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Leadership Attribute: Authenticity over Perfection

September 26, 2016 by Heidi Frye

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In an attempt to capitalize on a gorgeous end-of-summer day, I spent a recent afternoon on a Lake Michigan beach. Taking a break from my computer work, closing my eyes to breathe in the gorgeous sunshine and the (salt-free!) water, I felt something hit my leg…almost like a crumpled piece of paper. I looked up and there was a butterfly! Sitting on my leg!! I was stunned (seriously, when was the last time a butterfly came and sat on your leg??!). I inched my way up to grab my phone/camera a foot away, and took a few pics, amazed that it was still on my leg – this phenomena lasted for a full 5 minutes! After the shock of “there’s a butterfly on my leg!!!!” I noticed it had a torn wing, almost half the size of the “good wing”. Maybe that was the reason it was hanging around…maybe it couldn’t fly? But alas, with a bit less grace than a typical (perfect) butterfly, it flew away and was beautifully (authentically) still a butterfly…providing me with more joy than any other butterfly had.

Many leadership clients resist flying until they are “perfect”…not wanting to show their imperfections, not wanting to risk exposing their metaphorical torn wing. Not wanting to be vulnerable. Leadership requires courage and risk. Leadership gives leaders a great opportunity, and responsibility, to touch others with their greatness (and instilling joy!). That greatness requires a little vulnerability, courage, and risk. Ask best-selling author Brene Brown, who put “vulnerability” in her Leadership Manifesto! And, as stated by Anderson/Adams in Mastering Leadership, “There is no safe way to be great…Transformation requires courage…Authenticity is highly correlated to Leadership Effectiveness (.80), to Purposeful Visionary (.82), to Teamwork (.68) and to Business Performance (.50).” Yes, the research supports a business case for cultivating and leveraging authenticity. In The Truth About Leadership, Kouzes & Posner rank authenticity attributes like belief in self; credibility, values; trust; commitment; grittiness; and passion (they call it love – seeing the greatness in others) in their Top Ten.

What gets in the way is our ego. Measuring ourselves against a perceived yardstick. Fear. Fear of being “less than”. I’ll clue you in on something…the number of leaders who are afraid they’ll be “found out” is staggering. Your people aren’t expecting perfection. They are craving (and expecting) authenticity. They are craving your inner torn-winged butterfly, who is still fully, authentically a butterfly.

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Personality, Uncategorized Tagged With: Authenticity, Brene Brown, butterfly, commitment, credibility, grittiness, Lake Michigan, leadership, Leadership Manifesto, passion, perfection, The Truth About Leadership, trust, values, vulnerability

Recharging My Leadership Mojo at Lake Michigan!

December 11, 2015 by Heidi Frye

recharging leadership mojo at lake michigan

Where do you go to reconnect to the authentic leader within yourself? On a beautiful evening in October, I was driving out to a meeting scheduled along the West Michigan lakeshore, and found myself getting crazy-energized – I realized I was quite early and might have an opportunity to stop at the lake and “recharge” beforehand!! The intense energetic waters of Lake Michigan are always a great respite for me, no matter what the time of year, but super special and unexpected mid-October.

On top of knowing I was heading to one of my favorite places, I was happily wearing my favorite fall poncho (I can’t help it, this poncho makes me happy, what can I say?!), an old-favorite song on XM radio (Summer Breeze anyone?), and minimal traffic. I braced myself. I was moving up the scale from good to great, and fabulous was just 20 minutes away!

I deliberately make a practice of getting out to the beach every chance I can (or need) to ground myself. I find I’m a better leader when I do. I’m calmer, more patient. I make better decisions. I’m more creative. I think more strategically. I open up. I’m happier!! If I am not mindful about recharging my batteries/checking in with myself/grounding, I start to lose my leadership mojo…wouldn’t want that! 

It was a beautiful late afternoon/evening, everything was quiet – the vacationers had all left, the beach balls were put away, cottages were locked up, and all you could hear were the crashing waves (surely you’ve heard/seen the Pure Michigan commercials – it’s real!). Perfection. This is my happy-place. I had hit it…fabulous!! For the rest of the evening, I was my best self! I was excited, happy, engaged! People were wondering what was up? My mood was contagious (if we can bring a room down with bad energy, we can certainly lift a room up with fabulous energy!). I had the best conversation with a friend. A positive and productive interaction with a client. The meeting was super-charged – great ideas, great conversation, mutual respect, great energy. All good.

