September 3, 2025 – The Drama PAUSE Model In a world where emotional reactions can quickly escalate tension, the Drama Pause Model offers a practical framework to break the cycle. This session introduces seven intervention points that help leaders and teams shift from reactive patterns to constructive dialogue. You’ll explore how to recognize drama triggers, regulate emotional responses, and choose intentional actions that create healthier outcomes. Participants will leave with tools to de-escalate conflict, foster trust, and lead with clarity under pressure.

October 1, 2025 – From Selfie to Self-Aware We live in an age of constant self-promotion, yet genuine self-awareness is often missing from the conversation. Drawing on Tasha Eurich’s Insight research, this session explores the two critical types of self-awareness—internal and external—and why both are essential for leadership impact. You’ll uncover how blind spots, biases, and feedback gaps shape behavior, and how to replace surface-level image management with authentic understanding. The result is a leadership style rooted in clarity, credibility, and connection.

November 5, 2025 – Leading Across Differences Today’s leaders face the challenge of bringing together people with diverse perspectives, values, and experiences. This webinar explores how to navigate differences in identity, power, and worldview while building belonging and psychological safety. Using real-world examples, we’ll examine what it takes to create inclusive dialogue, address tensions constructively, and lead with both courage and empathy. Participants will gain strategies to strengthen collaboration across boundaries and turn diversity into a driver of innovation.

December 3,, 2025 – Sustaining Impact: The First Pillar – Foundations Sustaining change requires more than ambition—it begins with a clear, grounded foundation. This session introduces the first pillar from the Sustaining Impact model, focusing on the three pathways of Clarity, Choosing, and Clearing. You’ll explore how these interconnected practices help align values, make purposeful decisions, and create the space needed for growth to take root. Leaders will leave with a deeper understanding of how to start change in a way that can truly last.

Ultimately, participants will leave with a powerful, integrated toolkit for leadership that moves beyond theory and into practical application. You won’t just learn about de-escalating conflict; you’ll have a model to use under pressure. You won’t just hear about self-awareness; you’ll gain a method for helping others uncover their own blind spots. And you will leave with actionable strategies to lead across differences with more depth and understanding. This series culminates by introducing the foundational pillar of Sustaining Impact, ensuring you have a clear framework to start the year with a strong foundation for creating meaningful, sustainable change for yourself and for those you lead.

All sessions are eligible for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) through The Global Coaching Network, ensuring you receive professional recognition for your investment in your development.

Dr. Peggy Marshall

Founder and CEO, The Global Institute of Organizational Coaching

The drama cycle moves fast—often faster than our awareness can catch up. A comment is made, a look is misread, a thought flickers, and a story begins to form. Emotions surge, and before we realize it, we’re caught in a loop of reaction and emotional contagion that can derail trust and productivity.

But between that first trigger and the downward spiral, there is a small, pivotal moment where transformation becomes possible: the moment of pause.

The PAUSE model is a practical framework designed to help you find and claim that moment. It’s not about fixing others or following a rigid script under pressure. Instead, PAUSE is a tool for slowing your own emotional escalation, creating mental space for reflection, and making intentional, values-based choices—especially when it matters most.

Why We Need to PAUSE: Moving Upstream from Conflict

Most communication models focus on repairing conflict after it’s already happened—how to navigate a difficult conversation or deliver tough feedback. PAUSE works upstream. It’s a preventative practice that helps us notice our own emotional activation before it hardens into a limiting narrative or spills into a counterproductive action.

This isn’t about suppressing emotion; it’s about developing a wiser, more effective relationship with it. When we learn to intervene early in our own internal process, we create the possibility of turning reactive spirals into powerful opportunities for greater awareness, connection, and constructive change.

The Five Steps of PAUSE

Each step of PAUSE is an internal intervention—a series of small, deliberate choices that fundamentally shift how we engage with ourselves and others in high-emotion moments.

P – Pause and Notice

The first and most critical act is to interrupt the momentum. The instant you feel that internal activation—a tightness in your chest, heat in your face, the powerful urge to respond instantly—pause. You aren’t trying to stop the feeling; you are simply stepping back to observe it. Notice your body language, your tone of voice, the energy in the room, and the story that is already forming inside you.

