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Hi reader

This newsletter is landing in your inboxes earlier than usual in the month, because I'm too excited to keep it under wraps any longer!

🏆🎁 Announcing the lucky winner! 🎁🏆

Last month, I offered you a sneak peek at an infographic I've been developing, and asked for your feedback. Thanks to everyone who made time to read it through and provided thoughtful and helpful feedback - I am grateful for your generosity!

Everyone who sent in feedback went into the draw to win a free 90-minute strengths coaching session with me. And the lucky winner is....

Sarah Davies, of Sweet Spot Business Coaching

I've already given Sarah the good news, and I'm excited about our upcoming session. We'll be using The Strengths Deck, a card game I developed to give people the opportunity to get "hands-on" with their strengths.
Logo: 'The Strengths Deck' in bold orange text, and 'Use your unique strengths to achieve your goals' in smaller blue text
I've been using the cards with individuals and teams during coaching and workshops, and it's been both fun and inspirational to see people really connecting with and taking ownership of their strengths. And I'm hearing so many wonderful stories about the positive difference that the strengths-based approach is making in people's lives and work!

If you'd like to know more, check out The Strengths Deck page, reply to this email, or book your free 30-minute discovery call to find out how you can get your strengths working for you.

Things I've been pondering

Being in locked-down Auckland, I've had plenty of time on my daily walks to ponder life, the universe, and everything, to borrow a phrase from Douglas Adams (I highly recommend The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy if you want to read a light-hearted yet seriously insightful series of books).

Here are some things I've been pondering:
  • There's been so much talk for so long about flexible working arrangements, but very little about the need for leaders to lead differently in this new world of work. That pondering has led to several of the articles you'll find in the section below, where I discuss the concept of strategically flexible leadership, which calls on leaders to lead each person in the here and now, the way they need to be led.
  • Focusing on what's not going right can not only make us feel down, it can be exactly the wrong way to go about solving problems. I'm also a firm believer in the concept of searching out and learning from bright spots, people and processes that outperform others, to help us fix our wicked problems.
  • Curiosity is a powerful way to navigate the changing world around us, as well as what's going on within us. We bring our curiosity to the table when we ask questions, look at things from fresh perspectives, and take a light-hearted approach to ideas, beliefs, and stories. Curiosity isn't just for kids - we will all benefit from a bit more playful inquisitiveness and open-mindedness in our lives and work.

reader, join me for a virtual coffee ☕

I enjoy getting to know people and learning about their life, work, and thoughts about the world. And I'd love to do that with you - so let's meet for a virtual coffee!

It's easy to set up a time with me - just click the button below, find a time that suits, and my booking system will lock it into our diaries.

I look forward to talking to you soon!
If you prefer to connect on social media, you can find me on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Recent articles

I regularly write posts and articles to give you tools, tips, and strategies to make the "human stuff" a bit easier. They range from ways to increase your self-awareness and self-compassion through to ideas about how to make work "work" better for everyone.
Check out some of my latest articles below, or head over to my blog to look through the back-catalogue.

How To Use Your Unrealised Strengths More Frequently

illustration of woman standing inside a chart showing increasing performance, which is what you'll see when you use your unrealised strengths more
As I wrote in a recent article, one of the best ways to boost your energy, engagement and achievement is use your unrealised strengths more often. That's because they are like hidden treasure - things you are already great at, and that light you up. But the reason they are "unrealised" is because you aren't using them frequently. (The other kind …

Read more

What Are Your Unrealised Strengths And Why Do They Matter So Much?

Blue metal tool
Imagine that you are facing a problem that is preventing you from moving forward, and you don't know how to solve. You try one thing after another. Something that has always worked for you in the past. Something that you've always been praised for. Something that everyone always assumes is the "right" way to solve a problem.Nothing is working. You're …

Read more

How Can We Deal With "Wicked Problems"?

A photo of a white jigsaw puzzle on a black background, with a piece missing
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about the concept of “wicked problems”. More and more, we’re facing complex and challenging issues as individuals, partners, parents, work teams and as a society. So what should we do when we’re faced with a problem that doesn’t have a simple solution? Unfortunately, it's not as simple as finding the missing piece and dropping …

Read more

Quote:

Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach


Tony Robbins

Did you enjoy reading this newsletter? If so, I'd love for you to share it with someone else who might like it. If not, I'd love to hear how you think it can be improved. Drop me a line at daria@dariawilliamson.com
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