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The Path To Leadership
We podcast about strong leaders, loyal employees, avoiding burnout, and raising profits building strong cultures. Everyone is a leader, but the path isn't always easy. Developing critical skills to build stronger, more successful and profitable organizations.
The Path To Leadership
Bloom Where You're Planted: Finding Focus in Busy Seasons
When May arrives with its blooming flowers and lengthening days, most of us face a paradox: excitement for new possibilities alongside the overwhelm of jam-packed calendars. This tension creates the perfect opportunity to revisit our approach to leadership, priorities, and self-care.
The concept of cultivation offers a powerful framework for navigating busy seasons. Just as a garden requires intentional decisions about what to plant and nurture, our lives demand thoughtful choices about where we direct our limited energy. This episode explores practical strategies for maintaining focus amid May's unique chaos—from graduation celebrations and school-year endings to work deadlines and vacation planning.
At the heart of sustainable leadership lies the courage to say no gracefully. When we clearly understand our priorities, we can align our commitments accordingly, using phrases like "I don't have the capacity right now" or "That sounds wonderful, but I cannot commit at this time." Every carefully considered "no" creates space for meaningful "yeses" that truly matter. Similarly, establishing anchor habits provides stability during turbulent times—whether it's a Friday afternoon planning routine, daily gratitude practice, or protected family dinner night.
The pressure to be everything to everyone peaks during May, but remember this essential truth: you cannot bloom if you're buried under burnout. By prioritizing self-care, creating intentional boundaries, and focusing on what truly matters, you'll navigate this season with greater clarity and purpose. Consider choosing one thing to decline and one nourishing habit to recommit to this month, balancing both pruning and cultivation for sustainable growth.
Rate the podcast five stars on your listening platform and share with anyone facing May's unique challenges. If you're seeking a speaker, workshop facilitator, or leadership development partner, visit my website to explore how we might work together during this season of growth and opportunity.
Follow Catalyst Development on LinkedIn @catalystdevelopment and @drkatieervin
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Theme music by Emma Jo https://emmajo.rocks/
Hi everyone and welcome back to the path to leadership. I'm excited for our recording today. It is going to be a solo show, it is just me, but it is the first podcast in May and it is such an exciting time. You know, the whole April showers bring May flowers. Well, hopefully, where you are, the flowers are blooming and the rain is winding down Still need some rain to keep things pretty and green, but also hopefully we're getting some days of sunniness.
Dr. Katie:I wanted to talk about that today because my word of the year is cultivate. I share it often with people, I share it on LinkedIn, I've talked about it in the podcast. It is my focus for the year. I have it everywhere. I have it sitting here on my desk, I have it as my backdrop, and so cultivate for me is really cultivating myself. So how am I taking time for myself? How am I making sure that I am healthy, emotionally, physically, psychologically, just all the way around? How am I taking care of myself, which then leads to cultivating relationships? How am I able to take meaningful time with my friends and family, making sure that I'm networking and connecting, which then leads me to cultivating my business, catalyst, development, and so how am I out there cultivating my business? How am I showing up as my authentic self in the business that I am? How am I doing the work I'm doing? And so I have really found that in the first quarter of the year, really doubling down and focusing on cultivating and what that really means. And for me, the other piece of this is being grateful and taking time to reflect and then making time for connections, and so when I think about how I'm setting up my schedule, when I'm thinking about the work I'm doing, I'm really making sure that I'm staying in line with this and it has really helped me keep my focus. And I've had so many conversations lately with clients, but also with friends and colleagues and even family Like we are getting pulled in so many different directions right now. How do we really focus? So we're going to really talk about that today.
Dr. Katie:We've made it to May and it's full of blooming opportunities but also really jam-packed calendars, and a common feeling right now is we're excited for things that are coming up. We also may feel a little overwhelmed, we may feel some burnout, we also may feel energized all at once, which is like I don't even know what to do with all of these feelings, but the reality of May is we do have a lot going on. We have schools winding down, whether you have kids in K through 12 or college, whether you're taking college courses or certificate courses, whatever it is that's wrapping up. We have a lot of sports seasons and theater and band and kids activities and so, whether it's our kids or nieces and nephews, or our amazing friends, kids who we adore and think of them as our own, we have all those seasons wrapping up. We have graduations, we have vacation planning. I'm tired just thinking about all of the things that come in May. But then, when we think about work, we have deadlines and we have second quarter goals. We're seeing increased travel because people are taking time off now that the weather is getting nice.
