Hearing vs. Understanding: The Art of Active Listening

One of my favorite active listening quotes comes from Stephen Covey, the author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, is: “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.” The art of active listening isn’t easy, but it’s important. Last night my husband came home from work and walked through the door with that look on his face. The one that leaves no question about what kind of day he had and makes me wonder if I should even brave asking. I took a deep breath and dove in. He

4 Ways to Listen To Yourself

“Your life is always speaking to you. The fundamental question is: Will you listen?”  Oprah Last week, I declared 2018 the year of authenticity, outlining five things that need to be present for someone cultivate authenticity: listening, gratitude, acting out of joy instead of obligation, being vulnerable and avoiding comparison to others. Authentic means being real and true to your design. But how do we actually practice the things? I’m coming to believe you can’t practice any of them without first listening to yourself. And in order to listen to yourself or anyone else, you have to find quiet. The

The Essence of Authenticity

We’re talking about #authenticity here at The Point Blog. This poem captures the essence of advice for authentic living.   when it came to listening my mother taught me silence if you are drowning their voice with yours how will you hear them she asked   when it came to speaking she said do it with commitment every word you say  is your own responsibility   when it came to being she said be tender and touch at once your need to be vulnerable to live fully but rough enough to survive it all   when it came to choosing she asked me to

The Year of Authenticity

white daisy on grass field

2016 was the “Year of Stories.” 2017 was the “Year of Innovation.” And whereas these themes for 2016 and 2017 at Horizon Point were determined at the conclusion of both years, on January 7, 2018, I already determined that “2018 Is the Year of Authenticity.” Why? Well, because I didn’t spend much time in 2017 living authentically. I was too distracted. Too busy. And throughout the year of doing lots of leadership training, teambuilding, coaching, and just having lots of conversations with people, it seems as though I’m not the only one that struggles with living authentically. 2017, in large

2017 Book of the Year

“Being original doesn’t mean being first. It just means being different and better.” Adam Grant, Originals   Most of us strive to be better.  Few of us strive to be different.  But what if being different is a requirement for being better? For being an original? Turns out that to take better beyond just ourselves, we have to be both.  We have to be non-conformists in order to move the world, according to Adam Grant, author of Originals. And because our goal at Horizon Point is to build a better workplace through innovative people practices, we’ve chosen Originals, our 2017 Book of the