Welcome to Regenerating Leadership

Hello, amazing one! I’d like to warmly welcome you as I open the doors to this new space.

You’ll be happy to know you are among friends ~ leaders like you who have realized there is more to life than chasing someone else’s definition of success and are focused on bringing more thriving to their life, work, community and the world.

From a child who took on a tremendous amount of responsibility at a very young age, parenting my mother and my three younger sisters, I grew into a high-achieving perfectionist and a workaholic. I experienced what most would call success ~ many times over. And yet I often felt like a fraud, failing to live up to what I thought it would feel like to be a truly successful leader, mother and wife. I was always looking for something more out of myself and out of life ~ always wondering what was wrong with me that I couldn’t just be happy where I was.

And one day, the carefully constructed house of cards that was my “successful life” came crashing down around me….

I have been on an epic quest, traveling around the world over the past seven years in search of a different way to lead my life and my work ~ one that didn’t take everything out of me, and where I could feel safe to bring all of me.

It has been ~ and continues to be ~ a process of regenerating. Letting go of all that had reached its expiration and was ready to decompose, creating the rich fertile soil for a much more wholesome, organic version of me to emerge.

Since you’re here, I’m guessing you ~ and/or your work in the world ~ are somewhere along this incredible journey of regeneration, of breaking down and breaking through {aka the journey of life}.

Why another platform?

If you’ve been connecting with me through my work in Grail Leadership, you may be wondering why I would go and create another platform.

There are several answers to this question. The first is that, since late 2018, I have been deeply immersed in this beautiful co-creation called Grail Leadership ~ prototyping an entirely new whole-systems model of round-table leadership, one that’s rooted in nature’s principles of wholeness and mutual thriving.

My co-founders and I went deeeeeep ~ and we needed to in order to birth this powerful, new-paradigm vision. I can see now that I had to live in the Special World during that time ~ to leave behind much of the known landscape and inhabit a realm where things that have never been before can take shape beyond the constrictions of “how things are done.”

Now that Grail Leadership is seeded in the soil of this physical reality, I’ve been returning to the Ordinary World and integrating much that I left outside the gates when I entered the Special World.

In doing so, I’ve found that I am now genuinely excited to talk not just about the future of leadership and where we as a collective are heading, but also where most of us are right here and now. Top-of-mind, in-your-face challenges like overwhelm & burnout, the rapid onset of AI, team dynamics in remote and hybrid workplaces, and how to actually take care of ourselves financially while also tending to our physical, emotional and spiritual well-being.

And I’m excited to explore and share what gets in the way for all of us as leaders ~ what keeps us from making the impact we know we’re here to make, from feeling deeply fulfilled, from tending to our own well-being and relationships, from thriving.

The second reason is that I want to record and share podcast conversations with so many of the incredible humans who I have connected with over the years ~ shining a light on people who are making a meaningful difference in the world in ways that are seemingly small, audaciously large, and everything in between. And I want to practice being the one asking questions, being in a state of wonder and curiosity about ways of doing and being that may be quite different from my own.

The third reason is that I want to challenge myself to write shorter posts more frequently. {Clearly, this post is not a shining example of that!} Being a whole-systems thinker, I often fall into the trap of feeling like I need to tell you absolutely everything about a topic so you get the complete picture. This is not something that most people need or want, and can often result in important bits getting diluted or lost because it’s too much to absorb in one sitting or requires a larger time commitment than is available to them.

If you know me, you know I love to go deep. But we don’t need to go there in every interaction. Besides, there are ways in which smaller touchpoints over a longer period of time can provide a whole different sort of depth and meaningful connection.

I’m excited to be more spontaneous, sharing what’s most alive in the moment with shorter posts as well as engaging with you in comments and discussion threads that I’ll initiate from time to time.

And lastly {for now, at least}, I want to play around with different sorts of topics that I am passionate about and that may also be of interest to you, especially as they relate to regeneration in some way. Things like:

• Celtic mythology and the richly woven layers of meaning that are found in the archetypal characters and their journeys, mythic tales that have been passed down through the ages, reminding us of the mystery and magic that is still available to us;

• local food systems and community resiliency, including innovative practices like syntropic farming that are popping up around the planet and growing food in the harshest of climates;

• and so much more that is enlivening our world.

Why Substack?

The more I’ve learned about Substack, the more impressed I continue to be. It offers so many avenues for the ways I’ve been wanting to engage and connect around leadership in all its many facets.

The belief underlying their approach matches mine ~ that sharing content with a smaller, more invested audience of resonant people is more valuable than writing to the masses. Their subscription service gives me a way to deliver content directly to the people who want to see it, without a gatekeeper of ever-changing algorithms and incentives that are not aligned with mine.

In an arena driven mostly by quick dopamine hits and superficial sound bytes, here we can slow down for a minute and connect with meaningful content around topics that we care deeply about. Substack believes that there are people out there who still value thoughtful writing and rich conversations ~ and they are experiencing a surge in popularity, with millions of active subscribers.

I love to see and support companies who are flipping a model. Instead of depending on advertising dollars through clicks and page views, Substack is asking readers to make an investment in their favorite content creators.

Substack calls what I'm launching a "newsletter" because, if you subscribe, my posts will be sent directly to your inbox. Whatever this is ~ newsletter, blog, podcast, community forum {or all the above}, it feels clean and refreshing. Simple, ad-free pages that are just about the writing and conversations.

