The thread - my journey to becoming a leadership coach

I once saw Oprah live.  Yep ... she was amazing.  In that presentation she said that when looking to find our purpose, there is ALWAYS a common thread in our lives that truly shows us our gifts, our purpose, our passion and what we are meant to do in this world.  

Leadership is mine.  

Whether it's informal or formal, in sports, our jobs or in network marketing ... it's where I blossom.   I don't say this with intention to come across as arrogant at all, but I'm leaning in to my gifts lately and I gotta say ... it feel pretty awesome to be able to confidently say ... I kick some serious ass in the leadership department.  

Looking back, I can clearly see that this is my thread.

I was raised in a family where sports was a huge part of our lives.  I grew up watching my parents play basketball, soccer and softball.  My brother played softball and hockey.  I played softball and competitively figured skated all year round (yep, even in the summers I was indoors on the ice).   I had (and watched) a number of coaches throughout my childhood - some were fantastic and taught me a LOT;   there were others who were less than amazing ... the lessons within those periods likely taught me more.   

I coached in my high school years and went on to University with intention to become a Sports Psychologist.  I was in LOVE with the knowledge that your MINDSET will be difference between winning and losing.   That's pretty powerful when you think about it.

Through a few unfortunate events and a less than accurate education counselor, Sports Psych was admittedly not my path.  Through those University years though, I became so intrigued by how social structures affect individuals and I could easily relate much of what I was learning to coaching and how the teams functioned well (or not) as a whole system.  I could clearly see that an athlete's MINDSET was affected by the way the TEAM was functioning.  It was all so interconnected and in my final year, I changed my major to Sociology.  It seemed to resonate with me in a way that Psychology no longer did.

A series of jobs post-grad, led me into leadership - no matter where I was, I found myself in a leadership role (informal or formal) and to this day, I lead two ever-growing teams.  As an employee and as an entrepreneur, I've used the BEST of what I've learned from prior coaches, previous experience, books, my sociology degree (even TV, movies and my kids school setting).  It doesn't matter where I am, I always have that eye out for leadership, team functioning and what makes a successful team "tick" or "crash".  I swear it's the only way my brain sees the world:  social systems and how they function and affect the individual.

I have had the opportunity to watch my kids experience similar to what I did as a teen.  I've watched them blossom as players and students within such a short period of time and I've unfortunately had the heartbreak of seeing them destroyed even faster.   

I see it in Network Marketing as well.  Incredible business women, fearful of signing up distributors because they have a belief that they are "not a leader".  Leaders who burn out because they have not built a foundation that's sustainable.  Distributors who never truly see the success that they should and then others who shock the hell right out of you because they skyrocket to the top.  Teams that function destructively and successfully.

You've seen it right? 

I found it SAD that so many people believe the bullshit stories of "leadership is innate - you either have it or you don't" or "I can't lead a team - I'm not a leader".  Team members who place blame or all the praise on the ONE leader at the top.  While I do believe that some people seem to have the charisma and the mindset and the introspection naturally, to stand out as a leader ... I know it CAN be taught.   I often thought "MAN if she just did THIS ... the team would function so much better."  It KILLED me to know I had the knowledge to help ...

and yet ... I sat back ...

Until now.

Recently, I've decided that life is too short to sit back and watch leaders work too hard for little success and I refuse to watch teams with skill, deteriorate.  My insights, knowledge, education and skill for leadership is my "thread" as Oprah says and that led me to here:

A place where I am determined to build more influencers and to coach leaders how to build their teams up, with ease.   

I want to share with the world, what I've learned in the past 40+ years.  Skill, theory, mindset, strategy and coaching tips mixed with some of what I call my "dynamic" (maybe slightly crazy) personality.   Yep, I'm excited for you to get to know the REAL me.  The person who loves the power of leadership but says she despises ego (I might need therapy for that one).   The chick who wants nothing more than to make a DIFFERENCE in the world and empower women to step into their greatness.  The person who is working on truly owning her gifts and stepping into her power while she encourages other women to do the same.  The mom/wife/sister/daughter who believes that mistakes are just part of the process.

We are ALL capable of leadership.  We are ALL meant for amazing things.  It's about time we started owning that shit, don't you think???

So now I'm interested ... do YOU have a thread in your life?   Sit back and REALLY think about the things that people tell you that you are good at.  What do other people see as your gifts?  (sometimes we can't see em ourselves at first)   Is there a thread that connects everything together and if so, are you using that gift?  I'd LOVE to hear what it is!!!

S