Dr. Katie:A lot of organizations, you know, in May and June, start shifting to summer calendars. I know some really cool organizations that say you know, we're going to free up Fridays, or maybe we just free up every other Fridays, and so that can, while that's a gift, that can also put some constraints on us when we think about how we are all coming together and meeting, and so, you know, when we think about the mental and emotional load that comes with this time. Not everyone loves the winter, not everyone loves the cold and the snow days, so many of us, including myself, look forward to the warmth. I look forward to the days where I'm not bundled up on the golf course, and it can be a lot, though. It's hard to be present when you're being pulled in 20 different directions. It's hard to be present when you're being pulled in 20 different directions. It's hard to get things done. It's hard to focus, and so we really need to, as we go into this month, really reclaim focus and priorities. Making sure that we are rooted into what we say is the most important.
Dr. Katie:And I do so much work with time management, and time management is so much more than just managing your calendar. It's making sure that we know what our priorities are and then claiming that as focus, saying our priorities take first dibs on our calendar. What does that look like? And for me, my first dibs are, you know, making sure that I'm taking time for myself, making sure I'm taking time for my family and my friends and scheduling dinners and coffees and lunches and activities and golf rounds and stuff like that, and then making sure, when I am scheduling my work week time, that I'm really cultivating my business, that I'm getting the proper time for prospecting and new client engagements, that I'm making sure I'm giving enough time to my really phenomenal retainer clients, that I love working with them so much I can tend to really make them a priority. But if I only focus on the business that I have and not the business that I need, then I'm not spending time cultivating new relationships, and so that's really important.
Dr. Katie:So, things that I do, ways that I reclaim focus and priority is first saying no gracefully. I know so many people share with me all the time they have a hard time saying no. I used to have a hard time saying no. I now tell people all the time. I'm really great at saying no. So please ask me if I don't have the capacity, because I wanna make sure, if I say yes, that I can do it in a way that sets us all up for success. I don't wanna say yes to something and then I can't do it fully and so making sure that we're setting ourselves up for success and sanity. I know so many people and I love them so much, but they are running from meeting to meeting to meeting to meeting and they have a family and they have friends and I just don't know how they do it.
Dr. Katie:And I know, early in my career or in my thirties, I was like it's okay, it's fine, I'm building my career, but what I was finding was I was not taking myself as a priority. I would go to work and I would work 14 hour days and then I would leave to go to a kid's event and then I would go back to work. Or I would go to work and I would work 14 hour days and then I would leave to go to a kid's event and then I would go back to work, or I would go home and then work and on the weekends I would work and it was. Thank goodness I have an amazing family, but it can put a strain on families and relationships and things like that. So, making sure that they were really doing it and then practicing ways to say no Again, I tell people you know I don't have the capacity to do it right now.
Dr. Katie:I think it is so lovely, I think it is so great. I just cannot commit to it. I think it's more frustrating for people I know it is for me when people say yes and then don't show up or don't put the full effort into it. So you know, finding ways to softly say no that make you feel comfortable um, or it's not the right time, I just don't have the capacity, whatever that looks like and making sure that you're aligning your yeses to your goals. I'm going to say that again. You know what your goals are, because we talked about what are your priorities. Making sure that your yeses align with that.
Dr. Katie:So if you're saying yes to things that don't align to your priorities and goals, are they? Should they be priorities and goals? They might be, and maybe you need to pivot and maybe you need to remove some other things, but if they're not, then say no, it's okay. There's been some really cool networking events in the past that I've gone to all the time and I love them. I love the people that run them, I love the people that are there. But what I find was, while it's fun, it's not aligning with bringing in business and cultivating my business, and so I've had to say no to some of those things because I needed to make sure that I was aligning with my priorities.
Dr. Katie:The other thing is reconnecting with your anchors, whether it's a morning routine maybe you go for walks at lunch, but it's an evening routine, whatever it is. If you do planning on Sunday, what works for you and so for me, my anchors is on Fridays. At the end of the day, I will meal plan for the following week and I will start putting out to the family like here's the meal plan for the week, here's the order at the grocery store. Put anything in there you need. I put it on my calendar, especially our meals, so I know like I put it on my calendar each day, so I know what we're doing. But just really taking that time to prepare for the next week allows my family to feel rooted. But it also allows us to not be like ordering DoorDash, which is expensive, or driving through someplace, which is not the healthiest of options a lot of times.