A – Acknowledge What’s Present

Silently give language to your internal experience. Simple, non-judgmental statements like, “This is anger,” or “I’m feeling dismissed right now,” validate what’s happening. By naming the emotion or thought, you create just enough distance to relate to the feeling rather than being completely consumed by it. Acknowledgment is the beginning of regaining control.

U – Uncover the Pattern, Belief, or Meaning

Reactivity is rarely just about the surface event. This is your chance to get curious and go deeper. Ask yourself: What is this really about for me? What core belief, past experience, or personal fear is being triggered here? This step helps you uncover the deeper drivers of your reaction, allowing you to see the full landscape instead of just the immediate trigger.

S – Steady and Shift

Clarity is nearly impossible when you’re in a state of high activation. The first priority is to steady yourself. Take a deliberate breath. Feel your feet on the floor. Do whatever it takes to regulate your nervous system. Only then can you effectively shift your perspective from a place of defensiveness toward a more open, resourceful, and values-aligned stance.

E – Explore Options and Take Aligned Action

With your composure restored, your choices automatically expand. You are no longer trapped by a single, reactive path. Ask yourself: What response would be grounded, not triggered? What is truly needed right now to move this situation forward constructively? Consider the options for repair, alignment, or resilience, and choose an action that reflects the leader you want to be.

A Real-World Example: Jack and Sue

Sue walked into Jack’s office, her expression tight and her voice sharp. “I can’t keep covering for her,” she said, referring to a teammate. “She’s not pulling her weight, and I’m tired of picking up the slack.”

Jack immediately felt the familiar tug to take sides and jump into problem-solving mode. His mind raced: What if Sue is right? What will this mean for the project deadline? But before speaking, he remembered to use the PAUSE model.

• P – Pause and Notice: He felt his shoulders tense and his breath quicken. He recognized his thoughts were moving too fast, pulling him toward immediate judgment. He consciously paused.
• A – Acknowledge What’s Present: Internally, he named the feeling: “I’m feeling pressured to fix this right now.” Acknowledging this created just enough space between his reaction and his response.
• U – Uncover the Pattern: Jack realized his discomfort came from an old belief that good leaders must have immediate solutions. He saw that this belief was pushing him toward hasty action, not genuine understanding.
• S – Steady and Shift: He took a slow, unnoticeable breath, relaxed his posture, and intentionally shifted his goal from solving to listening. He chose to focus on understanding Sue’s perspective without rushing to conclusions.
• E – Explore Options and Take Aligned Action: With this newfound clarity, Jack said calmly, “Sue, I hear how frustrating this is. Help me understand what’s been happening from your point of view. Then we can look at possible ways forward together.”

The tension in the room eased. Freed from the need to prove her case, Sue began to share specific examples rather than broad complaints, opening the door for a balanced, productive conversation. By using PAUSE, Jack didn’t just avoid escalating the drama; he transformed the entire nature of the conversation, preserving trust and keeping the focus on collaborative problem-solving rather than blame.

Using PAUSE in Daily Life

The PAUSE model can be applied formally in a coaching session or team debrief, or informally as an internal compass in real time. You might use it when:

• A client is cycling through the same reactive narrative.
• A team meeting’s energy is amplifying tension instead of creating clarity.
• A leader (or you) is caught in a pattern of urgency, control, or assumption.
• You feel yourself being pulled into a dynamic that requires presence over performance.

The value of PAUSE lies not just in resolving a single situation, but in strengthening your emotional intelligence, narrative flexibility, and psychological safety over time. When used consistently, it becomes less of a tool and more of a leadership mindset—a way of meeting emotion without being swept away by it.

Turning Pause Into Practice

PAUSE is deceptively simple, but the real challenge is remembering to use it in the heat of the moment. You can build this crucial skill by:

• Practicing on low-stakes situations so the framework becomes familiar before you need it under pressure.
• Reflecting afterward when you notice you missed an opportunity to pause. Learning from hindsight is what strengthens foresight.
• Using physical prompts, like a sticky note with “PAUSE” on your monitor or a recurring reminder on your phone.

