Category: Awaken

  • The Journey Begins Here: A Theory of Change for Leaders Who Are Ready

    The Journey Begins Here: A Theory of Change for Leaders Who Are Ready

    “Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.”
    -Rosabeth Moss Kanter-

    I’ve been sitting with that quote for quite a while. Not because it’s clever, but because it’s true — and I’ve lived it from both sides.

    There have been times where a new policy or practice was mandated, but it didn’t reflect the ideas of our team – change done to us. There’s been other times when tough decisions needed to be made in the budget. Instead of mandates for adjustments, our team was asked to make recommendations to get to a certain number. Still hard, but change was done with us. There are changes that I had no control over, yet how I responded shaped the transformation on the other side. And there have been moments when a flash of innovation has hit me and I decide to change my ways of doing things – it is exhilarating as Kanter calls out in her quote.

    Those experiences plant a question I’ve continually explored: How does change actually happen — the kind that lasts, that transforms rather than just disrupts?

    Over years of walking alongside leaders, teams, and organizations in the middle of hard transitions, a pattern began to emerge. Not a formula. More like a fingerprint — the shape transformation tends to take when it’s honest, sustainable, and grounded in something real.

    I call it the Theory of Change, and it moves through five connected stages: Awaken, Align, Activate, Adapt, and Amplify.

    They aren’t steps to check off. They’re more like seasons — each one holding its own gifts, its own discomfort, and its own invitation.

    AWAKEN is where it starts — not with answers, but with new eyes. It’s the moment we begin to see the seasons in our own story with clarity: the assumptions we’ve carried, the possibilities we’ve overlooked, and the gap between where we are and where we want to be.

    ALIGN is about integration. As awareness grows, we have the opportunity to connect our strengths, values, meaning, and purpose into something coherent. This isn’t performance — it’s the quiet work of becoming consistent, of letting the inside and outside of our leadership tell the same story.

    ACTIVATE is where insight meets practice. This is the uncomfortable, courageous part — doing things differently, leaning into the learning edge, and discovering that the skills we need are often already present within us, waiting to be called forward.

    ADAPT is what keeps the journey alive. Real transformation isn’t a straight line. We adjust, we reflect, we recalibrate. Adapt is how we stay in the process rather than abandoning it when the first version of change doesn’t land perfectly.

    AMPLIFY is perhaps the most quietly powerful stage. It’s the recognition that our transformation — when it’s genuine — becomes an invitation for others. Not through pressure or demand, but through the influence of a life visibly changed.

    Running through all five stages is a quiet thread of reflection. Without it, change stays on the surface. With it, transformation goes towards the core.

    What I’ve seen again and again is that change done with us — change we have agency in — generates energy even through the difficulty. It doesn’t eliminate the hard parts. It gives them meaning and contributes to our story.

    So, here’s my question for you:
    Where on this journey do you find yourself right now?
    Notice it. Sit with it and maybe write it down.

    Are you just beginning to awaken? Still trying to align? Deep in the discomfort of activation? Whatever stage you’re in, you don’t have to navigate it alone — and you don’t have to have it all figured out to take the next step.

    The journey begins where you are.

    One courageous thought can interrupt old patterns and invite a new future.

    Lets connect if you would like a thought partner as you continue your journey.

  • Activate: When Alignment Becomes Action

    Activate: When Alignment Becomes Action

    There’s a moment between knowing what needs to change and actually changing —a threshold where clarity meets courage, and intention either becomes action or quietly fades back.

    You have recognized the shift in your leadership season. You’ve done the deeper work of realigning around what matters most. Now the question becomes concrete: What will you actually do differently starting Monday morning?

    Most leadership development stops at insight. We attend the workshop, read the book, have the conversation that shifts our perspective—and then we return to our desks where the same meetings, pressures, and environment are waiting. The gap between knowing and doing isn’t a lack of information. It’s the space where good intentions meet organizational inertia of status quo and comfort, competing priorities, and the challenging truth that change requires something from us beyond agreement.

    Activation is the next step of the transformation journey of closing that gap between what we are becoming more aware of and who we want to be as a leader. It does not happen through willpower alone, but through intentional, grounded choices about where you’ll invest your energy, what you’ll stop doing, and who you’ll bring along. It’s the difference between nodding in agreement about what you are discovering and taking part in the transformation process for your own better story.

