Susan Inouye

Learning to receive is an important and overlooked quality of leadership for leaders who openly receive whether it's their people's words, ideas, praise or help, inspire individuals to bring their best self to the job. #SawubonaLeadership

Just knowing they can bring their full selves to work can motivate your employees. They'll feel valued for who they are. Inviting them to be that person at work will make them feel welcome and appreciated. That's a real morale builder. #SawubonaLeadership

YOUR MORNING RITUAL QUOTE: "Balance is a feeling derived from being whole and complete; it's a sense of harmony. It is essential to maintaining quality in life and work." — Joshua Osenga In my work developing Sawubona Leaders, I have found that learning to lead is a process of living, it is fluid. Some may start to build a sense of community as soon as they begin to recognize the gifts in others. The evolution of Sawubona Leadership is like music; different themes weave together, building one upon the other, with repetitions and echoes as the rhythms unfold. Committing to honor the gifts in yourself and others will bring a sense of harmony and wholeness—two joys of a Sawubona life. #SawubonaLeadership #balance

Most people think that #connection is exchanging words in person or otherwise. On the contrary, connection is how I feel when I’m with you; it is an empathetic bond with another, whether in person, on the phone, or through Skype. #SawubonaLeadership

Today is National Chocolate Day. As if we needed an excuse to indulge in a delicious piece of chocolate? Or, some chocolate cake, ice cream, pudding … a milkshake, hot cocoa, cookie, or brownie -- wow, that’s a lot of ways to enjoy chocolate! While chocolate, especially dark chocolate with its heart-healthy flavanols, is known to be good for us, dietitians recommend that we limit our consumption to roughly an ounce. Ouch! Someone, hide the rest of the box! So, for me, chocolate is a great lesson in balance. How do we balance our gifts and our blind spots? Do we notice when we’ve been thrown off balance and can we learn to re-center ourselves each time? What do we do when we’re triggered by someone at work? (Or, really want a piece of that chocolate cake we spied in the break room?) Learning balance can start by looking closely at how we are being -- looking inside at the full picture of who we are, including our repetitive patterns. When we’re as good at addressing our internal world as we are at addressing our external world, we build our personal capacity. By integrating who we are and what we do, we become balanced and whole.   For leaders, this helps us to guide others to do the same and helps them to live more vital, balanced, and fulfilled lives – with just the right amount of chocolate!   What’s your favorite chocolate indulgence? And, if you are successful at limiting your consumption, please share your technique. #ChocolateDay #SawubonaLeadership #leadershipdevelopment

Usually it’s much easier to redirect someone’s gifts than to quell behavior by proving them wrong. #SawubonaLeadership

Sawubona Leadership is not a safe haven or an escape from the storm. Instead it’s a means to move with challenges by tapping into the power of the humanity within yourself and others. What's challenging you right now? #challenge #SawubonaLeadership susaninouye.com/transformati…

AI CAN ACCELERATE ANSWERS. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPS THE PEOPLE WHO HELP YOU STAND BEHIND THEM. - Thrive Global - community.thriveglobal.com/a…

YOUR MORNING RITUAL QUOTE: "You can't do a good job if your job is all you do." —Katie Thurmes I've worked with many executives who wear "workaholic" like a badge of honor. They proudly talk about the long hours, the missed vacations, the late-night emails, and the constant hustle. But being passionate about your work is not the same as being addicted to it. Passion energizes you and allows you to be fully present with your family, your team, and yourself. While putting work above everything else keeps your mind tethered to the next task, the next problem, the next achievement. Chronic overwork often leads to diminished creativity, poorer decision-making, strained relationships, and burnout. Thankfully, the leaders who create the greatest impact aren't always the ones working the most hours. They're the ones who know how to manage their energy, establish boundaries, and create space for reflection. They understand that success is not measured by exhaustion. It's measured by sustainable performance, meaningful relationships, and the ability to thrive—not just survive. If your self-worth is tied exclusively to productivity, it may be time to ask a deeper question: Who are you when you're not working? #SawubonaLeadership #WorkLifeBalance  #wellbeing worklifebalance

Being present and grounded is vitally important to #leaders. We need strategies that can help us be present, that can help us come back to a calm, centered place. It’s not about staying on center; it’s about being able to return to center when we’re thrown off. #meditation #SawubonaLeadership

SAWUBONA LEADERSHIP CONVERSATIONS “… what's interesting is when you tell a person, look, you have this gift, but you're overusing it until it becomes your weakness. Just like when we overuse a muscle, it becomes weak. When we overuse a gift, our blind spot shows up.   So, I say to them, if you learn to turn that blind spot into strength, and a blind spot is not negative, it's a gift you don't have. If you learn to let go and go with the flow, then what happens is you have the capacity to do both, that when things don't go according to plan, you can head in another direction.   And it's not either or, it's an integration of both. This is also another definition for me of balance.   When we have our gift, which we're already developing, we turn our blind spot into strength, and we have the integration of both, that creates balance because we're seeing the world through a different lens.”   “So how does someone do that? Because it sounds great, but if you've got someone who is a planner, and you say it's great, that's a gift you have, but you also have to be comfortable letting go.   They're not naturally comfortable letting go. So how do you help someone become comfortable with something that's the opposite of who they believe they are?”   To hear more about gifts and how to help someone become comfortable with their blind spot, listen here:   mike-goldman.com/bltshow/how…   #SawubonaLeadership #leadershipdevelopment

