“Leadership is the activity of mobilizing people to face reality.”
Dean Williams, author Real Leadership
Writing memoir forces me to get honest with myself – to examine the stories that I have been telling and question “are these really true or are they convenient myths that serve to keep me from seeing what is true?” Ron Heifetz, author of Leadership without Easy Answers, calls this “interrogating reality.”
In my speaking and my consulting, I bring that focus to clients – with insight, compassion, and humor. Together, we tackle tough questions: What reality are you or your organization not facing? What is getting in the way of taking leadership in your work, your company, your own life?
These are the questions I have asked myself and my own organizations. The answers require a willingness to adapt.
Personally and professionally, adaptive challenges shape our daily lives. How we respond is up to us.
Identifying and leading through adaptive challenges is the base of my consulting practice and what I speak about in keynotes, trainings, and presentations. Speaking and consulting has taken me to Micronesia and Dubai, all points across Maine, and a few other U.S. destinations. My experience is nontraditional – having spanned across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors – and has included: internal organizational development consulting and executive coaching with Hannaford Brothers/ Delhaize America, a Fortune 500 company; external consultanting for nonprofit, public, and private organizations of all sizes; adjunct faculty for Boston College Graduate School of Social Work; and, founding executive director of a nationally recognized youth leadership organization serving gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth.
Clients say my diverse experience is a “very big plus”, yielding new perspectives and fresh ideas so they can respond to their own situations effectively.
A graduate of Smith College, I hold masters degrees from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (Public Administration) and the University of New England (Social Work).
And, if you want to know what I sound like, here’s the story of how how I stumbled into stand-up comedy, told at a Moth-like story telling event on February 10, 2012. My story begins at 50:12.
When Steroids and Fears Collide – A Live Storytelling
…and a radio interview I did in March 2010:
Surviving Ovarian Cancer with Humor
I can be reached via email: ckidman1@maine[dot]rr[dot]com
