A colleague recently shared a business podcast, the speaker was using a planting and harvesting metaphor.
Which got me thinking about the years I spent farming.
I was always a bit surprised when someone assumed that winter was the time to put our feet up by the fire.
Did they not consider how the spring and summer harvest was created, I wondered?
Winter was not dormant.
The land was.
But we were busy.
True that the work days were a bit shorter, the pace a bit slower. We weren’t cutting flowers late into the evening by summer’s light. Or packing orders into the wee hours of the morning.
But it was not a time of rest.
It was a time to plant and plan, to assess and invest.
Zoom meetings are the short term. A tool for the now. They might very well be here to stay, and have their place, but their uptick in use has been created by the immediate.
The question is: What seeds are you planting, with customers and team members (perhaps using Zoom as a tool), for the future?
What are you learning now that will better position you for later? What initiatives have you put off that you can play with on a small scale? I’m working with clients to create new products and offerings, roll out new experimental initiatives, use their smarts to get really creative about serving their clients and customers in different ways.
On the farm, winter was not merely a retreat until spring.
It was a time to sow.
Even if all the seeds didn’t turn into robust plants.
For more on working with me directly: sarah@sarah-levitt.com I work with CEOs and senior executives who are courageous, talented, successful, and want to make their mark.
Customized Engagement Opportunities:
New 90 Day Executive Coaching Program. Now is the time to be proactive. There are urgent fires caused by this disruption that demand your time and there are the strategic priorities that need your considered and considerable attention. I’m offering this 3 month program for those who need immediate guidance and support steering though these tumultuous times, professionally and personally. I’ll be providing best practices for leading through uncertainty and a confidential sounding board on your most critical strategic matters. For more information: sarah@sarah-levitt.com Limited slots.
New! Forge Rather Than Fold — Strategic Team Sessions
Are you building organizational resilience? Your team may be unfocused and your world upside down. And you likely don’t have a clear picture on how to move forward or where to focus your energies and attention. This strategic session is designed to get the best thinking in the room, bring everyone together to craft a plan with responsibilities and accountabilities — along with mile markers and check-ins — so you can be ready to respond and adjust as changing circumstances require. You want to be prepared and flexible. At the same time.
Have you distinguished between what is critical now and what can be rolled out over time? Have you created a clear action plan to retain your top talent and best clients so that you can hit the ground running? Have you explored opportunities to pivot to new markets, create new products? Do you have adequate contingency and preventive plans for seamless operation? Can you ramp up quickly?
We’ll convene you and your team for a 3 hour virtual strategic session and you’ll come out with a plan for these tumultuous times. Includes advance meeting to establish objectives, pre-work, and debrief.
For those who want a jump start on the future.
To reserve a calendar date for May or June: sarah@sarah-levitt.com
New! Remote Workshops for Your Virtual Conferences and Events:
All Hands on Deck: Leadership Courage During Crisis and Volatility
How to forge ahead rather than follow during difficult times
Magnificent Leadership® – Keys to Success
Transform Uncertainty, Transcend Circumstance, and Claim the Future: Applying the 8 key factors
Retreat or Reinvent – The Choice is Ours
How to quickly pivot, meet changing circumstances, and create a responsive strategy
Bringing the Outside In: Cultivating the Soil of Entrepreneurship in Your Organization
How to foster speed, grow innovation, and encourage hustle
Magnificent Leadership®: Building Self-Correcting Teams™
Forget high performance and instead build a team that can function without you
For your virtual marquis corporate events and association conferences, you can reach me at: sarah@sarah-levitt.com I’ve had the pleasure of presenting at signature events at: Oracle, BASF Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, Blue Cross Blue Shield, and The Association for Financial Professionals, among many others.
Announcing The Reinventing Real Coaching Program
In 2009, in the throes of the recession, I was out of my job.
And my home.
And my marriage.
All at the same time.
My husband and I were divorcing, I was exiting the greenhouse business that we’d built together, and I had no idea what I was going to do professionally.
Fast forward and I’ve built a thriving consulting practice working with talented senior leaders associated with some of the most recognizable global brands.
I had to create that.
From scratch.
If you are wondering what new career opportunities and paths might be waiting for you in this tumult, if you’re yearning for more meaningful and fulfilling work, if you’re trying to figure out which path might be the right one, if you want to use what has been dealt to you for the better, the Reinventing Real Coaching Program is about taking your destiny into your own hands, finding your path, and making your way. You might stay in your current profession but change roles. You might stay right where you are but change your perspective. Or you might take a leap and embark on a new path. This 6 month intensive coaching program includes individual, private sessions with me, the Magnificent Leadership® Career Map and Inventory for the assessment phase, a customized strategic plan for moving forward, and sustained support on exploration and execution.
This is the whole package.
No matter how disrupted and upside down things might be, the world will always need talented, brave, and resilient people like you.
To inquire, write to me: sarah@sarah-levitt.com Available in individual and group formats.
Magnificent Leadership® Ascension – Private Leadership Guidance
Your leadership matters more than ever. And you likely need a sounding board and an outside perspective more than ever. During this crisis and beyond, there will be leaders who not only ascend in their own trajectory but rise to this difficult occasion, who bear the tremendous weight and responsibility with grace and courage. Those leaders will steer themselves and their organizations into the future. And they are my clients.
MLA is for those leaders at, or approaching, their apex. It gives you access to the CEO and executive leadership tools that matter the most.
Ever wonder how some leaders allow themselves to be forged by crisis rather than folding to it? They’re composed under tremendous pressure, respected, and have the influence necessary to lead high-stakes initiatives. They’re at ease under the bright lights of visibility and responsibility and are communicative and compassionate. They find the right words and take the right actions during difficult situations. They’re confident talking to the front line or the Board and are comfortable in their own skin. They build teams that will follow them anywhere. They have remarkable success in their industries. And their ascension is often faster than their peers.
That’s not an accident.
MLA is my premiere executive offering for exceptional CEOs and senior leaders who are leading during these high stakes, never-before-navigated times.
- Concierge service with unrestricted, unlimited, direct access to me via text, phone, and email
- After-hours responsiveness to address time-sensitive matters of urgency
- Confidential and discreet sounding board
- Objective insight and best practices drawn from a broad range of clients and industries
- Customized half day strategic leadership session to create a personalized leadership development plan
- Magnificent Leadership® Inventory for leveraging your strengths and identifying gaps
- Priority access to my calendar
- Monthly deep dive, proactive strategic sessions
- Guaranteed invitation to my Magnificent Leadership® Virtual Executive Dinners program, where you can discuss issues of greatest significance with select peers in an informal, confidential setting
- 10% discount on any of my other offerings
Because you need a guide during these times, someone who provides an experienced, outside perspective at critical moments, someone whose sole objective is your success, someone who’s in your corner, and knows your aspirations.
Due to the highly customized and concierge nature of this signature offering, I’m only accepting 5 clients into the MLA program for the entire year. To discuss an invitation and schedule a mutually exploratory phone call: sarah@sarah-levitt.com
Are you elevating your leadership as your business grows?