Emily Drake Emily Drake

Adventures in Finding Help

I am obsessed with two podcasts right now: Culture Study and The Dream (season three specifically). So, when a couple of weeks ago CS’s host Anne Helen Petersen interviewed The Dream’s host Jane Marie asking, “Is personal coaching a scam?” (50 minutes) our whole team made the time to listen.

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

What Works for You?

Friday Snow Day! E-learning for the kiddo using a hot spot; just like the "good ol' days."

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Christine Vrem-Ydstie Christine Vrem-Ydstie

“Just Talk To Her”: The Value of Courageous Communication

This is a story about the transformative power of communicating clearly and honestly, even when you’re scared sh*tless. Bear with me: there are some twists and turns, but I promise that this is 100% true account of a pivotal moment in the lives of a sensitive, dramatic tween and her luminously talented piano teacher.

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Trust

Trusting yourself is a prerequisite for giving and receiving trust from others. So, how do we cultivate self-trust?

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Christine Vrem-Ydstie Christine Vrem-Ydstie

“Who, Me??”: The Mentorship Conundrum

Becoming a mentor is the “I need to eat healthier” of the working world. We know it’s great for us–the evidence is everywhere! It’ll make us feel better, perform better, model great behavior, etc. So why does it feel aspirational at best, and “who am I kidding?” at worst?

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Emotional Fluency

Emotional fluency is the name of the game this month. Grab a thesaurus and get in your feels, folks!

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Christine Vrem-Ydstie Christine Vrem-Ydstie

We’re Messy

Now, life is dizzyingly complex and hard to follow, punctuated with brief moments of respite – an hour in front of the TV wishing you had the energy for something more meaningful (whatever that is). The kicker is how hard it is to break out of the “I just need to make it through this week” mentality. Sorry babe: it just doesn’t work that way any more. 

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Reassessing

I recently joined a Stepmoms Support Group, after moving in with my partner and his almost-nine-year old daughter last August and realizing, “Holy shit, there’s no roadmap for this!”

Or for anything. Maddening, right?

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Christine Vrem-Ydstie Christine Vrem-Ydstie

Reversing the Question

…However–this is where I’m going to start sounding like an infomercial, but stick with me–what if I told you that you can expend ALMOST NO EFFORT and still shift your mood from bad to glad. I’m serious. You can do this anywhere, anytime, and it takes two seconds or less. 

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Christine Vrem-Ydstie Christine Vrem-Ydstie

Teams

…As all of this has been happening, I (Christine, Head of Client Services; hi!) have found myself in a frustrating spot. I recently moved my family to a new state and that, not to mention life continuing at a breakneck speed, has put me in a seemingly permanent brain fog. I keep messing things up and missing things at work and I can’t seem to catch my breath. This has never happened to me before, certainly not for this long. It sucks.

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Slack

“I don’t think this is the best solution.” “I’m not sure what to do.” “I think we’re missing something important here.”

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Play

Play is that which we do without any goal or desired outcome. I would add it's also when we lose track of time, when we catch ourselves smiling, and when - as adults - we do something we may feel a little scared to try. Maybe it’s a brand new thing–like hitting a golf ball–and being a beginner is uncomfortable. Maybe it’s just beyond our ability–like drawing a picture that actually looks like something–and the fear of failing or looking foolish makes us hesitate. We might wonder: without an explicit goal, does that inherently mean we're pursuing . . . mediocrity? Perish the thought!

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

The Collective Academy Turns 8!

It's our eighth birthday! Since 2013 we've remained committed to facilitating discovery and shifting mindsets for leaders around the world. To celebrate, we asked leaders who have traveled on the journey with us "What is an insight that sticks with you from our time together?

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

Introducing Collective Conversations, Episode 1

Episode 1 of our new series Collective Conversations focuses on answering that question with our special guest Lisa Riccobono-Coates, SVP and Retail Area Manager for Huntington National Bank, who leads nearly 500 people in corporate and retail settings.

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

TCA 2020 Favorites

The leadership lessons we learned in 2020 are powerful - we have permission to be bold, and the antidote to uncertainty is self-certainty - but we also need to give our brains a break from rigor and get into play and joy. Plus curiosity is a foundational value of ours.

Enter the TCA Team’s 2020 Favorites.

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Emily Drake Emily Drake

We're Only Human Podcast

In this episode, Emily Drake and Tim Jahn discuss why Emily is a recovering perfectionist, how her family jumped in to support Emily when they saw how her job was negatively affecting her life, the inspiration her mom has been, and more.

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