Liz Trocchio Smith
Certified Executive Business Coach
and Trusted Advisor
Get “Monday Morning Coffee with Liz”
direct to your in-box every Monday Morning with tips on what it takes to be a great leader
It’s not a good idea to go into a tense conversation when you’re full of negative emotions. Before you get into the room, find a trusted colleague or friend who can listen to you complain. Say everything you feel about the situation — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Don’t hold back. It’s important to get this out so that you’re not suppressing your emotions, which could…
When you’re a leader facing decisions that have a major impact on people’s lives and livelihoods, it’s easy to feel fear and self-doubt and to start beating yourself up. But self-compassion will serve you much better, and if it doesn’t come naturally, it’s a skill you can practice. Try a brief mindfulness exercise — it could be as short as 20 seconds. Take three deep breaths. On the first breath,…
While the benefits of self-care are well known, some leaders still question whether it’s for them. You might feel like you don’t have the time, or think that you don’t need it, or maybe you consider the whole idea to be a bunch of nonsense. Well, it’s time to reconsider. Self-care is important, and it can look different for everyone. Set aside your resistance, and find a way to make…
We all have those days when it feels like life is kicking you in the teeth, but you still need to get things done. When you’re down, being productive can sometimes help with your mood and resilience. To push through, you could focus on a familiar activity — a task that’s satisfying but not taxing, something you’ve done so many times that muscle memory will kick in. Or you could…
Executive coaching can be a big boost to both your performance and job satisfaction. But before you start working with a coach, you need to ask yourself whether you’re ready to do the work. To truly reap the benefits of coaching you must be able to tolerate discomfort and be open to experimentation. You’ll need to proactively embrace new ways of behaving, even if these approaches don’t come naturally to…
It can feel like 24 hours isn’t enough time in the day, and all the productivity hacks in the world won’t change that. Here are four proven strategies to help you make the most of your limited time. First, batch your meetings. It’s hard to get into flow when you know you’re going to be interrupted every hour. By knocking out all your meetings at once, you’ll clear out some…
The Dallas Morning News published a great article on Sunday that I can’t resist sharing. Below is 21 ways you can shake off 2020 and start fresh. Commit to it. What can it hurt? Invest in some “you” moments when you wake up. Move. Do some jumping jacks. Make your bed. Channel positivity. Stop and smell the roses. Say hello to a stranger. Eat an apple a day. Donate blood….
Why is breaking a habit so difficult? It’s because habits are made up of three components: a trigger (for example, feeling stressed), a behavior (browsing the Internet), and a reward (feeling sated). Each time you reinforce the reward, you become more likely to repeat the behavior. The key to breaking this cycle is to become more aware of the “reward” reinforcing your behavior. First, figure out your triggers. If the…
It can be hard to focus with all that beeping and buzzing from your phone. Fortunately, there are simple ways to reduce distractions. Start by turning off push notifications. If that doesn’t help, use airplane mode to limit interruptions when you’re trying to focus. If the idea of being out of touch gives you anxiety, you can always make exceptions for specific numbers, such as those of loved ones or…
If you’re managing higher levels of stress these days, there’s a tool we all have immediate access to: breathing. It might sound simple, but when done properly, breathing can make the difference between panic and resilience. Research shows that different emotions are associated with different forms of breathing. For example, when you feel anxious or angry, your breathing becomes irregular, short, and fast. When you feel joy or relaxation, your…