Lauren’s Blog

How are you creating community on your team? Are you even thinking about it? One of the base needs of human nature is the need to be included. We want to be encouraged and valued by a greater whole. We were created to be in community. We are stronger in community. The...

The Colonel said, “Your value doesn’t have to be earned or bought, kiddo. Your value is inherent because you exist. It just IS.” https://vimeo.com/753144944 In the 21st century, many people base their value upon their net worth or the title they hold. As leaders,...

Are you too focused on success? The greatest challenge The Colonel issued to his daughters was to choose significance over mere success. He said, “Anyone can be successful, kiddo… Making a lot of money, that’s easy. Choose to be significant.”...

The Colonel said, “Blowing out someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine any brighter, kiddo.” https://vimeo.com/743204254 Leaders regularly lift others up, not put others down. We have all met people who put others down to make themselves look or feel bigger and...

Dad said, “You’ve got to be an optimist. When your team can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, you have to be able to show it to them and convince them it’s not a train.” https://vimeo.com/743187405 Optimism is not a squishy, overly idealist characteristic....

When I was a sales director with Mary Kay Cosmetics, I heard a joke that went something like, “There goes my team. I must follow them, for I am their leader!” While that may cause a chuckle, I wonder how many leaders feel that way because they have stopped educating...

I have been a talker my whole life. (I know you find that SHOCKING.) My mother used to say, “Lauren Ann, stop talking just to hear the sound of your own voice.” When I moved into a management role, The Colonel put it this way: “Stop talking. Listen. You don’t learn...

I believe there are three ways to lead: by example, by example, and (you guessed it) by example. The Colonel said: “Don’t tell your team what kind of leader you are. They won’t follow you because of what you say. Show them what kind of leader you are in your attitude...