Twists and Turns

My heartfelt thanks to each of you for your support over the past year. Here on July first, we sit between two anniversaries. Gage Paine Consulting became real on June 1 of last year and I sent out the first version of Gage’s Notes on July 31st. This truly has been an incredible year and I am deeply grateful to each reader of this newsletter and every colleague and friend I had the opportunity to work with this year. It’s been great fun.

I thought it might be worthwhile to share a few updates with you since, like you, I have made a number of changes as my work has shifted over the past few weeks..

First – I don’t want to worry you, there’s no bad news to share. My immediate family and friends are safe and healthy and, mostly, being sensible. And while I miss hugging my 8-year old great-niece and -nephew, lunches with friends, and traveling to campuses to work with friends and colleagues, such is the price we are all paying for each other’s health and safety.

As I mentioned, the rhythms of my weeks have shifted over the last few months. I was already working from home of course, but instead of traveling every week, my work has now moved to Zoom. Like you, I’m finding new ways to support you and your colleagues in all that you are trying to accomplish. I’ll list some examples in the resource box below, but the most important message I’d like to share with you today is to affirm what you already know – the summer didn’t really get any easier and it’s important to ask for help. Summer is often a time to try new things, plan for fall, and take a deep breath. Even with all the challenges we face right now, that’s still true. My challenge to you today is to find a way to do each of those. My offer is to help in any way I can. I’m fully aware of the budget challenges campuses are facing and I’m glad to work with you to design programs that meet your needs.

Again, thank you for all your support this last year. I look forward to working with you in new and familiar ways in the coming months.

Take care,

Gage

Options

Coaching – I’m still available to work with individuals and teams. Usually I suggest coaching blocks of three, six, or nine months, but if you would find it helpful to design a different model, please let me know.

Workshops and Keynotes – It’s still possible to do professional development workshops and keynote speeches remotely. If you are wanting to support your staff during this challenging time, this might be an option. Possible topics include:

• True Colors
• Experiencing and Managing Change
• Strategic Thinking – a two to three hour workshop
• Strategic Plans – a more comprehensive process
• Leadership Dance (without the dancing)
• Leadership Yoga (with or without the yoga – yes, we can do a bit of yoga online together)

Low/no Cost Options

• Book Club/author chat – a one-hour program based on my book Shall We Lead? Leadership as Partnership. I don’t charge for this, the only cost is purchasing the books.
• One-time coaching session. If you are stuck with a knotty problem and would like a thought partner, I’m glad to do a one-time coaching session for no charge. I participated in the similar program NASPA offered in the spring and received very positive comments from the people who took advantage of the opportunity.

Coming Soon

I’m using the summer months to be creative. The results of this work should be available in the early fall. As I mentioned in March, I’m using the ten-week series of Leadership Yoga newsletters as the basis for my next leadership book. If all goes well, it should be available by September. Title and details TBD.

At the same time, I’m creating an online course based on the same material. The course will be available for individuals to buy, with or without some live options. It will also be available as a live course for a group of staff who want to explore the ideas of leadership and self-care practices for leaders together. There will be other configurations as well.

Again, details are TBD, but please let me know if you are interested in more details.