I'm an idealistic, free spirit whose only ambition was to have as much fun as possible. No one would have guessed that I was destined to become a driven maniac on the work front. I took off on a 40-foot sailboat with five men when I was 22 for a couple of years after earning an undergraduate degree. At 38, I was promoted to VP and led eclectic portfolios, including business strategy, enterprise risk, marketing communications, brand, customer experience, and many others. 

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No matter what area I led, the issues were the same. Humans getting along with other humans. I became fascinated by leadership, power, ethical influence, trust, internal politics, accountability, the dynamics of teams, and employee engagement. I participated in fantastic leadership development and other learning opportunities. But outside the classroom, I still found many opportunities to get in my own way. My breakthroughs began happening when I began seeing how my overplayed strengths were flaws. 

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Self-awareness is the first step. But that's not enough. Managing ourselves - at work, at home, with friends and in our communities - is the hardest job we'll ever do. Many people externalize blame for their work issues, relationship problems and other challenges. It's hard to look in the mirror and take complete accountability for your life, your reactions, actions and even your inaction. It’s even harder when the other humans around you are behaving badly. Every single individual contributes to a wonderful team culture or detracts from it. It’s a choice that we make every day, consciously or not.