Sylvia's Journal

As if the week wasn’t already full enough between two trips, I registered for a two day workshop offered to MSH staff, Fierce Conversations. It was a remarkable distillation of psychology and practical tips and techniques for holding team, coaching, delegation and confrontation conversations, expertly packaged and turned into an industry. It shows what ‘productizing’ can do.  I marvel at how critical pieces of my 250 hour coaching training were condensed into a two hour session. Now that is focus!

Participating in an 8:30 to 5 workshop every day, when my alarms goes off at 4:30AM, makes for very long days. The early morning hours were for finishing tasks that were due by Friday and for taking care of other business before I head out for an entire month on Sunday. Even though I am in an 8 hour workshop, the rest of my work life doesn’t stop – this is the early morning shift, a variation on the late night shift when I am 12 hours ahead on the other side of the world.

Still the workshop was worth ervy minute, very handy, not just for me but also for my teaching others. I got some good ideas and enjoyed the hours I spent with colleagues, mostly younger, who I didn’t know that well.  They are so lucky to have this opportunity – I wished I had known about these techniques when I started out. I learned things the hard way, as most others of my generation.

On Friday I ticked off nearly everything on my deadline list and closed my computer to go on a shopping spree with Axel – we are having our annual spring ritual, an Easter egg hunt that has roots deep in my childhood past. We haven’t missed a year, since we restarted the ritual in the US, in 1985.  But this year we are making one big change: the cheap Easter candies that we usually put in the bags to be hunted for across our property are replaced with seed packets. After my sugar conversion I couldn’t get myself to buy these candies for others. Some sugar is still in the bag, but of a slightly higher grade: a couple of mini stroopwafels, ginger cookies and dark chocolate almonds; the bags need some weight to stay put.