Gloria & Kim: The Run On Sentence of Us

How did a psychologist-leadership coach join forces with a dramaturg- acting teacher to offer a women's writing retreat? It all started when Kim was my student writing her business plan at Women's Economic Ventures. We hit it off immediately! She wrote her business plan and launched her amazing studio. I took her writing and acting class as a way to challenge myself to be more creative. When we ran into each other a few momths later at a leadership retreat, we knew we had a butt kicking combination of gifts to share with the world. 

This run-on sentence guest post from Kim Maxwell will give you a glimpse into "The Story of Us." -gmm

Once upon a time… Okay -- more like actually, for reals… Okay -- more like “So, this is how it happened…”

More like an inspiring back and forth of teacher-becomes-the-student and student-becomes-the-teacher and lunches and coffee dates and shared birthdays and laughter and jokes and art and inspiring stories of our parents and mentors and those who came before and the college-two-step for our kids and my business launching and her business growing and the thriving businesses of our friends filling our lungs with air and light and inspiration and then more lunches and coffees and a serendipitous meeting at a weekend workshop where we say: what if we did this, what if we did that, what if we included naps and what if we and...

“OH-MY-GOD-WHAT-IF-WE...”

…and so we did and so here we are and it’s fun and focused and freeing and fun!

It is the very best of both of our worlds and ideas and words and exercises and love of food and coffee and need for vision and clarity and humor… …and naps. …and helpful checklists.

….and SUPER POWERS.

Join us for our next retreat!

Find Your Voice: A Women's Writing Retreat is a weekend of leadership, laughter and relentless self-care in Ojai, CA at the Kim Maxwell Studio. Free writes and time to unwind and reflect on who you really are and where you want to be as a leader.

More details and registration information at

http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07ecqri0iyba26a232&llr=j4c7ncdab

Sponsored by StrongerLeader.com, The Kim Maxwell Studio and Cosmotion.

Are Your Strengths Part of the Puzzle?

I love facilitating workshops and retreats, especially with teams who want to make the most of what they're doing by focusing on their strengths: those things they do best and love to do most.

A strengths retreat, like the one pictured at left, can be a breath of fresh air for an organization and an opportunity to bring out the best in everyone.

This retreat for a local real estate team brought together agents, brokers, marketing staff, interns and lenders to spend a morning learning a lot about themselves, each other and creating a strategy to apply their strengths to achieve their sales and marketing goals in the coming year. Each person took Gallup's StrengthsFinder 2.0 before the workshop and came ready to explore and apply their Top 5 strengths themes with their colleagues.

In the "Your Piece of the Puzzle" activity, each person decorated a blank puzzle piece to represent their strengths. The finished product, pictured above,captures each person's unique, creative style as well as the how they come together as a whole. I framed the puzzle, which now hangs in their office as a terrific reminder of the day and their contributions.

What are 2-3 strengths you bring to your team? List them below. Not sure? You can learn more about your strengths by downloading my free e-workbook (see the upper right hand side of the page) . If you're interested in finding out more about a strengths-based workshop or retreat for your team or organization, let me know!