play sports until at least March), and today I got an email back from a local designer who’s willing to have Nikki come into her studio to help out now and then. Both Nikki and I are kind of excited about this!
- Next week I’m flying to New Brunswick and one of the things I’ll be doing is going to an art show and hanging out with the artist. What fun! I’ll post more about that soon.
by Heather Plett | Nov 30, 2009 | fearless, Leadership
Today marks another beginning. I have a new employee starting today. It’s the first of the three we hired recently – the other two will start in the new year.
It’s a new beginning because it marks a new chapter in my journey as an evolving leader. I’ve been a positional leader for a dozen years or so, but each role I take on pushes me to a new level. (I purposefully say “positional leader” because I believe there are all kinds of ways of being a leader without every having the position.)
Expanding my team this year and adding a big new strategic plan is going to stretch me (and my team) in ways I haven’t been stretched before. In this year of trying to be more fearless, this may very well be the biggest step I’ll take.
Today I am being called to:
- trust my instinct more.
- be bold and push forward into spaces I’ve never been before.
- thicken my skin and brave the resistance that always comes when we push into something new.
- challenge those people who don’t want to give their energy to the team’s direction and purpose
- be authentic, vulnerable, and humble, even at the risk of embarrassing myself
- trust my own wisdom and my ability to be the “voice of authority”
- be true to myself and what I believe I am being called to do
- be brave enough to admit failure and strong enough to pick myself up and try again
Six months ago, I put a big proposal forward to the board. It was approved, though not without some resistance on the part of both board and staff. Six months ago, I started slipping into a deep pit of restlessness, fear, frustration, and yes… I believe depression. I wrestled with demons that said I wasn’t good enough, smart enough, or capable enough. I battled obstacles I wasn’t prepared for, with two staff resigning, challenges with a consulting company, conflict on my team, and all measure of personal angst and unease.
This week, the board meets again (for semi-annual meetings). I’m still a little fearful and still not sure I can do what I know I need to do, but something in me has shifted. I’m ready to move into this new challenge. I’m ready to trust that I am not doing this alone – that God has equipped me with the skills I need to succeed, or the courage I need to fail.
Let it begin.
by Heather Plett | Nov 29, 2009 | Uncategorized
Watching my youngest daughter fall in love with reading…
Baking mountains of Christmas goodies with my mom, sister, daughters, and niece…
Meeting my friend Eveline’s first granddaughter…