Do yourself, and your co-workers, a huge favor, and get super-charged! Reconnect with the authentic leader within.

p.s. I had a really tough time falling asleep afterward. I was so happy and excited and wired. The best benefit was my super-charged creativity!!!  I couldn’t fall asleep because I was coming up with ideas for new projects, solutions to old problems, fine-tuning my mental to-do list, and even a limerick that made me laugh!  Whew!! Where do you go to recharge, reconnect, and find the authentic leader within?

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Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Motivation, Uncategorized Tagged With: authentic leader, creativity, decision making; authenticity, engagement, Lake Michigan, leader, leadership, Pure Michigan, strategic thinking, West Michigan

Lakeshore Leadership Lessons: The Ripple Effect

November 6, 2015 by Heidi Frye

Sunset 11-4

Are you kidding?! It is November 4th in Michigan – what does that bring to mind? Blankets of leaves, Halloween-sugar-overdose, jackets, maybe even hats, and the prepping of snowblowers. Well, not today! It is 73 degrees in Michigan and the sun is shining –  it is glorious! [Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Motivation, Uncategorized Tagged With: authentic leader, authentic self, disengagement, employee disengagement; Michigan, Lake Michigan, potential, ripple effect, seize the day

Leadership Lessons While Exploring Sleeping Bear Dunes

September 15, 2015 by Heidi Frye

sleeping-bear-dunes

Right around the time Sleeping Bear Dunes was named by Good Morning America as “The Most Beautiful Place in America”, my best friend and I took our kids there for a fun day-trip while in Northern Michigan.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Leadership, Life, Motivation Tagged With: comfort zone, goals, Good Morning America, Lake Michigan, leadership, lessons, life, Michigan, perseverance, quitting, Sleeping Bear Dunes, strength, tenacity

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Suzette Jaskie

“What a great asset Heidi has been to our team…Heidi in essence became part of our team and was able to assist key leaders in advancing their leadership approach and in turn – able to produce better results for the… Read more “Suzette Jaskie”

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President and CEO of MedAxiom Consulting (Former CEO at West Michigan Heart)
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Julie L. Novak

“I started working with Heidi about 18 months into my tenure as CEO, and …I soon realized it was essential to my growth as a leader. In the early days, she put a variety of concepts and tools in my… Read more “Julie L. Novak”

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Chief Executive Officer, Michigan State Medical Society
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Juli B.

“Working with Heidi was one of the most rewarding experiences in my career.  I am a better leader, co-worker and person…She has been one of the most influential people in my life.  I would recommend her expertise to anyone inspired to invest in advancing their career… Read more “Juli B.”

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Spectrum Health Physician

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“I have worked with many executive search firms across the USA and Canada. Upwords Inc. has proven to be among the best, coming through where others have failed to meet our needs…Heidi Frye has demonstrated her ability to understand our… Read more “Larry Gibbons”

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VP HR, Kinectrics Inc.
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Lori Stokes

“I have reached out to Heidi during the many phases of my management career for leadership coaching.  Her advice and wisdom has helped me identify ways to grow professionally as a individual and leader.  She is  honest, professional, and highly… Read more “Lori Stokes”

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Materials Manager
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“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for the service that you have provided Stiles Machinery for the last 15 years. Your contributions…have been immeasurable…Personally, I feel privileged to have had access to your advice and counsel. We… Read more “Stephan W. Waltman”

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Melvin Gottschalk, Jr.

“Pat Riley said ‘Great effort springs naturally from great attitude.’ Heidi Frye’s executive coaching enlightened me to the truth behind these words…I would not be where I am today without Heidi and highly recommend her leadership coaching to anyone focused on… Read more “Melvin Gottschalk, Jr.”

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Linda M. Peasley, Ph.D. & Sally A. Camper

“The Department of Human Genetics would like to thank you for presenting the ‘Dealing with Conflicts’ workshop last weekend at our annual retreat…Our graduate students certainly appreciated the various exercises and, most of all, the role playing…The interactions with faculty,… Read more “Linda M. Peasley, Ph.D. & Sally A. Camper”

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Department Administrator Prof. and Chair,The University of Michigan Medical School, Department of Human Genetics
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David Purpura

“I wanted to share this and tell you how much you have helped me in my career in so many ways.  Your knowledge of the industry and mentoring is among the best and I hope that we remain professional contacts!!!!!! … Read more “David Purpura”

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Director of U.S. Business Development
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Matt Schad

“…Nucraft has worked with Heidi to create internal peer groups to improve our internal communications and teamwork skills…Heidi facilitates these groups and the feedback has been uniformly positive from the participants…Heidi and UPwords Inc. have become a trusted Nucraft advisor.”

Matt Schad
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Director of Marketing, Meijer
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