Blind spots represent something we need to learn and are probably uncomfortable doing. However, when turned into strengths, blind spots can help us reach our highest potential. #SawubonaLeadership

Sometimes our tribe has been waiting for our gifts to emerge and happily ushers us in. But not always. Sometimes, our redefined self must find a different place where our gifts can be seen, developed, and used. #SawubonaLeadership

YOUR MORNING RITUAL QUOTE: “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” --Lao Tzu As a leader at any level, you have a choice. You can either keep heading in the same direction or stop and see where millennials are taking us in a changing world. For the past decade, I’ve seen a shift in leadership. Call it what you may, this perfect storm pushed by a new generation, relentless innovation, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution is taking us in new directions. Sawubona Leaders are the ones that millennials have been waiting for. And millennials are the ones that our world has been waiting for. Their way of being, their entitlement, their disruptions are creating the changes that can help bring our divided world together. Sawubona is the evolution of leadership that answers their call for a you-and-me world where each of us matters and all of us count. #SawubonaLeadership

To attract the most talented younger generations, leaders must redefine authority from what is given by title to what is authored by the ability to see the gifts in people & mentor their manifestations in the workplace. #millennials #SawubonaLeadership

MOMENTS OF GRATITUDE: My client Jeff Today I am grateful for my client, Jeff whose story is featured in my book, Leadership’s Perfect Storm: Jeff called me after a brainstorming session with his senior team. “Nothing was accomplished,” Jeff fumed, “because every time someone came up with an idea, George put it down.” George was known for shooting down creative ideas by using financial data to prove they wouldn’t work.   “George is brilliant at analyzing an idea from the financial perspective. He can break it down and assess whether it will work according to the numbers. He’s even good at figuring out how to tweak the proposal to make it viable. The problem comes when he presents his solution; he makes other people feel stupid, so they shut down.”   “So why is George at a creative brainstorming meeting?” I asked.   Jeff laughed. “That’s a good point,” he replied. “Because he’s part of the leadership team?”   “Does a brainstorming session provide the conditions for George to contribute where his gifts lie?”   “I guess I’m putting a square peg in a round hole,” Jeff observed.   We discussed alternatives.   “Maybe I can try meeting separately with George after the brainstorming session. I’ll share the team’s three best ideas; George can do the financials and tell me which ones we can make work.”   It was a success. George was elated; he didn’t have to attend meetings that he considered a waste of time. The rest of the leadership team was happy, too; ideas flowed and built one on another, uninterrupted by George’s negativity.   It was George’s bad behavior that challenged Jeff to try a new process that brought out the gifts of his team. As a result, innovative ideas that were financially solid spurred the growth of the firm.   As a Sawubona Leader, Jeff accepted George even with his flaws. Overcoming his frustration with George’s disruptive behavior, Jeff redirected his anger into a creative solution that converted a dysfunctional team into a flourishing one.   Read more about gifts and flaws and Sawubona Leadership in my book, Leadership’s Perfect Storm:   susaninouye.com/book   #SawubonaLeadership #managementstyle #leadershipdevelopment

Building new capabilities is essential for leaders. In an era of disruption and ambiguity, everyone needs to be open and adaptable. Greater capacity and flexibility will unlock your gifts and help you take on new challenges. #SawubonaLeadership

Information or even insight alone is not enough for lasting change. Only in embodying a new way of being by engaging in consistent practices do we form the habits that lead to a new competency. This applies not just to individuals but to organizations as well. #SawubonaLeadership

YOUR MORNING RITUAL QUOTE: "Balance is not something you find, it’s something you create." -- Jana Kingsford It is normal to be thinking constantly or be triggered by everyday situations so, we need strategies that can help us be present, that can help us come back to a calm, centered place. It’s not about staying on center but being able to return to center when we’re thrown off. It’s the coming back that is important. Noticing that you’ve been thrown off balance and building the capacity to re-center each time will make it easier for your mind and body to do so naturally. Why? Because, physically and mentally, the feeling of being centered becomes more comfortable than being off-centered. Being grounded and centered becomes our new home base, our new way of being. We start to crave it. Learning how to meditate or to use the simple practice of 're-centering' will help you to come back to a calm, centered place when you've been thrown off balance. #wellbeing #worklifebalance

A successful fight can leave you stronger and with a deeper understanding of yourself. And your gifts can be a great ally in that fight. #SawubonaLeadership