The more you practice, the more PAUSE becomes your default response. Over time, it will fundamentally shift your relationship with emotion from reactive to responsive, from being swept into drama to creating space for clarity, connection, and choice.

The ultimate goal isn’t to control emotion—it’s to change our relationship with it. PAUSE helps us honor what we feel while intentionally choosing how we respond, turning moments of tension into powerful opportunities for growth, trust, and transformation.

Join Us Live – September 3, 2025 @ 11 am EST

If you’d like to explore the PAUSE model in real time, please join us for a free, interactive webinar on September 3. This session will take you deeper into the concepts from my soon-to-be-released book, Detach from Drama, with live examples, practical tools, and dedicated time for your questions.

Whether you’re a leader, a coach, or simply someone ready to interrupt the patterns that drain energy and focus, this webinar will give you a clear, actionable way forward—one pause at a time.

Zoom Link

We live in a culture that glorifies individual effort. We celebrate self-made stories and reward perseverance. But the truth is, transformation is relational. It unfolds more fully, more sustainably, when we are witnessed, supported, and held.

When we try to grow alone, we often internalize every setback as a flaw in character. We assume our fatigue means we’ve failed. We question whether we’re strong enough, committed enough, or deserving enough to keep going. But in the presence of others who are also on the path others who understand the messiness of change, the narrative begins to shift. What felt like personal deficiency begins to be seen as a natural part of the journey.

Parker Palmer writes, “The human soul doesn’t want to be advised or fixed or saved. It simply wants to be witnessed.” In times of change, what we often need most is not more advice, but presence. People who can sit with us in the in-between, when the old way no longer fits but the new path is still being formed. People who can remind us who we are when we forget and gently hold us accountable to who we’re becoming.

This kind of community allows us to show up without the need to perform. It makes room for authenticity and honors the natural pace of becoming. Rather than pushing for progress or certainty, it offers a kind of spaciousness a place where we can soften into our own unfolding. In Palmer’s language, it becomes a “circle of trust,” not necessarily formal or structured, but grounded in mutual respect. In that space, the masks can fall away, and truth can surface without fear.

Brené Brown reminds us that “Connection is why we’re here. We are hardwired to connect with others.” In her research on shame and vulnerability, she speaks of how isolation magnifies our inner doubts. Without connection, our fears echo louder. Our stories go unchecked, and we can lose perspective. But when we risk being seen when we let ourselves be known in both our courage and our uncertainty, we find something vital. Not just support, but resonance. The recognition that we are not alone and never were.

Community, in this way, becomes more than a support system. It becomes a mirror. A space where our deeper truth is reflected back to us, not distorted by performance or pretense. It reminds us that growth is not about perfection. It’s about presence. And presence is made more possible when we’re not carrying it all alone.

In the Sustaining Impact framework, we often speak of rhythm, identity, and integration as core components of lasting change. But what sustains those components, what gives them texture and breath is community. A friend who calls you back to your purpose when your energy wavers. A mentor who helps you distinguish fear from intuition. A team who names your progress when you’re too tired to see it yourself. These connections don’t replace the inner work; they amplify it and make it livable.

Community matters not only in times of struggle, but in moments of celebration. It is easy to overlook our own progress, especially when it arrives in subtle or incomplete forms. We move quickly from one effort to the next, often brushing past what we’ve done. Yet something meaningful happens when another person sees what we might have missed. When a trusted voice affirms, “That mattered,” the moment becomes fuller, more real. Emotionally and physiologically, we begin to register the impact. Our bodies settle and our minds lean in. The path forward feels just a little more possible. Encouragement, when grounded in relationship, reminds us that we are not alone and that the work we’re doing is worth continuing.

We must remember that not every space invites growth. While community can be a profound source of strength, not all connections nourish who we are becoming. Some reinforce outdated roles, expectations, or identities we’ve outgrown. They ask us to dim, to edit, to perform. Part of sustaining impact is learning to notice the difference to recognize the places where we feel seen and supported, and those where we find ourselves shrinking in order to belong. True community does not require self-abandonment. It makes room for our full presence. It invites us to bring our complexity, our truth, and our evolving sense of self without apology.

