Kelly Holding

If time really does fly, then what do I actually want to fill it with? Over the weekend, I turned 40. And like clockwork, people asked, “How do you feel about it?” If I’m honest, there’s a small part of me that’s a little sad I can no longer say I’m “young.” But if staying … Read more

Over time, teams recalibrate what is normal. Pouring coffee at a tiny café in small-town Iowa teaches you a lot.How people take their coffee. How long they’ll stand and chat. And how often fruit becomes a personality or life assessment. “Well, that one’s a bad apple.” “Apples don’t fall far from the tree.” Some sayings … Read more

Here’s One Thing You Can Do About It. The world feels like it’s moving faster and becoming more divided than it has in a long time. And sometimes it can feel like there isn’t much any one of us can do about it. But I think there is one simple thing we can do. It … Read more

“Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.” Life is a series of choices. “Our lives are fashioned by our choices. First we make our choices. Then our choices make us.”— Anne Frank Whether you are the CEO of McDonald’s or a stay-at-home mom, this week … Read more

The groundhog is always wrong. Six more weeks of winter? No thanks.I’m ready for new weather. More sun. A new season. And seasons, whether in weather, life, or leadership, change more than we think. Leadership In my keynotes, I often ask the audience a simple question:“If I gave you $10,000 to go on a cruise, … Read more

Two things that might not seem related at first glance:Having difficult conversations with a team member…And the secret to not getting old. Stay with me. Both require something most leader’s underestimate: a repeatable and steady approach. Leadership What’s the key to handling and staying steady in difficult conversations? Difficult conversations are part of the job. … Read more

My 14-year-old recently got his driver’s permit, which seems crazy because just yesterday he was the size of a loaf of bread and permanently glued to my left side. Or at least it feels that way. I blinked, and now he’s an inch and a half taller than me and proudly driving around with me … Read more

Doesn’t it feel like everything is coming at us at once? Emails. Decisions. Problems. People. Expectations. We spend our days reacting, fixing, adjusting, and holding things together, often without realizing how much energy and sanity that constant responsiveness (being on duty) costs us. At work, it shows up as firefighting. In life, it shows up … Read more

I recently subscribed to The New York Times. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and more intentional about knowing what’s happening in the world. Or maybe it’s because they were running a really good deal for a yearlong subscription. Either way, I found myself doing something I haven’t done in years, actually reading the newspaper. … Read more