Navigating Life with Intention

The past five years have presented me with many new great opportunities. Transitioning from being a stay at home mom for 20 years to embracing new opportunities has been rewarding and yet challenging to navigate at times.

Several years ago, I embarked on a personal development journey to become a certified professional coach. This journey offered me an opportunity to learn, grow, parent, and live daily with more intention than I previously had, and I am happy to coach and share the tools I have learned to help others navigate life with intention.

Last year, the opportunity to become an Engagement Team member with Suncoast Campaign for Grade-Level Reading (SCGLR) presented itself. The purpose and passion of this team are in alignment with my values, and it’s been a great fit! New technology, resources, and lack of knowledge on my part presented its challenges. I found myself feeling like I had to switch gears depending on which role I was in each day—coach or consultant. Fortunately, I was invited to attend The Harwood Institute training. Although the philosophy resonated with me from my prior training, I wasn’t putting it into practice with my responsibilities on the Engagement Team. Though I’m all about aspirations, questions, and gathering information as a mom and coach, I was going into fix-it mode with the SCGLR.

The Harwood Institute training provided me an opportunity to learn with local leaders how to look at situations with a new lens, to take perspectives of others, and to release the pressure that I have to have a plan and fix it...now.

My day-to-day encounters have been more relaxed and personal. I feel more connected with my community contacts, and the trust climate has increased. I am asking more questions and talking to more people. Whether working a booth or facilitating a Mind in the Making workshop, I’m providing more space for people to discuss what they want from their schools and communities and how they might be a part of that solution.

It’s interesting that I was able to operate like that in my personal life and as a coach, but I wasn’t showing up like that for my team. I feel like I found that missing link. Enriched conversations with the sharing of ideas still work on this Engagement Team. I no longer feel like I am switching gears between the roles in my life!