This doesn’t mean surrounding yourself only with like-minded people. In fact, some of the richest growth happens in diverse, even challenging, communities where your worldview is expanded, where assumptions are lovingly questioned, where you learn to stay in dialogue even when it’s uncomfortable. What matters is not uniformity, but mutual respect. A shared commitment to holding space for truth, curiosity, and transformation.

You don’t need a large network to feel supported. Often, it is a small circle of intentional relationships that carries the greatest weight. A trusted peer who listens without judgment. A thoughtful coach who reflects your values back to you. A community of practice where growth is shared, not performed. Or a single conversation partner who helps you see more clearly and feel more deeply. These relationships do not solve the journey for you, but they walk beside you in a way that makes the journey more honest, more grounded, and more whole.

And when change becomes hard and it will, community becomes the ground that holds us. Not to carry our work, but to remind us we’re not carrying it alone. That we are seen, even in the struggle. That we can reconnect to the commitments we’ve made, because someone else is holding that vision with us.

As you reflect on your own journey whether you’re at the beginning of a change, in the middle of a plateau, or somewhere in between ask yourself not only what you want to change, but who is walking with you. Who helps you stay honest? Who celebrates your becoming? Who gently calls you back to what you said matters most?

And just as meaningful, consider whose journey you are accompanying. Whose growth you are quietly witnessing. In offering presence to others, we deepen our own. Community is not simply supporting change, it is part of the transformation itself. Through relationship, we remember our shared humanity. We grow into alignment. And we begin to embody the kind of change that lasts.

Call to Action!

Now I have a call to action for this community, a faculty member, Carol Assalian, is completing her masters thesis at the University of Wales, Trinity St. David.  She needs participants in her study which is examining the role of leaders/supervisors in Self-Efficacy.  It’s a brief assessment, should not take longer than five-eight minutes and can be accessed here.  Your participation will be greatly appreciated!

Questionnaire LINK :

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/bp3nb7Vznt

What if this summer could be different? What if summer wasn’t a break from learning, but an invitation into a different kind of growth one that’s not about working harder, but about aligning deeper?  At Global IOC, we believe that sustainable impact doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when leaders, coaches, and change-makers pause long enough to ask themselves the deeper questions:

–What unfinished learning or insight deserves more space this season?
–What qualities do I need to cultivate to deepen not just expand my leadership?
–What rhythms, rituals, or supports will help me sustain what I’ve learned?

Summer offers the space to explore those questions and to begin living into the answers.

Growth Looks Different in Every Season

In spring, we plant. In fall, we harvest. But summer? Summer is for cultivating. It’s the season when growth is happening just below the surface. Quietly. Consistently. Almost invisibly. It’s when roots deepen and foundations strengthen.

As Parker Palmer writes in Let Your Life Speak, “Before you tell your life what you intend to do with it, listen for what it intends to do with you.” This kind of listening takes time. And summer offers it. For leaders and coaches, this same seasonal rhythm applies. Summer may not be packed with performance reviews, project launches, or strategy rollouts but that’s exactly why it’s a powerful time for inner development. When we take time to clear mental clutter, realign with what matters, and recharge our energy, we don’t just prepare for the next quarter we prepare for the next chapter.

This summer, we’re offering three unique ways to support that process each one designed to foster meaningful growth without overwhelm.

1. Rediscover What Drives You
DISC and Values-Based Leadership Training
Whether you’re a new coach, an experienced leader, or somewhere in between, summer is a perfect time to reconnect with your core motivations. Our DISC and Values-Based Training goes beyond labels and behavior patterns it helps you articulate how you want to lead and why you lead the way you do.

Susan David, author of Emotional Agility, reminds us that when leaders become emotionally flexible and values-connected, they’re more likely to adapt to change and respond with clarity rather than react from fear. This training supports that agility by giving you practical language, awareness, and tools for understanding not only your style but how your core drivers influence your decisions, relationships, and team dynamics. If you’re feeling out of sync, stuck in reactive patterns, or unsure of how to motivate those around you, this training is your reset button.

