There's so much to do to prepare for the holidays!

Each layer deserves (maybe even demands) your attention - the travel plans, the gifting, the food. And then there's the relational connections - the upcoming conversations, the desire to make good memories together and not to have rubs or jabs or controversy. 

This most wonderful time of the year can easily become not-so-wonderful...

So, what's a person to do? What would it give you to feel like you had a handle on this season and it wasn't just happening to you?

Here's some tips to move toward experiencing peace on earth and joy to the world!

1) Identify your angst.

• is it that you just need to take time to get organized? (*scroll down a bit for a plan) 
• are you feeling the pressure of guilt or obligation?
• is materialism clouding your view?

2) Take it to Jesus

Oh, how He wants to meet you in this season. In every season really. He wants to clarify what is unclear. He wants to bring peace where there is...

Who's on your gift list? Maybe we can help you with a meaningful gift that could shift someone's life, helping them find traction on their faith journey!

Got any recent retirees or upcoming graduates? We recommend Destiny by Design. We've seen all sorts of people make significant life course choices once they understood more about their divine design. Use the code: MEANINGFUL for $100 off any of the offerings. Check out the webpage for more information. (This course has also been helpful for those considering a career shift and empty next moms wondering what is next.)

Got any singles on your list? Recently released Playing with Matches is a guidebook of sorts for Christian dating principles. It is chock full of real stories and includes practical and authentic advice for how to navigate an ever-changing world with age-old faith-based principles. Might be the best $15 you spend this season.

Love to give someone the gift of coaching. Here's the best bang for your...

We're on the home stretch now! The final letter in Working Genius is T for Tenacity! 

Working Genius says this about it. "The natural gift of pushing projects or tasks to completion to achieve results."

This is one of my geniuses and I have a love/hate relationship with the concept. I mean I don't go out of my way to notice things not getting completed, I just can't help but see them and have a strong desire to see things through.

Most often this is a gift and a value add, but sometimes it isn't perceived that way or received well, or it is just too much.

Once I was called a "pusher" by a well-meaning colleague, and it stung a little. I mean I wouldn't have to push if things were being completed right? ... just saying...

Working Genius has helped me so much! Having Tenacity as a genius can be used for good as a means of follow through making sure things don't get dropped, but it can also be a handful. It's truly hard for me to just let things go without express...

Letter 4 in our Working Genius journey is G. 

In case you missed the first three they were W - Wonder, I - Invention, D - Discernment, and now we have G for Galvanizing.

Patrick Lencioni defines it as, "The natural gift of rallying, inspiring and organizing others to take action." Honestly, without good galvanizing, a project will most likely tank. 

Galvanizing is one of my frustrations. I really stink at it actually. It feels "un-coachy" like I would be telling people what to do. 

It's not like that at all though. 

Lencioni says every job is a 6 letter job. And every coaching session is a 6 letter journey!

Galvanizers are like fuel. They come in right on cue. First, an idea is posed. "What if...? Then, comes "How about...?" where the plan options are considered. Discernment is when the choice is made. It says, "What do you think?" and then finally we get some movement with, "Okay, let's do this!"

Galvanizing makes the difference between lagging energy and...

"Can I do that for you?" or "I can make that happen!" These are phrases someone with an E as a Working Genius type frequently say and words I LOVE to hear!

The fifth type of Working Genius is Enablement. The Table Group folks like to mention that this is the good kind of enabling, not the bad kind. The word "enable" may have a bad reputation, but the concept is beautiful!

Enabling takes that project we have dreamed about, thought through, discerned to be ready to go, and rallied around on to the invaluable step of actually doing something! Enabling is the ultimate action step. It launches the concept into reality!

If your Working Genius letters don't include an E, you may struggle with "boots on the ground" forward movement or repeated tasks. This may mean you make lists but don't get to them, or you have competing priorities, and the actual doing part gets pushed down. 

Enablement is a frustration for me. (I have a strong T genius, but that is different, more...

Discernment is noteworthy for several reasons.

1. It's the third letter/step in the Working Genius process. (Wonder and Invention are the first two.)
2. Discernment may be the most neglected part of the process while at the same time the most important.
3. Discernment is likely the most difficult genius to describe and also to trust.

Let me explain.

The official Working Genius definition of Discernment is "The natural gift of intuitively and instinctively evaluating ideas and situations."

It's a gut thing. And personally, that is hard for me. I'm a facts person. I value logic and reason, so when someone with the genius of discernment just isn't "feeling it", I have a hard time accepting that. 

And yet - I have paid many a steep price for skipping this step. 

I'd like to think I have this genius, but the truth is I just want to move things along. I tend to go straight from invention to implementation and skip D and G altogether. (More on G next time.)

Once I start...

Next in the Working Genius series lineup is Invention. 

First, we had Wonder - in a nutshell - that is where the ideas start. Then we move to stage 2 of our 6-letter series. 

Patrick Lencioni defines the Genius of Invention as "The natural gift of creating original and novel ideas and solutions." Remember a genius is something you just love to do - you were born for it. You enjoy it so much that you lose track of time when you get to do it. 

Invention is like that for me!

I LOVE to ideate, especially when it has something to do with organizing and projecting. Structure development is way fun for me. I'm happy to build multiple scenario possibilities so the best ideas can be chosen.

I know it's a little geeky, maybe even more than a little, but understanding this genius has changed my work life in a few significant ways.

1) I volunteer to organize stuff now. I used to think everyone loved structure and I was "stealing" the fun jobs if I worked on...

Wonder is the first in the lineup for Working Genius. 

Wonder is the start of .... well....everything. Nothing new starts without this essential first step.

People with the Working Genius of Wonder have a natural tendency to think of new versions of what is or completely new ideas of what could be. In short, they have a propensity to see what might be out there. 

I like to think of wonder thoughts as seeds. Planters often have a lot more seeds than actually take root, but without seeds, there can be no plants.

If you have a client who has this genius they will easily dream about possibilities and depending on their second genius they may, or may not, need direction in choosing which dreams to pursue.

Clients who have Wonder as a frustration (one of their two lowest-scoring geniuses) will likely have difficulty, or be frustrated coming up with dreams or potential long-term goals. I see this all the time with faithful people who are truly put out by thoughts for their...

I've been following Patrick Lencioni for years so when he came out with the Working Genius assessment in 2020 and said it was his "magnum opus", I paid attention. (If you don't know of him he literally wrote the book - actually a series of books - on business leadership and teamwork. His books have changed my life and the lives of many!

His newest work, Working Genius, is an assessment tool that helps people identify their God-given design. As people learn what makes them tick they can find their best placement on any team. A wise leader has people placed where they fit best and do what they love. 

Working Genius actually breaks down the process of any project into 6 categories. Lencioni says, "Every job is a 6 letter job." And then the premise of Working Genius is that each person has two letters that are their "genius", defined as something they love to do and do easily and without effort. Then there are two letters that are competences, you can do them,...

Rehashing is actually a thing. The definition of rehash is "to discuss again without significant change".

We do it all the time. We talk about how something is really hard and we can't really do anything about it. We justify being stuck and excuse ourselves from finding a way to move forward.

It feels legit when we do it, but it can feel annoying when someone else does it. 

You know. you have this friend, client, co-worker, or family member, and they just keep circling around the same topic. The conversation is almost verbatim. You ask how things are going, and they tell you the same thing they said last time.

"What's new?", you say.

"Not much," they reply. And they tell you about their situation again...

If I'm honest though, I do the same thing! I get in a rut in my thinking and feel like I have explored all the angles and there is just no way out. 

It's sad really. There is no hope when our perspective is like that. 

It feels like the situation is truly...