Tag: Personal Development
-
Addressing the Elephant in the Room
There are moments in coaching that hang in the air like smoke from a snuffed candle—heavy, unmistakable, and impossible to ignore. On paper, everything can look like it is going well: team dynamics are “improving,” productivity metrics are up, and new communication protocols are being followed. Leaders report the right numbers, use the right language,…
-
Beyond the Dilemma: Being, Doing, and Becoming
Previously I wrote about the Being+Doing Dilemma. We feel as though we need to do and want to be. This is a closer look at how these two seemingly opposing forces can be reconciled. The expansive news: what allows for the alleviation of the tension can be brought to bear on most all instances involving…
-
The Mastery Fork in the Leadership Road: Part 1
by Dennis Adsit In the introduction to this series on Leadership mastery, I asked the question, Why Isn’t It You? Why aren’t you your favorite leader? I talked about an approach a music teacher friend uses to nudge his students away from fixating on their guitar heroes and stealing their licks towards finding and mastering…
-
Breathing Underwater
The Mystery of Growth: Effort and Surrender in Adult Development Recently I was speaking with a colleague with deep experience in adult development. The conversation was rich, varied, and filled with morsels I’m still chewing on. “How it happens is a mystery.” This one in particular sticks with me. He was talking about our understanding…
-
PRESS RELEASE
The (un)Summit: Wisdom In Action FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE San Francisco, CA – July 23, 2025 – New Ventures West, a global leader in Integral Coaching and professional development, announces the (un)Summit: Wisdom in Action, a groundbreaking five-day virtual gathering featuring renowned thought leaders Dr. Bayo Akomolafe, John J. Prendergast, Diana Chapman, Minna Salami, and Jessica…
-
Is Empathy Enough?
What is it that brings a person, maybe you, into a coaching relationship? Is it a feeling of being stuck? Is it a challenging event causing confusion, concern, or something even deeper? Is it one of those “lightbulb moments” where we realize something has to change but we don’t know where to go from that…
-
Harnessing the Power of Feedback in Coaching
Feedback acts as both mirror and catalyst for profound personal and professional development, and through its skillful use in the coaching space, so much transformation can occur if used in the right way, at the right time. Understanding how to effectively use feedback in coaching has become essential for coaches seeking to create lasting impact…
-
The Being & Doing Dilemma
Originally Published on Feb 2, 2025 Explore the Being+Doing dilemma and discover how to balance your inner self with external expectations. Embrace a journey of self-awareness and authenticity. “We are human beings, not human doings.” “I need to stop doing and be more.” When have you said something like this? Heard someone else? I have.…
-
We’ve Been In Training
-
The Case For Discomfort
Any form of development work is an invitation to be with discomfort. Whether it is seeing a new distinction, taking up a new practice, or feeling that emotion and sensation you have been avoiding, some part of us—usually neglected or forgotten—is stretched. Development occurs through a series of stress and rest. Staying comfortable with what…
-
Who – How – What
Hitting Ceilings of Change “I am the bottleneck. Everyone comes to me with their key decisions. In order for us to mature as an organization, I know this needs to change. I am trying different techniques and they have helped and I recognize the need for something more. I really need a significant shift to…
-
The Sacred Space Between
-
The Point of a Question
The quest for the answer beckons the answer into becoming. What if the answer has always been the arising? This question arose within and guides my pondering today. Profound or contrived? Let’s give it some space and air to breathe before we judge it. Increasingly, I’ve been experiencing my capacity to be with the questions…
-
Turning Twenty Percent Into One Hundred Percent
-
The Necessity of Darkness
I used to read Ramona the Pest to my daughter. We likely read it 7 or 8 times when she was in kindergarten. As soon as we would finish, she would want to begin again. And so we did. I loved revisiting these stories from my youth. And seeing the words, hearing the language as an…
-
The Rapture of Being Alive
It seems hard to believe, but one of the best selling Zen books for all time, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind, was published over 50 years ago. There is a chapter on Excitement, where Suzuki Roshi admonishes that Zen is not some kind of excitement but concentration on our everyday routines: “If we become interested in some…
-
Layers of Listening
Many of us spend the majority of our days in conversations of one kind or another. This is particularly true for coaches, therapists, and other practitioners who spend their time supporting others’ development. Bringing greater mindfulness to how we approach conversations with anyone—our clients, colleagues, partners, children, friends, and others—holds the potential to make these…
-
Making Room for Integration
This article first appeared on the Mindful Leader blog in September 2021. “Along with all the growth and healing, remember to give yourself time for integration, which is a fancy word for ‘allowing sh*t to settle.’ It looks like doing nothing. This nothing is necessary.” – Emily McDowell Has it ever happened to you? You’ve been…
-
What Lies Within Us
“You understand so little of what is around you because you do not use what is within you.” – Hildegard von Bingen, c. 1151 AD I write because I am curious about the destiny and righteousness of women who have been successful and celebrated widely, but also because I am curious about those who have…
-
Self-unification in a divided world
“In order to truly change, we have to let go of who we think we are. Early in life we had to form the ego, or the ‘little self,’ in order to protect our true self. Later in life, the way we originally protected ourselves begins to endanger the presence of our Self. What protected…