Whether you’re looking to deepen your own skills or enhance your team’s effectiveness, our DISC and Values-Based Training offers a flexible, high-impact pathway.  For those interested in certification, this training provides the foundational knowledge and credentials to integrate DISC-Values assessments into your coaching practice, leadership development programs, or internal training initiatives. You’ll gain not only theoretical insight but also the practical ability to administer assessments and debrief individuals and teams building capacity as a trusted facilitator of growth. If that is not a pathway for you, why not consider strengthening your team by offering the DISC-Values assessment and team debrief?

Using the DISC-Values assessment to strengthen your team offers a range of benefits that go far beyond personality insights. It helps improve communication across styles, enabling team members to better understand one another and reduce miscommunication. It fosters greater collaboration and trust by creating a shared language for working through differences. Teams gain clarity as they align roles and responsibilities with individual strengths and motivators, which also helps develop emotionally intelligent leaders who can flex their style to meet the needs of others. The result is increased engagement and retention, as individuals feel seen, valued, and empowered. Over time, DISC-Values supports the development of a culture rooted in feedback and growth and builds the resilience and adaptability required to navigate change together with confidence.

2. Release the Weight of Emotional Drama-Detach from Drama Summer Intensive
Let’s be honest: emotional drama is exhausting. Whether it shows up as inner narratives that spiral into self-doubt or workplace dynamics that drain your energy, drama derails impact. It clouds judgment, fractures communication, and saps resilience.

The Detach from Drama Summer Intensive was created as a high-impact program built for leaders and coaches who want clear, research-based tools to navigate the emotional complexity of work and life. Grounded in the soon-to-be-released book Detach from Drama, this intensive introduces a practical model to help you understand how drama starts, why it escalates, and what you can do to change the cycle.

You’ll learn to:
Recognize the patterns of emotional reactivity before they hijack focus
Help others regulate emotional triggers with proven strategies
Reframe meaning and reduce internal drama narratives
Guide the interruption of emotional contagion and lead others out of chaos

Clarity is hard to access when we’re operating from a place of reactivity, fear, or emotional overload. This program helps you reclaim that clarity not just for the people you lead or support, but for yourself. And it’s not just theory. Lisa Feldman Barrett’s neuroscience of emotion reminds us that emotions are not fixed reflexes, we construct them. That means we have agency. The Detach from Drama model reminds us to use that agency wisely to pause, shift perception, and reauthor the story you’re living and sharing. Whether you’re supporting clients through charged transitions or navigating team tension, you’ll walk away with the language, tools, and insight to lead with steadiness even when the emotional waters rise.

3. Sustaining Impact: From Inspiration to Integration
Many of us know how to set goals. Fewer know how to sustain them. That’s why we created Sustaining Impact, a program rooted in the realities of growth, commitment, and renewal and based upon the upcoming book by the same name. What makes this offering unique is its flexibility. It allows each participant to personalize their journey based on their most pressing needs and current challenges. The process begins with a free brief Sustaining Impact self-assessment designed to identify which of the nine pathways to sustaining change may be underdeveloped or misaligned. Based on this, participants receive a customized summary report with resources highlighting their three lowest-scoring pathways as these are often where the most leverage for transformation exists.

From there, participants have two additional options:

Extended Assessment + Customized Action Plan
For those who want to go deeper, the longer version of the assessment includes 10 additional questions per the three low-scoring areas. This generates a more nuanced report to build a customized action plan to begin addressing these obstacles through targeted reflection and behavior shifts. This option includes an hour of coaching with the book’s author.

Six-Session Coaching Track
For individuals ready to accelerate their growth with guided support, a six-session coaching engagement with the book’s author is offered. These sessions are structured around the results of the brief or extended assessment and are tailored to help participants integrate the tools, rituals, and mindsets needed to sustain their desired impact.

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, reminds us that identity-based change is the most durable: “Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become.” Sustaining Impact provides not only clarity on what needs to shift but a practical, empowering framework to help you become that person.

Whether you want to clarify your purpose, manage energy more wisely, establish healthy boundaries, or navigate resistance and renewal, this program meets you where you are and walks with you toward where you want to go.

A Different Kind of Summer School
What these three offerings have in common is simple: They invite transformation from the inside out. They aren’t about checking a box or cramming in more content. They’re about slowing down enough to listen to what you really need and then giving yourself permission to receive it. This summer, we invite you to trade the pressure to “get ahead” for the gift of becoming aligned. Because when you reconnect with your values, release emotional weight, and commit to what truly matters, you don’t just grow. You thrive. And when you thrive, so do the people you serve.