Dr. Katie:So, doing that, I will also look at my calendar for the next two to three weeks on Friday afternoons and say, okay, what are my priorities and focus for next week? What do I need to be doing? Is there anything that I need to shift or move or anything in particular I need to focus on? And so I don't do that on Monday morning because I want to jump in on Monday and go. Some people do this on Sunday. I want Sunday to be my day where I'm not doing any work. At the beginning of the year, I was spending a lot of time on Sunday, any work. At the beginning of the year, I was spending a lot of time on Sunday, but I've really kind of honed in and created these anchor habits which work for me.
Dr. Katie:And then doing a 10-minute daily check-in whatever works for you Is it a walk, is it just some meditation? Is it journaling? For me, at four o'clock every day, I have on my calendar gratitude reflection connection and it just reminds me to pause. And so when I'm on the golf course playing with my friends, or whether I'm in a meeting or whatever, when that pops up, it just reminds me to just take a breath. A lot of times and many of you have gotten this where, at that time, when it pops up, it's someone pops in my head and I'll send a quick text or note and just say, hey, I'm thinking about you. You came up in my mind and I just wanted to acknowledge that you're there. And so, whatever that check-in is, and then prioritizing your own personal energy, whether it be, you know, making sure we're getting enough sleep, that we're hydrating, that we're moving. You know those basic but essential things.
Dr. Katie:Taking care of ourselves I say this all the time I've talked about it on the podcast, that whole putting our oxygen mask on first. If we're not taking care of ourselves, then we can't take care of others. And I really found that in November and December of last year I was just not in a healthy and good space. All of it emotionally, physically, mentally, everything Everything was falling apart for me and it was because I had not made myself a priority. And it's not that I was needed to be selfish, but I needed to focus on me so I could focus on everyone else.
Dr. Katie:So so, really doing that, and then I do a three breath pause before I react or say yes. A lot of times my breaths are a little longer because I'm trying to allow my brain to catch up with my tongue, because this can happen Someone's telling me something and I get really excited and I think it's so cool and so neat and I want to say yes because I want to show up for them, I want them to be successful. But I have to allow my brain to process what I'm saying yes to and also for me to check my calendar. So instead of saying yes, yes, I'll be there for you being able to say let me think about this, let me check my calendar. One way or another I'll be cheering for you, but let me just double check with my calendar.
Dr. Katie:And the other thing I do on my calendar is I schedule time. On my calendar, I schedule time for the reflection, as I mentioned. I schedule time for desk work. I schedule time to prep my menu and meals for next week. I schedule time for me to drive to golf. I have golf locked out on Monday afternoons. I hate to miss my 4.30 golf with my girlfriends and so I'll schedule time. What's been really cool lately? And if you want to join me for coffee or an appetizer before I golf, I have time blocked off to drive to golf, so I'm not late. But I've had a lot of people lately say, hey, I'll meet you Monday afternoon at the golf course before you start your round, which has really been fun. But really making sure that you're managing your calendar to meet your priorities is really, really, really important.
Dr. Katie:So how do we cultivate in a time of chaos, both at work and at home? And there's a couple of things to do, and these work for me. They might not work exactly for you, but I encourage you to find ways that might work for you. What does this look like for you? And I hate the books that say you have to do this in order to do that. What I recommend is if it works for you, great, do it. Try it. If it doesn't work for you, tweak it for how it works, and if it doesn't work at all, don't do it. So here's some ways that you can cultivate in chaos.
Dr. Katie:The first thing is start each day with your top one to three priorities. I've talked about this on a previous podcast my good friend, corey Shear talked about, like what is your focus for the day? What is the thing that you have to get done? It's not optional, and when we start with those one to three priorities, it allows us to be able to say to other people I don't have the capacity for this meeting today, or I can't do it, or whatever. And so knowing our priorities at the beginning of each day really helps, too, if we start with a week. So I start Mondays with what are my priorities for the week, what are my big rocks If you do rocks, whatever that looks like, and then how can I drill down other things? And then blocking time off for deep focus, even if it's 30 minutes, blocking that time off that's not available for anyone to take. The other thing too is and I learned this many years ago I believe it was Mitch Case did this where he batched his networking meetings. So it's like I met this one spot on this day and back to back to back, and it also led to some really cool overlapping of meetings and people kind of coming in and out but really batching those meetings. So it's like, okay, I have this time for my meetings, I have this time for desk work and I do that. I block those off of my calendar. So really making sure that we're doing that and then using May as a checkpoint are you on track for quarter two? Are there any adjustments you need to make? I hate to say it, but at the end of the quarter two we're at mid-year and so are there any pivots? Are there any priority changes or anything that needs to shift? Now's the time to do it.
