INTRODUCTION
Let’s take a moment.
Wherever you are in your life, right now, I’m here to tell you that you are contagious. I’m also here to tell you that you have control. Likely more control than you think. I’m contagious. You’re contagious. We’re all contagious together, and what I share in this book is how we make “contagious” work for us versus against us.
The fun thing about all of this is that whether you want to be better for yourself, for your business, for your organization, for your culture, for your family, for your kids, for your making in the world, and/or for the people who trust you to lead them … you take you with you. So you’ve got you covered.
As we step into this next era of leadership, when we have more to do, more to care for, and more opportunities to make impact, there is a call, a demand even, to show up bigger, better, and more in service of others than ever. The most effective leaders listen to this call knowing that whatever they are sensing or feeling—frustration, joy, hunger, inspiration, even helplessness—has to be listened to and supported in order to lead forward and create impact in the world. The more we listen and honor this call, the stronger we become. When we lean into it, we ripple. We become productively contagious.
This book is about answering the call and setting yourself up for success. This book is about improving your leadership presence and your impact, not just on others, but on yourself, so that you can create the space you need to answer your calling. This book is about working you over — with love — from the inside out so you can become more of the leader you want to be. This book is also about learning to enjoy every moment of it (even when it’s hard) so that you can contribute to creating a culture of leadership, “Showing Up,” growing others, and answering the call every step of the way.
First, lest you think I have all of this figured out, let me set you straight right now. I am practicing and learning with you. I am a mom to two, a CEO, a speaker, teacher, writer, friend, sister, partner, advisor, coach, consultant, dog owner, thought leader, and creator of a methodology that’s helped many. And frankly—in between bouts of holding it all together and feeling I might crash—thriving.
Yes, thriving. Absolutely thriving.
Am I busy? I’d say I’m richly scheduled and well used. Do I feel busy and overwhelmed? Sure, in my less intentional moments. Is it daunting at times? Yes. Am I complaining? No.
I am grateful. I have tools.
I share this with you not to toot my horn or diminish my credibility, but rather to share that I, like you, am another human being with a hunger to create positive impact in the world. I’m also keen on living a life I love and being a good person to the people in that life. Working the principles in this book is helping me do this, and my intention is to pass them on to you in whatever way most serves you.
Show Up and Up Your Game
In addition to elevating your leadership, this book is about up-leveling your game in general. It’s about showing up for your life. It’s about showing up for yourself. And showing up for the people you lead. It’s about staying connected to purpose. To staying present to what counts. To nourishing yourself. And to using yourself to create a beautiful culture: at work, with your team, with your peers, and everywhere in between.
I’d love to say that just by reading the book, your leadership presence will take care of itself, but it won’t. You will have to work for it. And at the same time you will have to just let it be and enjoy it. In this book I will walk you through a model I’ve developed called the IEP Method® and share many of the different components that are necessary to become the leader you want to be and to have the impact on the people around you that you truly want to have. Working your Intentional Energetic Presence® (IEP) is a powerful, pleasurable, and yes, sometimes daunting thing. And … you’ve got this! You’re always just an energizing (or de-energizing) decision away.
I’m also going to talk to you about culture. Because while you may think that culture is something that’s created by others, and just about your organization, it’s much bigger than that. You are creating culture every day through your intentions (or lack of intentions), energy, and presence. You’re creating the culture within your organization, with your team, with your clients, and in your meetings every day. You’re creating culture within your family, with your friends, and at the dinner table every day. All of it is contagious. You are the contagion. This, by the way, is good news. You have power and influence here!
The days of being able to lead based simply on our titles, skills, competencies, and even our emotional intelligence are gone. The days of it being enough to just be a good leader and make cool stuff happen? Gone. In order for us to innovate to the next level of business and to solve the many, many problems that we want to solve, it’s going to require a new kind of leadership. It’s going to require that we create more leaders than ever. And it’s going to require that we intentionally infect our cultures with impact-focused leadership, love, and care—starting with ourselves first.
I believe that the ideas, tools, and principles offered in this book will help you start to find what showing up and leading at this next level looks like for you personally and help you to find it in a way that has you feeling rejuvenated and engaged, versus burned out and busy.
This book is a work of love, crafted after 23 years of working with individuals and organizations, with athletes, executives, entrepreneurs, designers, teachers, parents, entertainers, CEOs, founders, and people in support and administrative roles.
The principles and tools shared in this book have been used by some of the most innovative and inspiring companies in the world. Organizations like IDEO, Zingerman’s, and others have integrated components of this content into their talent development and design processes, customer service experiences, team meetings, leadership training, executive education, onboarding and exiting processes, and more. Executives from companies like Citigroup, McDonald’s, and others have used these principles to help them enhance their executive presence, their leadership competencies, and their connection to meaning and purpose. Companies like Chevron, IBM, and others have used the concepts from this work to help them coach and be better leaders inside their organizations. Start-ups and small businesses have used this content to help them create healthy cultures of leadership and accountability from the beginning. Teachers have used it in schools to enhance their impact with students and each other. Physicians and wellness professionals have used it to improve their bedside manner and leadership in their practices. Designers and makers have used it to enhance their collaboration and communication skills. And nonprofits (including those working with high-risk youth and within the foster care system) have used it to empower youth and cultivate confidence in the kids coming through their programs. I even received a note this last year from an 11-year-old who was using it with her best friends to “get straight A’s.”
I’ve shared many stories to support the principles explored. I thank every single person who’s ever worked with me for allowing me into their lives and for sharing their life’s work, their challenges, their wins, and their pains, and for paying their learning forward by allowing me to share their stories. All stories have been tweaked to honor privacy and confidentiality; names changed, gender sometimes changed, details changed, but everything shared in this book is a true story, or composite of a story, from people who have integrated IEP into their lives in order to honor themselves, unlock their leadership potential, and grow others.
Some of this work will resonate for you. Some of it will hit you three weeks later in the shower. Some may become key for you five years from now. Some of it may simply not be for you but may point you toward something important that is. Whatever the case, be kind to yourself. Enjoy what you enjoy. Integrate what you want to integrate, and use this as a living work in progress.
May you find exactly what you need in this book. I love you already.
XO,