In my work with leaders, changemakers, and purpose-driven professionals, I’ve witnessed a familiar struggle: the inability to sustain impact over time. They start strong, driven by vision, energized by purpose, but somewhere along the way, momentum fades. The culprits aren’t always obvious. It’s not a lack of skill or passion. More often, it’s the invisible clutter that crowds their capacity. It’s the absence of absolute clarity about what truly matters. And most subtly, it’s the old wiring of the brain, patterns of overcommitment, fear of letting go, or resistance to uncertainty that quietly sabotage their best intentions. These are the patterns I’ve seen time and again. And it’s why the work of clearing space, reclaiming clarity, and rewiring our internal narratives is at the heart of sustaining meaningful change.

These challenges often show up in subtle, familiar ways, saying yes when we mean no, mistaking motivation for true alignment, or hesitating to fully commit out of fear. Let’s explore the most common patterns that quietly derail even the best of intentions.

We all begin with good intentions.
A new goal, a meaningful project, a fresh commitment to ourselves or others. At the start, we feel the pull of possibility, the momentum of change. But sustaining that impact? That’s where the work deepens.

Because commitment isn’t just about saying yes. It’s about knowing what we’re saying yes to, and what we’re willing to say no to in the process.

Overcommitting from Ego or Pressure

How often do we say yes from a place of fear, guilt, people-pleasing, or the need to prove ourselves?
We take on more than we have capacity for, driven by a desire to be needed, liked, or admired. It feels like commitment, but underneath, it’s a survival strategy.

Real commitment? It comes from discernment, not just enthusiasm.
It asks: Is this mine to carry?
It reminds us that every yes is a no to something else often our wellbeing, relationships, or deeper priorities.

Confusing Motivation with Alignment

Motivation is fleeting.
It flares up with inspiration, a spark of excitement, but it fizzles when life gets hard, messy, or mundane.

Alignment, though?
That’s the steady pulse beneath the surface.
When motivation fades (and it will), alignment keeps us grounded.
It connects us back to our values, our purpose, our “why.”

Next time the energy dips, ask yourself:
Was I riding a wave of hype, or is this still resonant at my core?

Underestimating the Cost of Commitment

It’s easy to commit to a goal when it’s all vision and possibility.
But the cost, the energy, trade-offs, discomfort, that’s where we get surprised.

Every worthwhile commitment has a cost.

• The cost of time that won’t go elsewhere.
• The cost of discomfort as we stretch beyond the familiar.
• The cost of saying no to things we enjoy or things that simply feel easier.

Clarity about the cost isn’t meant to scare us off, it helps us stay when things get hard. It reminds us we chose this path on purpose.

Fear of Disappointment or Failure

Sometimes, we half-commit.
Not because we’re lazy, but because we’re afraid.
Afraid that if we give it our all and still don’t succeed, it might say something about our worth.

Avoiding full commitment can feel safer than risking vulnerability.
But true impact requires risking showing up fully even when the outcome is uncertain.

What would it mean to give yourself permission to commit, not to the outcome, but to the process?

Inconsistent Inner Leadership

We rely on willpower or external accountability, but haven’t built the inner voice that sustains us day by day.

The inner critic talks us out of progress:
“You’re behind.”
“You’ll never catch up.”
“What’s the point?”

But inner leadership, the voice of the inner champion, reminds us to return with grace:
“This is hard, but you’re still in it.”
“Rest if you need to, but don’t quit on yourself.”
“Progress isn’t linear.”

Sustaining impact means nurturing that inner voice. The one that helps you recommit, not just once, but every day.

Clearing: Making Space for What Matters

Commitment isn’t just about saying yes, it’s also about knowing when to say no.
It’s about clearing space, letting go of what no longer fits.

But clearing is hard.
Not just practically but emotionally.

It can feel like pruning away parts of ourselves.
Like admitting something is overgrown, out of season, or simply no longer ours to carry.

Here are the most common barriers I see in the clearing process:

Emotional Attachment to the Old

We hold onto roles, routines, and responsibilities because they’ve become tied to our identity.