Dr. Katie:And then for home, family check-ins at the start of the week, we kind of do this quick kind of what does everyone have going on in the week. My kids are 21, 23. My daughter's out of the house. My son is one foot out of the house, working full-time his thing, so kind of just checking in. Is there anything big going on this week? Anything we need to do? I've talked about the meals, but simplify your meals and routines as much as possible, making sure that you're you're doing that for us, especially when the kids were younger and I really did this a lot in high school was keeping one quiet night each week, one night where we're all together, and so we did that on Sunday nights. It felt like a very safe night. We didn't have a lot of sports going on, we didn't schedule activities at night, and it allowed us to have Sunday dinner to sit around the table to really prepare for the week. See what was going on. We don't get to do that as much anymore because life but my husband and I do that usually one night a week. We have time together, and now we're doing couples golf league on Sunday nights, which is perfect, and so, while that's not necessarily a quiet night, it is a night for us to be together.
Dr. Katie:And then the other thing too is getting outside, having that sunshine and that movement, going for a quick walk. It really helps free our brain. It helps with the mental clarity and early in my career I'd poo-poo this, but it really does good. There's times especially I feel this, when the top comes off the Jeep, when the sun is shining bright on you, you just feel this like, okay, we've got this, we've got this. So just being real intentional on taking care of yourself and really protecting yourself from the chaos, really this mindset shift where it's okay to bloom slowly. We don't have to wake up on May 7th and have this full garden. We can slow roll into May, we can do things and even like I have a busy week this week so my week next week is not as busy. I've tried to give myself times where I can really do some priority and focus and so not everything has to be done right now. It's okay.
Dr. Katie:The pressure to be everything to everyone really peaks at this time and knowing that allows us to take that breath and to appreciate that Choose our own growth over perfection. Saying no does not come easy to everyone. Saying no is not always easy, especially when we have amazing graduation parties and recitals and band concerts and all kinds of greatness. Maybe we do want to do everything, and so maybe even scheduling ways that we can do pop-ins or stuff like that. But, most importantly, you can't bloom if you're buried under burnout. You can't thrive if you're not doing things to cultivate yourself. And so making sure that we're putting that oxygen mask on and taking care of ourselves, it's really a powerful thing. So this week, I want you to really reflect on your habits.
Dr. Katie:This season Is May always a super chaotic time for you, and if it is, what can you do just a little bit different? So pick one thing to say no to and pick one habit to recommit to. This month, what are you going to do? And I want to hear from you, I want to hear your May flowers. What are the wins? What's the growth? What's the beauty? What are you cultivating? What is happening that we should celebrate? Because the other beauty of May is it is a time of celebration. It is such a great time that we celebrate accomplishments. I know, just for me, there's been three engagements around me in the last month, which is so exciting. I know there's so many weddings that are coming up in this beautiful summer season and so there's so much to celebrate. We just want to make sure that we're there to do that.
Dr. Katie:So thank you so much for joining me on the path to leadership. I say this all the time this podcast is such a passion project for me. I love doing it and I am so thankful that you show up for me and that you listen and that you share, that, you comment, that you rate the podcast. It really helps when you rate the podcast five stars on whatever podcast platform you're listening. So I appreciate this. I appreciate those of you that subscribe so you get the download every Tuesday morning. If you don't, please subscribe. It also helps with the growth of the podcast and if you know somebody that is preparing for a crazy, crazy chaotic, may share the podcast with them. Hopefully there's some tips and tricks that they can pick up along the way.
Dr. Katie:Have a beautiful, beautiful week. Go celebrate those beautiful flowers. I will see many of you out and about. I've got a lot of speaking engagements in the next couple of weeks. If you're looking for a speaker, if you're looking for a workshop facilitator, if you're looking for just leadership development in general, please check out my website. This is such a fun time for my business and I love meeting so many of you and doing work with you and your organizations. Have a great day and I'll talk to you soon on Path to Leadership. Bye, everyone.
