Well… today is the day. Contagious Culture: Show Up, Set the Tone, and Intentionally Create an Organization that Thrives hits bookshelves at retailers near you. It may be impossible for me to write a fantastic post today (I’m sure I’ll have greater wisdom and insight to share in the next couple of weeks once some of the dust has settled and it’s all sunk in), and in the meantime… I couldn’t not say hello today. 

Thank you.

Thank you so much for being a reader on this blog, a participant in this work, a leader in your life, and a part of the village of creating intentional impact. Thank you for showing up. 

Throughout the process of writing the book, promoting it, nurturing and cultivating the right team, and making some impossible decisions which pushed all my edges, there have of course been themes from Contagious Culture that have shown up and supported (and tested) me again and again.

Here are 5 things I want you to have today, that tie into the book — there is so much more to say here. I’ll do a deeper dive before the year is out, but in the meantime, I share these with you from my heart and own personal experience. Use and integrate them as they serve. 

How we Show Up matters — for ourselves, for each other, for our kids, for our people, for our craft, for the barista at the coffee shop. It all counts. It all has impact. Sometimes you won’t realize that impact til years later, if at all ever. And that’s okay. Show Up. Stay true. Honor your integrity, even if it disappoints others or they simply don’t understand — it’s okay — you live with you and it’ll all work out. 

Self-care is not a luxury, it is an absolute essential ingredient to our leadership — abandoning or neglecting it is an assault on impact, on ourselves, and therefore on those we love. My self-care regime changed significantly over the course of the last year — it was always existent, it just looked different — sometimes day to day. On the days where I “back burnered” it, it impacted me, my mindset and energy, and ultimately the people around me and the quality of my craft. On the days when I didn’t think I had time for it — that was when I needed it most. Low and behold, when I made the time — more “time” and space opened up and I, and the work, was better for it. 

Intentional impact is fuel and everything happens in relationship, it really does take a village. The last year of my life was hands down the most challenging, rewarding, invigorating, delighting, and painful year of my life. Major personal changes, a lot of saying “no” (and letting people down sometimes), writing a book, being a mom, leading a business, and riding the wave of life asked for everything I had. What helped make it work were two things — 1) my commitment to impact and staying clear about what the intended impact was (and why)… and my village. Your intended impact, your heartfelt WHY is fuel. It’s a compass. It’s your barometer for “yes” and “no” — especially in the storm. The people around you are gold. Love them, nourish them, thank them, lean into them, and pay it forward. 

Burn in it. The good, the bad, the ugly, the gorgeous, all of it — stay with it. Your comfort with discomfort and your willingness to stay in the burn will determine how much range you have as a leader, how much joy you can access, and how much you can be with others in their discomfort. Your comfort with experiencing joy, receiving support, receiving good, and allowing will determine how much range you have as a leader, how much range of emotion you can access, and how much you can pay it all forward with others. 

Do not take anything personally — as impossible as this is, it’s not about you (and it’s always about you — lol, digest that). You never know what’s happening for someone in their lives. Unintentional impact happens all the time, people show up, people disappear, people are kind, people say weird things, people think you’re amazing, people think you suck, they’re happy with you, they’re disappointed, (and oh, by the way, we do it to them too), it’s all good — don’t take it personally. Notice it. Check assumptions. Get curious. Check in. Find the learning (whatever it may be). And breathe. Breathe a lot. Love yourself up and get back in there. 

Enjoy. Play with these. Grab a copy of the book. There is so much in that book — I really did pour myself into it. So please, go grab one. Enjoy it. Use it as it serves. Let me know how it lands for you. And know that I adore you. So much.

Thanks for coming. 

XX//AXC

Next Steps

• Learn more about creating a Contagious Culture in your work and life.
• Follow Anese Cavanaugh on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• Want greater impact for good? Download the IEP Intro Toolkit now!