“If I let go of this, who am I?”

Clearing asks us to confront those identities gently.
To honor that we are allowed to outgrow things, even things that once mattered deeply.

Fear of the Unknown

Clearing creates space but also uncertainty.
It’s easier to cling to clutter than face the ambiguity of what’s next.

“At least I know how to manage the chaos I have.”

Yet space is where new alignment has room to emerge.
Without it, nothing new can take root.

Invisible Clutter

Not all clutter is physical.

• Resentment.
• Self-doubt.
• Unspoken expectations.
• Toxic thought loops.

Sometimes, the heaviest weight is the one we haven’t even named yet.

Perceived Waste or Guilt

We stay tethered to projects, goals, or relationships because we’ve invested so much.

“I can’t quit now I’ve already put so much into this.”

But sunk costs aren’t a reason to keep sinking.
Letting go can feel like failure but often, it’s freedom.

Lack of Permission or Boundaries

Especially in leadership or caregiving roles, we feel we can’t release responsibilities without disappointing others.

“If I step back, who will carry it?”

But sustaining impact means knowing when to carry and when to release.
With trust that others will rise,
Or that space itself will offer new solutions.

Reflection: Make Space, Release with Intention

These questions are here to guide your clearing process.
To help you create space for what truly matters:

Mental and Emotional Clutter

• What’s been weighing on my mind lately—quietly or loudly?
• What belief about myself is no longer true—but I’m still carrying it?

Roles, Goals, and Responsibilities

• What commitments no longer feel aligned with who I’m becoming?
• What am I doing out of obligation rather than resonance?

Patterns and Narratives

• What old story about success, identity, or worth is keeping me stuck?
• Who am I trying to please or impress—and at what cost?

Practical Clearing

• What could I let go of this week to create 1% more space?
• If I cleared just one thing, what would unlock the most energy?

Emotional Permission

• What would it feel like to release something with kindness instead of guilt?
• What would I say to a friend who needed permission to let this go?

Sustaining impact isn’t about pushing harder.
It’s about aligning deeper.
It’s about committing with clarity, clearing with courage, and returning to yourself again and again.

We’ll dive deeper into these themes, explore practical strategies, and create space for meaningful reflection. This is an opportunity to reconnect with your why, clear what’s getting in the way, and recommit to the work, and life that matters most.

Zoom link for webinar https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89306258336?pwd=DKiN81Y6PdmueKawvEa6NQlCaoHi14.1

“Because sustaining change isn’t just a concept—it’s a discipline, a rhythm,

a way of working and living.” – Dr. Peggy Marshall

You’ve likely been part of change efforts that began with clarity and energy. Maybe you even led them. The vision was compelling. The plan was solid. People were engaged. Everything felt possible.

And then… life happened.

The urgency faded. The momentum slowed. What started as a powerful shift began to quietly stall—not because people didn’t care, but because sustainment has its own rules. And most change models stop short of teaching them.

That’s what this work is all about.

Sustaining Impact began as a conversation—a pattern I kept seeing in my work with leaders, teams, and clients who were navigating meaningful transformation. They had clarity, courage, and momentum, but something was missing in the middle. The support systems faded. The habits didn’t stick. The change lost its foothold.

Over time, it became more than a pattern. It became a process, a way of thinking about the often-overlooked middle space of change. A way to create intentional practices that help change not just start, but actually stick.

Now, that process is becoming a book.

Why the Process Matters

You already know how to begin change. You’ve facilitated breakthroughs, designed strategies, inspired new habits. You’ve helped people and systems move toward possibility.

But you also know that insight isn’t enough, and transformation rarely follows a straight line.

That’s where the Sustaining Impact process comes in.

It’s designed to help you—and those you lead or support—navigate the messy, necessary work that happens after the kickoff, when the slide decks are closed and the daily grind rushes back in. When the emotional high has passed and the real-life pull of old habits starts creeping in.

This process gives you language for the space between inspiration and integration.
It builds a bridge between clarity and consistency.
It offers structure without rigidity, rhythm without burnout, support without micromanagement.

And now, it’s being captured in book form, not as a fixed formula, but as a living, adaptable guide you can return to again and again.

