self-awareness

Leaders are Bakers! It’s All About the Yeast.

Leaders are Bakers! It’s All About the Yeast.

My baking skills are marginal at best. I can follow a recipe to bake a loaf of bread, but if it doesn’t rise properly, I likely won’t understand why. Skilled bakers on the other hand know the secret to preparing a fully risen and delicious loaf of bread. They recognize the importance of a small but powerful ingredient…yeast. And they can perform consistently by making loaves that look and taste identical, time after time.

As a leavening agent, yeast makes bread rise and adds taste and color. It is simply a fungus that loves eating sugar. (Don’t we all?) The yeast mellows and conditions the gluten in the dough so that it will evenly absorb the increasing gases and hold them in the mixture as it’s kneaded. This expands the volume of the bread, making it rise; and improves the flavor, texture, grain, color and eating quality. But for maximum effectiveness, it needs to be stored at the proper temperature and humidity. And when making the bread, the water must be warm when yeast is dissolved, and the other ingredients cannot be too cold. (more…)

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Managing Your Triggers

Managing Your Triggers

By now many of us have seen the recent viral video of a CEO in Michigan whose response to an employee’s question during a virtual all employee meeting, was recorded and posted on social media.

Garnering likely millions of views, along with articles in multiple national and local news outlets, it’s been a public relations storm for the company and its employees. This CEO joins the list of other C-suite leaders who have similarly criticized employees or made what was perceived to be insensitive remarks in their frustration over productivity, profits, and pandemic related work habits that they want to change. (more…)

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Authentic Leadership: Will the Real You Please Stand Up?

Authentic Leadership: Will the Real You Please Stand Up?

Does your team know your core values and personality style?

Is your behavior consistent in all your interactions with your colleagues?

Do you sometimes find yourself following a pattern of behaviors that others’ expect from you, instead of creating your own?

Do you experience a level of stress trying to perform to others’ standards? (more…)

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