Why regenerating leadership?

The regenerative farming movement has been making significant strides in healing the soil, restoring nutrients to our food, and capturing tremendous amounts of carbon through a holistic, ecosystem approach that works with the principles of nature.

These principles of interdependency, reciprocity and mutually beneficial impact are universally applicable. And it’s starting to catch on. The term “regenerative” has even been seeping into the business sphere as the focus begins to shift beyond sustainability.

The word “regenerative” is an adjective, meaning “tending to regenerate.” As in regenerate-ish, which leaves the door wide open for things like greenwashing and a flavor-of-the-month used to boost marketing campaigns. And, when used as a description, it seems to narrow the field ~ you’re either in the club or you aren’t.

I much prefer the action verb of regenerate-ing. There’s a kinetic energy to it ~ a movement, a pulse, an in-breath and out-breath, an aliveness. It’s happening and it’s a work in progress. It feels more expansive and more descriptive of the essence of the word itself ~ evolving, unfolding, transforming. In a continual process of creating and letting go, and creating some more as we move through this experience called life ~ fully living as we navigate the ebbs and flows of birth, life, death and rebirth.

I am regenerating ~ a work in progress, as are my creations and the ways I show up as a leader.

You are regenerating.

And together we are redefining and regenerating leadership ~ helping to shape the emerging world into a flourishing future beyond what we’ve ever known or dared to imagine.

How does Substack work?

There are three options: Free Subscribers, Paid Subscribers & Founding Members. Here’s a breakdown of each:

Free Subscribers

Free subscribers will get access to all my weekly blog posts and all the podcast conversations, which I’m planning to do at least monthly. Posts will be freely available for two weeks after they are published, then they go into the archives.

Paid Subscribers

For $6/month or $60/year, paid subscribers will receive added benefits, including the ability to post comments, engage in discussion threads, and access older posts in the archives. You will also receive a backstage pass to more messy, juicy bits like my Breakdown-to-Breakthrough journal excerpts. And you’ll be invited to monthly Hearthfire Call gatherings I’ll be hosting online for paid subscribers.

Founding Members

Founding members are those who most resonate with what I’m sharing here and who want to show an extra level of support. This is an opportunity to let me know you are excited, invested, and all in for this new exploration. For a contribution of $199 or more, you will receive full access to everything in the Regenerating Leadership space, my boundless appreciation, and a nifty little Founding Member icon next to your name every time you leave a comment.

Plus, for a limited time, I am offering a complimentary 60-minute private mentoring session with me {normally $333} for the early adopters.

Why would I choose to pay for something I’ve been getting for free?

It’s true. I have been publishing articles, writing blog posts, and hosting webinars & recurring online gatherings for several years ~ all for free. Here's a few reasons why I am now inviting paid subscribers {even though you are not required to choose that option to join me in this new adventure}:

1. It gives me the ability to create a smaller but more meaningful community of readers and listeners.

2. It gives special access to the people who are most resonant and invested, creating a safer space for us to speak freely without worrying about trolls and spam in the comment and discussion sections.

3. It gives me the option to write about sensitive topics behind a paywall that I don't really want out there for the entire internet.

4. There will be no distracting display ads from online networks.

5. It gives me the incentive to really put time into the things I wish to write about.

6. It provides more of a feedback loop ~ a way for me to feel the connection to you, to see how different ideas and styles land, and to get a sense of what is most important and valuable for you to see and hear.

Let me say a bit more about this last point. Lightning only strikes when the energy being discharged meets with a receptive field and bounces back. In other words, the unique genius that resides in each of us is looking for a place to land.

When I connect with people who are truly interested in what I have to say, what comes through me is far more powerful, clear and impactful than when I’m speaking to some nameless, faceless audience and have no idea who it’s reaching or how it’s landing. Because it’s a co-creation ~ what comes through me is being called for by the people tuning in across time and space, whether or not any of us is consciously aware of it.

I believe one of our roles as humans is to provide a reflection for each other, to hold up a mirror and say, “Let me show you what I see in you, how awesome you are, what an impact you make on me and my life, how much better the world is because you’re in it.” I used to tell myself I shouldn’t need this, but I now realize this is one of the brilliant things about our human design and the way we’re wired for connection and co-creation.

We do need to see ourselves reflected in the eyes of others. While an individual reflection is rarely a completely accurate portrayal, in seeing from many angles how the world perceives us, we get to more deeply come to know ourselves. We get to choose what to allow in at any given time and what to do with it. We can learn to really receive love and appreciation, to realize when reflections are being distorted by unresolved wounds in the one holding the mirror, and to witness who we’re being and becoming over time.

Okay, are you still with me? If you’ve made it to this point, then you are one of my people! One who is interested, engaged and {even though you have a lot going on in your world} able to focus for more than a quick montage of one-liners. One who I’d love to have subscribing to this newsletter and cultivating this new fertile soil with me.

My goal for this space is that it will grow and evolve as a community of diverse perspectives and unique genius, all coming together around a shared vision of bringing more well-being and thriving to the world ~ regenerating the ways we live and lead in the process.

Paid or unpaid, I am grateful and honored you’re here as we venture onward, together….

If you’re in, please share your excitement by clicking the Like, Comment or Share buttons below! Tell me and others why you’re here and what you are most excited about exploring together.