    Activation isn’t vague. It shows up in specific decisions:

    • Restructuring your time: What meetings or activities will you decline? What space will you protect for the work that aligns with who you’re becoming and who you want to be? Calendars reveal priorities.
    • Changing your responses: Where will you pause to respond instead of reacting? What question will you ask before defaulting to your usual answer? Small pattern interruptions create bigger shifts over time.
    • Building accountability structures: How do you want to be accountable? Who will you tell about this commitment? What milestone on the journey will you review in 30 days? Activation without accountability becomes aspiration without traction.

    These are the building blocks of sustainable change, the kind that outlasts your initial willpower and motivation, and becomes sustainable steps towards who you want to be in each sphere of your life.

    Here is the hard reality. Activation exposes us. When we move from reflection to action, we’re no longer just agreeing. We’re testing whether our alignment holds under real conditions. That’s being vulnerable and uncomfortable. It’s also a value proposition in that we are making conscious decisions about what is most important to us. The first attempts may be awkward. Others may not understand the shift. You may face challenges—both internal and external in the form of limiting beliefs, uncertainty, and expectations.

    But lean into it. The stretching discomfort is evidence that something real is happening. Activation is challenging you to lead differently than you have before – that is the work.

    Before you move forward, get specific:

    • What is one definable action you can take this week that reflects your alignment?
    • What will you stop doing to create space for this new practice?
    • Where are you hesitating—and is it discernment or fear?
    • What support or accountability do you need to sustain this movement over time?

    Awakening created awareness. Alignment provides grounding. Activation gives you movement for purposeful steps toward the leader you’re choosing to become.

    If you’re ready to move from insight to implementation but need support translating clarity into action, reach out through the Connect page. Let’s build the plan together.

  • Align: The Hidden Work of Leadership

    Align: The Hidden Work of Leadership

    When pressure increases or certainty fades, the change in our leadership seasons have a way of revealing what truly grounds us. In moments like these, we rarely reach for something new. Instead, we return—often unconsciously—to what has already been formed within us. Our habits, assumptions, values, and spiritual grounding become more evident, whether we’ve named them or not.

    Like trees enduring a Minnesota winter, much of the most important leadership work happens beneath the surface. Winter offers an important lesson. Roots do not resist the season; they respond to it. Snow insulates the soil, protecting what is essential from freezing and creating the conditions needed for sustained growth. What looks dormant is actually aligned for purposeful work that you were created to complete. The unseen actions in winter makes renewal possible in every other season.

    In leadership, we often miss this opportunity. When the season shifts, we can interpret it as limiting or restrictive—something to endure or push through. But winter seasons in leadership invite alignment. They offer space to re-center around what matters most so that our responses are grounded rather than reactive, intentional rather than rushed. This alignment between our inner grounding and external reality creates capacity for growth, hope, and even joy along the journey.

    This is how change unfolds in practice. Awakening helps us recognize that something has shifted. Aligning allows us to re-center our leadership with who we want to be in this new season—before we act. From this place, we gain clarity not just about what to do next, but how to move forward with integrity and intention.

    Winter teaches us that alignment happens in stillness, not in motion. So before you move to what’s next, pause with these questions:

    • Which values, practices, or habits do I need to deepen so they can sustain growth over time?
    • What needs to shift in my environment to protect and sustain what is essential right now?
    • How am I going to align my beliefs, values, and leadership so I can respond thoughtfully rather than simply react to change?

    This kind of reflection isn’t easy. It requires slowing down when everything around you says to speed up. It means sitting with questions that don’t have immediate answers. But this is the work that matters—the work that transforms not just what you do, but who you’re becoming as a leader.

    Alignment doesn’t happen once. It’s a practice we return to whenever the season shifts, whenever pressure increases, whenever certainty fades. And each time we do, we strengthen the roots that will sustain us—and those we lead—through whatever comes next.

    If you’re sensing a shift in your leadership season and want to explore what alignment and growth could look like next, I invite you to reach out through the Connect page on the website.