tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71269621557712675772024-02-08T12:30:35.030-06:00The Ethical LeaderThe Ethical Leader is a blog about the challenges and joys in finding our right place in life and authentically contributing to our community, our workplace, our family.Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-4350818791221718792011-05-25T20:58:00.000-05:002011-05-25T20:58:55.181-05:00Learning before LeadingThese last few months have been amazing and busy for me. In February I started a new job. Finally that perfect place in community development I'd been searching and preparing for for so long. But with anything new comes the inevitable feelings of stepping outside some boundaries. A new office, new coworkers, a new routine. Exciting and scary all at the same time.
So, the question I've been Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-54248226322572089352011-03-29T21:12:00.000-05:002011-03-29T21:12:07.528-05:00The Universe in a Grain of SandI LOVE Cirque du Soleil!! Their touring production "Ovo!" has been here in Houston recently and, of course, I couldn't miss it. Ovo is Portuguese for "egg". All the players are different kinds of insects: a fly, ladybug, grasshoppers, ant, spiders, beetles and so on. It's exuberant, colorful and completely fantastic! And a creative leadership lesson is contained within as well.
While Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-73772456366401460732011-03-12T14:59:00.000-06:002011-03-12T14:59:19.572-06:00When You Give You LeadI recently heard the phrase "when you give you lead" and it resonated with me so deeply I've not been able to get it out of my head for weeks. The phrase was spoken by Publisher of the Houston Defender Sonceria "Sonny" Messiah-Jiles, a trailblazer in the business of African-American newspapers. She has certainly been an example of leading by giving and I've been thinking about how to put that Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-72324402211857652492011-02-13T15:30:00.000-06:002011-02-13T15:30:18.602-06:00Leadership L.O.V.E.Happy (almost) Valentine's Day! I'm not usually a big fan of "Hallmark Holidays" and Valentine's Day has become one of the biggest, in my opinion. I love flowers, chocolate and jewelery as much as any female but find it disheartening that our husbands and lovers feel pressured to make a gesture of affection simply because of an arbitrary date on the calendar. Give me one spontaneous bouquet or a Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-80990592795525656412010-12-29T15:22:00.000-06:002010-12-29T15:22:15.628-06:003 Big Words for 2011The year is quietly winding down. When you can compartmentalize the holiday celebrations a bit and set aside some time for contemplation a lot can open up and reveal itself. I've had the gift of some days spent working and thinking, often with my hands around a cup of hot tea. The ending of one year and the beginning of another is always a good time for some introspection.
2010 was a year of Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-54382993023461662302010-12-05T16:35:00.000-06:002010-12-05T16:35:25.749-06:00How to "Follow Your Bliss" in a Thousand Really Hard StepsA big part of effective leadership is feeling like you belong where you lead. Sometimes things in our lives change and we no longer feel like we quite fit in to a career, a community or a lifestyle anymore. Usually this happens when we've grown in some way and our outer circumstances are no longer reflecting how we see ourselves on the inside. This has recently been the case for me. After severalJill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-6772743711028138762010-11-12T15:53:00.000-06:002010-11-12T15:53:24.816-06:00Do you REALLY talk the talk?As we grow into our leadership roles we often learn, mostly from the school of hard knocks, that what we say and how we say it are both important. How often can bad execution, poor teamwork and missed opportunities be traced back to poor or imprecise use of language? Probably more than we'd like to admit.
No doubt leadership is a combination of "talking the talk" and "walking the walk" and one Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-91483425579456716872010-10-29T11:57:00.000-05:002010-10-29T11:57:09.162-05:00Re-Source-FulI've always felt that one of my strengths as a leader was my resourcefulness. Back in my (pre-internet) college days it wasn't uncommon for my friends to stop by my room and ask "what do you know about X?" or "who should I talk to about Y?". I never pretended that I had all the answers but I would offer any insight I had and try to get my friend at least one step closer to the answer they were Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-73715608057128853152010-10-24T12:56:00.000-05:002010-10-24T12:56:58.862-05:00Gratitude 30/60"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."Melody Beattie, author
Tomorrow is October 25th. One month before Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-17855602070698762202010-10-07T17:00:00.000-05:002010-10-07T17:00:45.327-05:00Do You Finish Strong?TGIF!! What do those letters mean to you? Thank God It's Friday? Thank God It's Finished? I remember clearly in my college days looking forward to classes being over for the week and getting started on weekend plans as early in the day on Friday as possible. Even now, as an adult, it's easy to think about walking away from some of the workday responsibilities and leave them for another day.
Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-57530276123890384242010-09-24T14:04:00.000-05:002010-09-24T14:04:00.124-05:00Who I Am Voting ForElection day is just a little over a month away. If you have a mailbox, an email account, a t.v., an internet connection or a newspaper subscription it is impossible to ignore the fact. And, truth is, you shouldn't. Now is the critical time to do your research and be an educated, empowered voter!
On my ballot there will be a mix of party affiliation, gender, race and age. It's lazy to assume Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-22881565932994810752010-09-17T15:06:00.000-05:002010-09-17T15:06:08.101-05:00What Engages You?We had a powerful presenter at my American Business Women's Association meeting this past week. Germaine Porche of Eagle's View Systems (www.eaglesview.com) spoke to us about "Leadership: The Art of Engagement". She had some really great information to share with anyone who is interested in developing their skills as a leader.
