leadership

Hiring an Executive Coach? What You Need to Know

To keep in mind when looking for a coach The field of coaching is not currently regulated. This means that anyone can call themselves a coach.  What does that mean for you?  Make sure that you hire someone who has coach training, credentials and experience. When you hire a coach, they facilitate clarity, certainty and creativity so you can find the answers within yourself.  This contrasts with an advisor...

Feeling Stuck? Shift Perspective

A few weeks ago, I heard a bird chirping outside my office window.  I looked through the slats in my blinds and searched the tree for the bird.  No luck. I couldn’t see anything. Yet the chirping continued. Curious I checked again but no bird. I was frustrated. I could hear the bird but just couldn’t see it. Finally, I shifted my gaze a few inches higher through the...

Summer Time & The Living is Easy

It’s one of my favorite Gershwin songs. The lyrics and tempo reflect the slower easier pace of summer.   Its also a perfect time to review, reflect and revise.  Why not do a simple mid year review by asking these 3 questions (yes there is some overlap with my year in review questions): 1. What have I accomplished to date in 2017? This is an opportunity to acknowledge what you...

Emotional Intelligence: Quick Summary

Join me for a little over 6 minutes as I summarize Emotional Intelligence (E.Q.). Find out how E.Q. can help you at work.  Also walk away with a strategy to boost your Emotional Self-Awareness, the primary skill for E.Q.

Hard on Yourself: Try Some Self-Compassion

Discover what self-compassion is, why it’s important and experience a brief strategy for cultivating it in this 5 minute free audio. Prefer to read it. Here is what is in the audio. Compassion How often do you find yourself saying “I messed up”, “I should have done better”, “I am not good enough, strong enough, or smart enough”.  It seems that we have lots of compassion for other’s mistakes,...

How Priorities Can Change in an Instant

This past Tuesday started off like any other workday. I was on a call with some coaching colleagues and didn’t pay much attention to the fire alarm ringing outside. I have heard it many times without any consequence. I’m not sure what prompted me to do so but I finally looked under my blind to find out that the fire alarm was a result of a raging fire at...

Reflect & Renew: Be a Leader in 2017

Are you always looking at the next item on your To Do list never taking time to appreciate your accomplishments? Here is a quick way to recognize your successes and start thinking about your hopes, dreams, and goals for the New Year. Essentially it’s just three simple questions and you are on your way to being a leader in 2017 (whether at work or in your life). You may...

Took a Step Outside My Comfort Zone!

Last Wednesday night, I did something that terrified me. I performed improv in front of a live audience. And yes I was scared. In fact for the weeks leading up to the show, I was getting more and more worried. Would I mess up? Would I not be funny or entertaining? Would I look stupid next to my talented classmates? Despite my worries the show, which was part of...

Make 2015 a Watershed Year

Are you ready to make 2015 a Watershed Year?  Is it time to step into your purpose, power and potential? If so, consider one of our coaching packages to help you create your Watershed Year. Why coaching? Help you accomplish your dreams or goals Create more of the life you want Establish a plan to handle difficult situations or manage through transitions Your unique advantage by working with us:...

The Potential Project: Mindfulness at Work on Wednesday Evenings Starting April 2nd

CORPORATE BASED MINDFULNESS TRAINING (CBMT) Would you like to have more hours in a day? Or at least make better use of the precious time you have each and every day? Are you looking for opportunities to be more effective, calm, clear, and focused at work and at home? Are you interested in learning techniques to be more responsive and less reactive in everyday living? Mindfulness is a scientifically...

The Mindful Workplace – December 6 & 7, 2013

The 24/7 demands of business are leading to greater absenteeism, less effective decision making and lower employee engagement and productivity. While the hectic pace of business has been acceptable in the past, there is a growing need for a more mindful workplace. This workshop explores why mindfulness is critical to engagement, focus and productivity. Click here for further details or to register.  

Coaching

Hear What Our Coaching Clients Have to Say About Us:  “My one-on-one sessions with Wendy helped me to pinpoint areas of my life where I could make changes.  Once I realized that I did have control, I was able to stop thinking of myself as a victim. Wendyhelped me brainstorm positive, specific steps that I could take to ease the stress in my life.” S. H. Certified General Accountant “Wendy...

Bring Mindfulness @ Work into your Organization

The pace of today’s workplace requires a new solution to be productive, effective and maintain well-being.  It requires resilience, reflection and the ability to respond rather than react.  The Mindfulness at Work series includes: Mindfulness Fundamentals Working with the Breath Tapping into the Body Bringing Greater Compassion into the Workplace Increasing Resilience: Thriving in a 24/7 world It is ideal for leaders and teams looking to be more effective in a dynamic...

Mindfulness @Work: Bringing Greater Compassion into the Workplace

Join Wendy Woods for her Mindfulness @Work series at the University of Toronto.  It’s a great opportunity to bring greater mindfulness into your day and reap the many benefits of mindfulness at work (e.g. greater concentration, lower stress, increased self awareness, improved leadership skills). If you want to bring Mindfulness @Work into your workplace, contact us for a complimentary assessment.

