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<!--Generated by Squarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/) on Thu, 28 Aug 2008 06:10:48 GMT--><rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" version="2.0"><channel><title>Touchstone Articles</title><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/</link><description></description><copyright></copyright><language>en-US</language><generator>Squarespace Site Server v5.0.0 (http://www.squarespace.com/)</generator><item><title>"What's Love Got To Do With It?"</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Sat, 01 Apr 2006 16:25:56 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/whats-love-got-to-do-with-it.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909255</guid><description><![CDATA[Are love and leadership good bedmates?

To answer that question, I'd like to take you on an exploration from a conversation I had with a client. These notes were captured by a listener on the call. The names have been changed because the situation is universal.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909255.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Transcending Midlife Crisis: Is this all there is?</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2006 16:29:47 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/transcending-midlife-crisis-is-this-all-there-is.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909261</guid><description><![CDATA[A looming and recurring concern I hear from clients is, "What now?" What do I do with the 2nd half of my life?".]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909261.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Developing Mastery in Leadership: Creating the Future You Want</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Mar 2006 15:00:01 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/developing-mastery-in-leadership-creating-the-future-you-want.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909160</guid><description><![CDATA[Reflecting on what some of my clients are facing, I am both moved by the nature of the circumstances and struck by the universality of concerns.

The founder of a small business learned that her business partner was maneuvering to take over the company and turn the staff against her. Through the help of excellent coaching and a lot of courage, she decided to stay and take decisive action, but without denigrating the other person. To her credit, she is looking at what she did and didn't do that contributed to the dynamics at play.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909160.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Speaking Your Authentic Voice With Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Feb 2006 16:35:18 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/speaking-your-authentic-voice-with-anyone-anytime-anywhere.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909270</guid><description><![CDATA[What does it mean to speak your authentic voice in any situation?

Here's my definition - it's the ability to recognize and name your real concerns and needs underneath the presenting issues of any situation, while also listening in partnership to hear another's real concerns and needs, in order to find genuine solutions that will work for each person.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909270.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Overwhelm: Avoid Being Sucked Into A Whirlpool Of Commitments!</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 01 Jan 2006 16:38:33 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/overwhelm-avoid-being-sucked-into-a-whirlpool-of-commitments.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909273</guid><description><![CDATA[Life is full of pressing responsibilities. Often our focus in living becomes how to satisfy, satisfy, satisfy the many commitments that we have made (to ourselves and others) in the name of achievement.

We get caught up in tasks and drift from the clarity of living passionately centered in what truly matters. Would we be so prone to over-committing ourselves if we were firmly rooted in the core of a purpose-driven life?

When I get caught up in the completion of my self-important checklist of commitments, demanding that I have what I want when I want it, I often forget to care how it fits with my higher purpose, with others' commitments, and with the conditions of my life.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909273.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>PREDICAMENTS: CREATING MAGIC OUT OF MADNESS</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 01 Dec 2005 16:40:35 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/predicaments-creating-magic-out-of-madness.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909275</guid><description><![CDATA[Jan Smith discusses how, during this high activity time of year, it’s important to avoid quick fixes to life’s dilemmas.

Life is full of predicaments -- like the one I faced this week. I have pressing business matters to handle before year-end, yet I also really need time with my sweetheart, time for shopping, and time for my own year-end reflection work. How does one fit it all in?]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909275.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Metaphors: The Key to Unlocking Life</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 01 Jul 2005 15:43:05 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/metaphors-the-key-to-unlocking-life.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909283</guid><description><![CDATA[Human beings have a love affair with certainty. Even when our patterns in life are unproductive, we often go to a great deal of trouble to protect them. Like a dog chasing its tail, we take the same actions over and over, even when they no longer serve us.

One way to unlock the present from the past is to discover your unconscious metaphors that are shaping your thoughts, perceptions and actions.

Once you understand the metaphors of your past, then you can invent new metaphors, creating a new reality, consciously.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909283.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Conversation Crossroads</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 01 Nov 2004 16:54:41 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/conversation-crossroads.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909288</guid><description><![CDATA[But of course we strive for perfection in the relationships and situations that matter most.

We avoid difficult conversations we dread – conversations that may influence our future in negative ways that are unacceptable to us. Because no matter how confident or competent we are as leaders, we think these conversations won’t always go as well as we like, no matter how hard we work at them or how gifted we are at getting along with others.

I used to wait until I had a difficult conversation “right” in my head before I actually had it. I wanted to be sure my approach was a real “scenario survivor” before I tried it out on another person.]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909288.xml</wfw:commentRss></item><item><title>Seeing Beyond Filters</title><dc:creator>Jan Smith</dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 01 Apr 2004 16:48:06 +0000</pubDate><link>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/2007/2/11/seeing-beyond-filters.html</link><guid isPermaLink="false">117897:1115920:909286</guid><description><![CDATA[How things look to us depends upon how we look at them.

Unconsciously, we filter our experience through lenses we develop as young children. Do these lenses help us focus in ways that open us to larger perspectives and higher purposes? Or do they cloud our vision by coloring it with doubt and suspicion?]]></description><wfw:commentRss>http://www.authenticleadership.com/touchstone-articles/rss-comments-entry-909286.xml</wfw:commentRss></item></channel></rss>