According to a survey done recently of workers around the globe 8% Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-28406771274439685192010-09-06T14:40:00.000-05:002010-09-06T14:40:47.897-05:00Your Work: Where Purpose & Passion Can ShineToday is Labor Day. For most of us a day away from the office. The unofficial end of summer and beginning of fall. I like to use this day to check in to see that my work in this world aligns with the things I'm passionate about and what I feel is my purpose for being here. As leaders we are also gifted with many opportunities to assist others in finding outlets for their passions and purpose.
WeJill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-51970403908173671952010-08-25T16:49:00.000-05:002010-08-25T16:49:46.095-05:00Your Leadership Shirt: Wool or Silk?As August winds down and we start yearning for the more moderate weather of early fall my thoughts have turned to the leadership roles we play and how they could be compared to different kinds of clothing. But first is the acknowledgment that the activities and efforts that we categorize as "leadership" are just that: roles. Whether you are President of the United States, CEO of a Fortune 500 Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-85601578301334576932010-08-19T16:44:00.000-05:002010-08-19T16:44:52.350-05:00Baby You Get to Go a Long WayMy vacation from the news was quite successful during our ten day trip across the Midwest visiting some friends and family. The first few days it was hard to let go of email and Facebook but then my grip on my iPhone gradually loosened a bit as I relaxed into being present with loved ones. It helped my perspective to know that the world just keeps turning and the sky doesn't fall!
Certainly the Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-34587008656071855652010-08-04T21:18:00.001-05:002010-08-04T21:20:08.465-05:00Take a "News-Cation"I'm about to take a bit of a vacation starting tomorrow. Well deserved, if I do say so myself! I'm looking forward to a change of scenery and watching the world go by outside my car window. Yes, it's a road trip and not a short one. We're off to visit friends and family, including a new godling that came into this world just over a month ago. There's something about a vacation, even if it's Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-92091517327626114832010-07-09T16:50:00.000-05:002010-07-09T16:50:50.367-05:00A Personal RevolutionLast week I blogged about Independence Day and, specifically, the Declaration of Independence which was ratified on July 4th, 1776 by the Continental Congress of the United State of America. I was writing about how a decision of that nature sets all sorts of changes into action. I consequently had the opportunity to watch a wonderful multi-hour series on The History Channel over the July 4th Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-81044261029405839722010-07-01T17:09:00.000-05:002010-07-01T17:09:10.718-05:00Celebrate Your Independence!This weekend we celebrate our declaration of independence made in 1776 and what that day meant at the time and into the future for the newly declared United States of America. It's incredible what our forefathers accomplished by speaking (or writing) this declaration. They set forth something new into consciousness. An ideal that has captured the world's imagination and continues to do so.
We Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-71344575413973643972010-06-18T14:32:00.001-05:002010-06-18T14:34:42.041-05:00Honor Your FatherOur cultural perceptions and expectations of fatherhood have changed a great deal from my childhood. Fathers used to be expected to support the family financially while only taking on a peripheral role in the emotional life of their wife and children. I'm very grateful for the evolution in fatherhood I've seen in my own family and in our society. An open, loving and emotionally available dad is Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-74086603056919069332010-06-09T16:52:00.000-05:002010-06-09T16:52:12.086-05:00Funny Thing About InsecurityI just had to share this email that came this week from Tut.com (Notes from the Universe) about insecurity:
Insecurity is the greatest social piranha in the pool of human existence. Yet discovering that no matter what anyone else thinks, you can still choose your own thoughts, manifest your own things, and live happily ever after is like wearing underwater, titanium body armor in your favorite Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-90675428223723301482010-06-02T16:58:00.000-05:002010-06-02T16:58:15.888-05:00Notice the EnergyIt's been proven scientifically that we are all made of energetically charged particles. Our cells, the atoms that make them and the smaller particles that create the atoms are all mostly space held together with energy. That is my very unscientific, lay interpretation anyway. But, we all instinctively know this to be true because we pick up energetic signals from each other all the time. We Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-92027691599451148662010-05-26T17:14:00.000-05:002010-05-26T17:14:25.424-05:00How Much Value are You Adding?One of my leadership mentors always focused on and spoke about being a "person of value". There was a time when I wasn't really sure what he meant. I decided not to ask him but rather to watch him because I know what someone shows you means much more than what they tell you. And over the years he has demonstrated over and over again what it means to be a person of value and I've taken those Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-8034060971018695202010-05-19T16:59:00.000-05:002010-05-19T16:59:25.084-05:00The Word for Today is "Flexibility"A friend of mine pronounced at an association meeting today while doing her introduction that "the word for today is flexibility". Later she had the opportunity to explain how a long series of little things had seemingly gone wrong for her today and the solutions she found to bring order to chaos. What I heard in her very amusing story was how she had found opportunities for creativity in each Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-61418418568509262942010-05-13T17:20:00.001-05:002010-05-13T17:23:56.701-05:00This. Or Something Greater.Wouldn't it be great to have a crystal ball and be able to discern what lies in our future? Couldn't we better plan and arrange our lives to take full advantage of the available time and resources if we knew what was going to happen? Maybe. I'm of the belief that we really do create our futures through imagining what we want and then taking the steps toward it. Think of the successful people you Jill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7126962155771267577.post-18343511157379342012010-05-09T15:28:00.000-05:002010-05-09T15:28:34.584-05:00The Leadership of MotherhoodHappy Mother's Day! Today is the day we've all agreed to honor the women who have somehow participated in our creation (whether by birth or not), our development, and our emergence as adult humans. Motherhood in all its manifestations is at once a natural and biological imperative and also a complete leap into an seemingly unknown and undiscovered existence! Whether your mother was skilled or notJill Boullionhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00817014087175662594noreply@blogger.com1