Hey Reader! 👋 Happy Wednesday! (Let's just pretend it's Monday)

It's been an outstanding, busy week, and I'm just getting a chance to write to you.

It's Friday. My husband is at the wheel, and I am a passenger on a road trip through the heart of Indiana. My laptop is open, my head is down, and I am deep in thought. I'm mapping out the Human-Centered Leadership (HCL) program content I'm delivering on Monday morning, and I'm feeling the pressure to get it done. Outside the window, a cloudy landscape blurs past, unnoticed and unappreciated. I am in the ultimate "Expert" zone—efficient, productive, and completely heads down.

Fast forward to Sunday.

My husband is again at the wheel as we head for home. The sun is out. My laptop is on the floor next to my feet. I have plans to clean up some files. Instead, I looked up.

Against a crisp blue sky, the very tops of the trees were vibrating with color—purples, whites, and deep reds just starting to bud. The fields are a luscious emerald green. Spring is springing, and it is breathtaking.

My husband and I are chatting. My mind is as peaceful as the scenery. I am completely present and it is luxurious.

The "Expert" Blur vs. The "Enabler" Vision

In leadership, we often treat our teams the way I treated that Friday drive. We are so focused on the quarterly goals and the "dashboard" of our daily tasks that the people right in front of us become part of the background blur.

We miss the "buds" of potential. We miss the quiet "greens" of a team member finally finding their footing. We are so busy doing that we stop noticing.

In my HCL Foundations course, we talk about the Shift from Expert to Enabler. An Expert drives the car to the destination at all costs. An Enabler is the one who looks out the window to see who is thriving, who is budding, and what the environment needs to truly bloom.

🌸 The Challenge

Reader, are you ready to make the conscious shift? Here is a tool from Session 1: Foundation of the Self.

Tomorrow, before you dive into your first meeting, I challenge you to pause for 30 seconds and look for the "Spring" in your team:

1. Identify a "Bud": Who is showing a tiny flash of a new skill or a "purple" of a new idea that wasn't there last week?
2. Acknowledge the Color: Don't just notice it—name it. Tell them, "I saw how you handled that client call; that’s a new level of confidence for you."
3. Cultivate the Field: What one small thing can you remove from their path today to give that growth more sun?

Spring doesn't happen all at once; it happens in the tiny, quiet margins. If we are too busy running, we miss the miracle of the emergence.

This week, I challenge you: Put the laptop down. Look at the "treetops" of your team. What beautiful thing is starting to emerge right in front of you that is just waiting for you to notice and encourage it?

P.S.

If your organization doesn't have a comprehensive, wraparound approach to training and developing your leadership pipeline, HCL Foundations might be a good fit. Just hit reply. I'd love to tell you more.

Have an awesome week!

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