Leadership
The Power of Being Alone (On Purpose)
I recently returned from my fourth annual solo trip. Four years ago, I began this tradition and now it’s something I really look forward to every year. Inevitably, in talking about this trip with friends and colleagues, I’m asked what it’s like to travel by myself and why I would choose to take a trip…
Read MoreThe Enneagram: A path to better results
This month, I’ve invited Anna Sparks, our Chief Operating Officer (and no relation!), to share some of her wisdom on the Enneagram. We use the Enneagram in combination with stage of adult development to help our clients get powerful results including enhanced self-awareness, an expanded view of complex situations, and more choice in how they…
Read MoreThe Art of Disorientation: Reflections from My Thai Adventure
Early June: Hey Jessica, remember you’re on deck for a newsletter about Thailand after your trip, ok? Me: Yep yep, on it. Travel ensues…time passes…. I need to write that newsletter. What about? I’ve written about past travels, how important I think it is, how it stretches us and invites us to grow. I even…
Read MoreReflecting on 10 Years of Impact: The Sparks Group Journey
June marks the 10-year anniversary of The Sparks Group. Wow! I am regularly asked how my entrepreneurial journey has been, and I often talk about my mindset at various points along the way to describe it. When I first started, I hoped someone would pay me to coach them so I could do the…
Read MoreTourist, Traveler, or Pilgrim?
In life, are you a tourist, a traveler, or a pilgrim? I love to travel, as many people do. When I learned Rick Steves was giving a talk in Charlotte, I had to go. Rick Steves is an American travel writer, tour guide, and tv host. His company helps 30,000 people a year travel to…
Read MoreStrategic Planning That Hits
I was recently asked to facilitate the strategic planning retreat for a long-term client of The Sparks Group. I thought I would share the story of this work to illustrate how both developmental and business objectives can be accomplished in an integrated fashion, making the investment of senior leader time and effort have a…
Read MoreTeamwork Ugh
Teamwork. Collaboration. It sounds so straightforward, doesn’t it? Time and again, however, leaders share with us just how challenging it is. Many models describe what effective teaming looks like, the lifecycle of teams, and the dysfunctions team experience (thanks Patrick Lencioni!) While there’s value in many of these ideas, in the individual coaching context getting…
Read MoreRomancing the Stone … or Not.
Often, when people think of Cartagena, Colombia, they think of either Romancing the Stone or the illegal drug trade. Far more pedestrian, Cartagena was the site of our second annual Sparks Group retreat a couple of weeks ago. Anna, our Chief Operating Officer, is married to a diplomat and their family is based in Bogota,…
Read MoreWhy I Became an Executive Coach
I’m often asked how and why I became a coach. Let’s go back to 2008. I had just moved to Charlotte for my new role running the succession planning program at Lowe’s Home Improvement. I got off to a good start but a few months after I started, the woman who hired me took a…
Read MoreMake Feedback Your Superpower
Years ago, at the beginning of my coaching career, I was working with a leader (let’s call her Allie) who was having a challenge with a direct report of hers (let’s call him George). As Allie described it, George wasn’t showing up to work on time and wasn’t letting anyone – including her – know…
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