Welcome to Leadership Lab with Wendy Hultmark!
This is a monthly newsletter where I share light-bite content on a variety of topics related to leadership in today’s world and times. Whether in the sciences or creative spaces, the word lab has come to be associated with a space for experimentation, innovation, and collaboration.
In this space, I will share tips worth passing on, words I have found worthy of reflection, and the occasional funny story to keep it all in perspective.
Bow-wow-now-NOW-nah-nah-nah. You say it’s your birthday…
Bow-wow-now-NOW-nah-nah-nah. You say it’s your birthday…
Well, it’s my birthday, too, yeah!
I’ve come to love having an August birthday. As a kid, it was more of a mixed bag. I never got to enjoy the classroom cupcake party. And some poor uncomprehending adult always gave me school supplies for my birthday gift. School supplies, Auntie Mary? You think I’m forgetting that summer was over pretty much before it began?! Let’s be honest: that was more a gift for my mom than for me. Except the year I received a Michael Jackson Trapper Keeper, with this image on it. That year I received the gift of coolness.
These days, I appreciate the sun and sand, and that good weather is a good birthday bet for me. But there’s more to it than that.
An August birthday is a birthday on the brink…
With the days becoming noticeably shorter and the occasional fall preview day of low humidity and deep blue skies, in August you can’t deny that something big is about to change. It can be exhilarating.
And that makes it all the more fitting that I launched Wendy Hultmark Coaching in August. It’s been four years since I put up the proverbial shingle, folks, and I’ve loved it all. Thank you for being part of the party!
Best of all, I get to sing that Birthday song to myself all month long, just like Anthony Michael Hall sings to Molly Ringwald in Sixteen Candles.
Motivation is freedom.
One of the greatest joys I have found in coaching is witnessing my clients’ insights and a-ha’s. Recently, in a coaching session, the topic of motivation came up. (It comes up quite a lot, because often it is motivation we are in search of, to get done the things that just don’t seem to be happening on our own.). When I asked this client what motivation was to her, she said it was…freedom.
Motivation is freedom.
I just love this. Can’t you relate, too? When we have motivation, we are free of all the “shoulds”. We are free to choose our next move. We are free from playing by someone else’s rules—we don’t need them because are fired up from within.
So great! If you’re ready to find out what it feels like to go from dreading and dragging to motivated and raring to go, you know where to find me!
Work with me here.
One thing I’ve learned in my decades-long HR and coaching careers is that just about all of us has been on a dysfunctional team at one time or another. And yet, how many of us can say that we have received training on how to be a good team member?
It’s why I am developing my latest free offering, and I’m very excited about it! “Cracking the Code: The Five Behaviors That Solve 80% of Team Problems”–a week-long webinar series that will serve up light bites of insights and wisdom about how to get the most out of any team.
I promise you will relate to at least one of the scenarios presented, if not all five. And I’m willing to bet you will find yourself saying “so that’s why we struggled…” a few times, too. Using the research-backed Five Behaviors® model, this is your chance to get guidance on some of the most common, and frustrating, team challenges leaders encounter.
It’s free, and you can join as many or as few of the daily webinars as you’d like.
Learn more and sign up here.
