Winter Poems for Reflection


Entitled was

The word

He said.


Came about as he demanded

Something from her she didn’t have.ã Jo Ann M. Radja

Entering the Speed Mentoring Room, you felt

The excitement of people.

How engaged the Mentees were as each one

Invited the Mentor to ask

Confidential questions for their benefit.

Sharing food for thought nuggets brought

Smiles to the Mentees.ã Jo Ann M. Radja

Have a great career week.


Valentine Week Thoughts


Originally published on 02-10-13……… Valentine Week Thoughts. . . After a lengthy meeting, we Listen to comments from our Team, Eager to put everything into perspective. Now another opportunity presented itself To try a different approach. It’s what we wanted. … Continue reading

Waiting for…?


One of the activities we engage in daily is Waiting. What do you do while you are waiting for…? What emotions rise to the surface? Most of us have experiences both positive and unpositive while we wait. What we do … Continue reading



Early this morning, I watched a TedxTalk by Dr. Brene Brown, who is a well- known researcher on the subject of Shame.   Dr. Brown’s talk included this comment:  Vulnerability is our most accurate measurement of change. After playing back this comment, I thought … Continue reading

FALL forward

Last week, I was waiting on the arrival of someone and took the opportunity to write a few anagrams.  Here’s one of the anagrams:

          Earn the

          Trust of someone who

          Has a burning desire to help you succeed.

          It takes patience and practice to

          Connect as a

          Servant leader…just go for it! © Jo Ann M. Radja

Servant Leadership has been followed by many companies for quite some time, yet it is not a mainstream management method in most companies.  Servant Leadership is a way of getting to know the people who work for you so that you can assist them in their success.   An outward example is a company that provides an on-site day-care facility.

Two months ago, I posted a blog  on mindfulness entitled,  “A Phone Call.”  Underlying the theme of mindfulness is servant leadership.  What it means is that when I serve you by more fully understanding you, your role, and its impact to the team, group or department, I serve myself as a leader.  I am not a successful leader unless the team succeeds.   Whatever may stand in the way of the team’s success is also standing in the way of the leader’s success.  This dependency cannot be understated.

Treating each other as a customer is another perspective of understanding servant leadership.  Why do you trust your team members?   Why do you trust your leader?  What can you do if the level of trust is poor?  How do you convey to others that they have damaged the trust relationship?    How would you want someone to speak to you about rebuilding trust in the workplace?

Trust, mindfulness and servant leadership in today’s workplace is sought by many people because most people want to be engaged in what they do.  You were hired to perform a service, whether to someone inside your company, or outside of your company.  As we approach the beginning of the Fall Season at the end of this week, whatever service you provide, let it be Who You Want to be Known As.  Enjoy your week as you FALL forward!


Communicating Choice

Recently, I was introduced to a quotation by Napoleon.  I am not sure whether his quote is still universal.  The quote is:  “Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich. ”    The world is populated by more critical thinking people due to either higher education or skilled life experiences.   In my view, the issue of Napoleon’s quote is not about religion per se.  It is about people wanting and needing  an understanding of life that their cultural myths did not fulfill.

What does this quotation have to do with Career Management Coaching?  Our cosmopolitan and open land communities now have more choices than  Napoleon’s community did.  Communication networks over the past 30 some years have so connected the communities of the world, that we love hearing what’s happening, almost instantly.  People of all ages share real and on-time information.

The question we face daily is how do we handle all of the information we learn, or hear?  How does it affect our lives and the people that we come in contact with?  What can we do to channel this on-going communication in the direction of our choices, whether in our business dealings, our home life or our spiritual life.

To choose is, to be responsible and accountable for our actions that follow our choice.  Many more people discuss and are familiar with the concepts of responsibility and accountability, from different perspectives, than during Napoleon”s time.  Today, spiritual guidance warmly assists us, as opposed to being the only source of our sense of fulfillment, as Napoleon believed, long ago.

There is no “magic” answer in our path of discovery of how we act.  We strive to be the best we can be in whatever we do, as we Choose Who We Want to Be Known As.  Enjoy your week!


I remember You when…

It may happen often — you hear the phrase, “I remember you when you were. . .”.  What are you doing now?  As you respond, there is a pause before hearing. . . “Really, how did that happen?”

Pre-conceived notions tend to stay with many of us for a while.  When someone has not kept in touch with our lives, they have not witnessed how we have grown as individuals, because we are life-long learners.  We certainly grow and change everyday, both physically and mentally.

How have you changed your viewpoints, attitudes, likes, dislikes from what they were ten years ago, five years ago, or even yesterday?  What made you happy?  What made you laugh?  What made you pause to think?  What was hard to do?  What came easy for you?     What positions have you held in recent years and how have you grown?  What have you learned that increased your knowledge of yourself and those around you?

We keep up with our lives and those close to us as best we can.  As you change from day-to-day this week, Choose Who You Want to Be Known As.  Enjoy your week.


Author: Ethics to You Too!™

EGO, EGO[er], EGO[est]










Change At Last…

I always find it refreshing to meet people who are truly happy who they are.  It’s contagious.  It feels good.  You want to stay in that moment.  How are you defined by your good mood at the office, outside of the office, at home or at weekend events?  How often are you defined by your current role in life first, and then by your mood?  How important is it for you to be remembered as being engaging, or someone who left a good impression because of your good mood?

Here’s a sample talk I developed of how you can explain yourself. You may find that by working through this talk, your mood level will rise and your confidence will show through to other people.

Say what you do:  [Your current role];

Say what they get:  [What value is received, whether to a potential employer, a customer, a client, a team member, a colleague, another volunteer, family member, or student]; and

Say what you give:  [what the take away is for the other person].

This is my talk:

Say what you do:  I coach leaders…

Say what they get:  for their self-driven outcomes…

Say what you give: and I provide empathy, trust and honesty.

As you begin the month of August this week, Choose Who You Want to be Known As when you are in a situation to change your mood to increase your good feeling and confidence.  Have a great week!


Author:  Ethics to You Too! ™ 07/30/2012

A Phone Call…

How many times have you made a phone call and discovered how you act in a given situation.  Pleasant and good news calls breeze by.  It’s the phone call that leaves you unsettled, releasing any number of emotions you hadn’t planned on.

Managing yourself is a learning process, whether during your childhood, while in school or in formal training at your place of employment.  The theory behind managing yourself can be described as mindfulness.

—– I am mindful when I listen to what is being said and reply about the issue and not the speaker personally.

—- I am mindful when I treat the other person with respect.

—- I am mindful when I pay attention to the emotions the other person is displaying and acknowledge to that person, what you heard.

……….Listen……….Mindful……….In Control

……….Listen……….Mindful……….How can I help YOU?

……….Listen……….Mindful……….Be Who You Want to be Known As!

Have a good and mindful 2nd week of July.


Author:  Ethics to You Too!™ http://www.smashwords/books/view/171791      07/09/12