Why You Need to Actually Unplug on Vacation

It's that time of year. Out-of-office replies are going up, flights are booked, and half the leaders I coach are either packing their bags or counting down the days until they do.

And almost every one of them is planning to check email "just a little" while they're gone.

I get it. When you're the one holding things together — running a school, leading a team, growing a business — stepping away feels risky. What if something breaks? What if a decision can't wait? Isn't a quick check-in just being responsible?

Here's what I tell my clients: a vacation where you're still half-working isn't a vacation. It's just work with a nicer view.

"You Hide It Well": What My Networking Group Taught Me About Introverts, Extroverts, and Everything In Between

Last week, our networking group ran ahead of schedule. Everyone had given their one-minute pitch, and instead of sitting in dead air, I picked up the mic and started riffing on networking, branding, and differentiation. Somewhere in there, I mentioned that I'm an introvert — and that I still show up with energy and actively seek out connection.

Afterward, someone pulled me aside. "If you're an introvert," he said, "you hide it very well."

He meant it as a compliment. But it stuck with me, because it revealed something most people get wrong: the idea that introversion and extroversion are costumes you either wear well or don't. They're not. They're wiring. And once you understand how that wiring actually works, you stop mistaking performance for personality — in yourself and in everyone you lead.

The Real Measure of a Leader

Here's an uncomfortable truth most leaders don't want to sit with: your effectiveness as a leader is not measured by how hard you work. It's not measured by how many hours you log, how many fires you put out, or how many meetings you run.

It's measured by what your team produces when you're in the room — and when you're not.

Why Letting Go Is One of the Best Decisions You Can Make

Look around your space right now. Your desk. Your closet. That drawer you never open.

How much of what you see is useful to you today?

Most of us are holding onto things “just in case.” The exercise bike that became a clothes rack. The gadget that seemed brilliant in the store. The books you’ll get to someday. We know this stuff isn’t serving us — but we keep it anyway.

That low-grade accumulation has a real cost. And it’s not just about physical space.

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