Quotes of the Week

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.  ~John Quincy Adams, American Diplomat The task of leadership is not to put greatness into people, but to elicit it, for the greatness is there already.  ~John Buchan, 15th Governor General of Canada To lead people, walk beside them … 
As for the best leaders, the people do not notice...

Quotes of the Week

Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A “you can do it” when things are tough. ~ Richard M. DeVos, American Businessman I don’t think you lead by pessimism and cynicism. I think you lead by optimism and enthusiasm and energy. ~ Patricia Ireland, U.S. Administrator One of the things I learned the hard way was that it...

Quotes of the Week

Image courtesy of Photography by renjith krishnan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net “To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others.” ~ Anthony Robbins, Author “We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” ~ Epictetus, Philosopher “Communication works for those who work at it.”...

Quotes of the Week

 Image courtesy of Photography by sheelamohan/FreeDigitalPhotos.net “The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.” –Ken Blanchard, Author “Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” –Vince Lombardi, Football Coach “A good leader is not the person who does things right, but the person who finds the right...

Get In on the Fun with WTS

Watershed Training Solutions has two great  events in June that are designed to enhance your workplace experience while equipping you with the necessary tools to get the job done effectively and efficiently. June 17th CMA Ontario – Essential Leadership Skills This is an interactive and informative workshop that will identify critical emotional intelligence competencies, transforming you into the optimal leader. June 29th – Releasing Stress Through Laughter Yoga Giggle...

Quotes of the Week

“People ask the difference between a leader and a boss. . . The leader works in the open, and the boss in covert. The leader leads, and the boss drives.” ~Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States “The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.” ~Ray Kroc, American businessman “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and...

Quotes of the Week

“The task of the leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.”~Henry Kissinger, German-born American political scientist, diplomat “The leader has to be practical and a realist, yet must talk the language of the visionary and the idealist.”~Eric Hoffer, American social writer and philosopher “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave...

How to get the most out of your team

Team work has always been a difficult concept for employees to grasp and put into practice. Often everyone wants to be the “cook” and no one wants to be the “bottle washer”. However, there are a few strategies to use the next time you are appointed “cook”. Give your team an opportunity to contribute. After interviewing John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO of Cisco Systems Inc., Bronwyn Fryer, editor...

Quotes of the Week

“When the conduct of men is designed to be influenced, persuasion, kind, unassuming persuasion, should ever be adopted. It is an old and a true maxim, that a “drop of honey catches more flies than a gallon of gall.”— Abraham Lincoln “I strongly believe that the responsibility of leadership is to shape the debate—to practice and project the right attributes—whether in a business enterprise, in our society, and even...

Attaining the Happiness Advantage – Part Three

In parts One and Two of the Happiness Advantage, I outlined the key points made by Sean Achor, CEO of Aspirant and author of The Happiness Advantage: the Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work in a recent HBR Ideacast. In the interview, Sean outlined what is meant by the happiness advantage and offered up some quantifiable research showcasing the benefits of this paradigm...

Quotes of the Week

“The moment of victory is much too short to live for that and nothing else.”-Martina Navratilova, Tennis Player “The man who occupies the first place seldom plays the principal part.”-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”-George S. Patton “If you do not look at things on a large scale, it will be difficult to master strategy.”- Miyamoto Mursashi “Nothing limits...

Measuring the Happiness Advantage – Part Two

In Part One of Measuring the Happiness Advantage, I summarized a recent HBR Ideacast which featured Sean Achor, CEO of Aspirant and author of The Happiness Advantage: the Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work. To recap, the “happiness advantage” refers to the ability of your brain to do more when you’re positive. Number Crunching Now, if you’re like me, you want some form...

Quotes of the Week

If we are strong, our strength will speak for itself. If we are weak, words will be of no help. ~ John Fitzgerald Kennedy Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood. ~T.S. Eliot Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people. ~William Butler Yeats Good communication does not mean that you have to speak in perfectly formed sentences and paragraphs. It isn’t about...

The Happiness Advantage – Part One

Sean Achor, CEO of Aspirant and author of The Happiness Advantage: the Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work was recently featured on a HBR Ideacast where he discussed the profound effect a positive outlook has on our ability to work productively and experience happiness both at work and at home. Sean begins by clarifying what is meant by positive psychology. He’s not talking...

Can Introverts Lead?

So often we assume that good leaders are extroverts, but as Francesca Gino, associate professor at Harvard Business School suggests, that may not always be true. Though North American culture seems to value the extroverted personality, extroverted leaders do face challenges. They can stifle a proactive team by often overlooking the input of team members in favour of their own ideas. Introvert leaders are better in situations when followers...

Quotes of the Week

“Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand.”— General Colin Powell Leadership has a harder job to do than just choose sides. It must bring sides together.—Jesse Jackson “I am reminded how hollow the label of leadership sometimes is and how heroic followership can be.”— Warren Bennis “Men make history and not the other way...