You’re Not Doing It Wrong—You’re Just in the Middle

If you’ve ever launched a great initiative only to watch it slowly lose steam, you’re not alone.

So many change efforts stall—not because people lack motivation, but because we treat the sustainment phase like a bonus round, not the core of the work. We celebrate the insight, the spark, the shift. But we forget to build in the scaffolding that keeps the change alive.

You’ve likely felt that tension yourself—that gap between what you know matters and what actually survives the day-to-day. That isn’t a personal failing. It’s a missing structure.

You don’t need more pressure.
You need a different process.

And that’s what Sustaining Impact offers: a framework for staying in meaningful relationship with the change you’re committed to.

The Sustaining Impact Process

A rhythm, not a recipe. A return to what matters.

Over the years, this work has evolved into a clear, intentional framework, one that supports individuals and teams through the full arc of change. Not just at the beginning, but especially in the middle, where sustaining momentum becomes its own kind of leadership.

The process includes eight phases, each offering a specific kind of focus—and a specific kind of courage.

The 8 Phases of Sustaining Impact

1. Clarity
   You begin with vision. You pause to reconnect with what matters, why it matters, and what’s calling you forward. Without clarity, sustainment becomes survival.
2. Choosing
   Clarity invites agency. You make intentional choices aligned with your values, goals, and energy. Choosing also means deciding what to release.
3. Clearing
   Before new ways of working can take hold, you must let go. Whether it’s outdated habits, limiting beliefs, or simply overcommitment—clearing creates space for growth.
4. Committing
   Sustaining impact requires more than interest, it requires consistency. This is where intention meets discipline, and actions align with values, even on the hard days.
5. Championing
   No one sustains impact alone. You need champions, inside yourself and around you, to advocate, reinforce, and remind. This is about building visibility and support.
6. Courage
   The middle gets messy. Doubt creeps in. Resistance surfaces. Courage is what helps you stay in the work when progress is slow, when the path is unclear, or when you’re tired.
7. Celebrate
   Celebration sustains energy. This phase honors growth, visible or invisible. It reminds you (and others) that change is happening, and that effort is worth pausing for.
8. Continue
   Sustainment is never static. You reflect, recalibrate, and re-engage. Continue is the phase of ongoing integration—where change becomes part of how you live and lead.

These phases aren’t always linear. You’ll move between them. You’ll revisit them. But together, they form a rhythm that helps your work take root, and grow over time.

From Practice to Pages

This book didn’t begin as an abstract idea. It began as a lived experience. As a question I kept asking:

Why do meaningful changes fade?
And what helps them endure?

The answers didn’t arrive all at once. They revealed themselves through real conversations, real teams, and real leadership challenges. As I tracked the patterns, the process emerged—one I’ve used across industries, sectors, and coaching engagements.

Now I’m turning that process into a book.

Not to lock it down.
But to open it up.

To give language to what you’ve probably already felt.
To offer guidance that’s both practical and grounded in humanity.
To help you keep doing work that doesn’t just inspire—but lasts.

Why This Matters to You

If you’re a coach, a leader, a culture builder, or a change agent, you’re in this for more than quick wins. You care about depth. Alignment. Real transformation.

This process, and this book, is for the moments when:

• No one’s watching, but you keep showing up.
• The applause has faded, but the vision still calls.
• You’re tired but still committed to what matters.

Because sustainability isn’t about perfection.
It’s about the willingness to return.
Again and again.

The Work We Tend Grows

You know this in your bones: the work you tend is the work that grows.
The impact you sustain is the impact that transforms.

Sustaining Impact is more than a process. It’s a practice.
One that honors the messy, beautiful, unglamorous middle.
One that helps you hold the thread of change, even when it’s hard.
One that reminds you: this is still worth it.

Because your impact doesn’t begin and end with a launch.
It lives in the way you keep showing up.

The full book—Sustaining Impact: Inspiration Meets Perspiration—will be available late summer 2025. In the meantime, join us on May 7th for a special webinar preview where we’ll explore several of the key concepts that will be featured in the book.  It’s a chance to engage with the material, reflect in community, and start thinking differently about what it means to truly sustain change.

Join us on Zoom.