This month, I’m sharing three practical leadership ideas that feel especially relevant right now: how to communicate with greater clarity (sometimes by saying less), how to recognize when you’re surviving or coping rather than thriving, and a technique for quieting the inner critic that can get in the way of even the most accomplished leaders. Plus, I’m sharing where you can join me for an upcoming ASAE CareerHQ webinar.

More Information Doesn’t Necessarily Create More Clarity

Leaders can undermine clarity by providing too much information, too many details, or too many competing messages. When everything is emphasized, people can lose sight of what actually matters.

In a workshop this month, I challenged a team to communicate their point in 25 words, then 10, and then 5. There was plenty of laughter as words were debated and deleted. But something important happened as the word count shrank: They were forced to identify what really mattered.

When you know a subject deeply, it can be tempting to share everything you know. My best friend describes this scenario as “When I ask you what time it is, I don’t need you to tell me how to build a watch. I just need you to tell me the time.”

Effective communication asks something different: What does the person I am communicating with need from me? Here are a few ways you can communicate clearly and more intentionally:

• Orient the reader before diving into the details.

• Narrow down what’s most important.

• Tailor the message to what your audience needs.

• Make the next steps clear.

• Create the conditions that help you do your best thinking and writing—whether that’s quiet, dedicated time or even a little Yacht Rock in the background.

I explore these ideas in more depth in my Forbes article “You Can’t Be a Good Communicator without Being a Good Thinker”.

Try it with something you’re communicating this week: What would you say if you only had 10 words? It’s a great place to start the next time you have something important to communicate.

Are You Thriving or Just Really Good at Coping?

This month, The Alliance for Women in Associations met to discuss the signs and symptoms of burnout. What stood out to me was this: Many of us are working in survive or cope mode rather than thrive mode.

We’re tired. And it’s not just work. We’re carrying the cumulative load of work, family, caregiving, health, transitions, and everything else happening at once. Yet many of us continue to look “fine.” We keep performing, solving problems and taking care of what needs to be done, even when we’re depleted.

Being capable can add to the load. I sometimes call this being the victim of your own success: When you’re the person who gets things done, more things have a way of finding you.

One framework I use in my coaching is to notice whether we’re operating in survive, cope, or thrive mode. Survive can feel like frustration, worry, or resistance. Cope can sound deceptively productive: “I’ll make the best of it,” “I’ll do it for the team,” or “I’ll take care of it.” Thrive shifts us toward curiosity, possibility, and choice: “What’s the opportunity?” or “Let’s figure this out.”

So how can we begin moving toward thrive? Here are a few things to try:

• Check your mode. Ask yourself: Am I surviving, coping, or thriving right now? Simply noticing can help interrupt the pattern.

• Separate the stressor from the stress. Ask: What is creating the pressure? What am I still carrying because of it? Solving the problem doesn’t necessarily resolve our stress response.

• Complete the stress cycle. We’re often good at pushing through stress without actually dealing with it. Instead, acknowledge what you’re experiencing and intentionally do something that helps you move through it. Take a walk, breathe deeply, laugh, connect with someone you trust, or find a creative outlet.

• Take one small step. Instead of trying to fix everything, ask: What is one action I can take to move me one step closer to thriving right now?

And for those of us who lead others, there’s another question worth asking: Is my team thriving, or, have we normalized coping?

Thriving doesn’t mean eliminating stress or pretending everything is fine. It means recognizing where we are, paying attention to what we need, and making an intentional choice about what comes next.

Quiet Your Inner Critic

If you had told me years ago that I would be presenting to leaders on how to quiet their inner critic, I probably would have responded with a loud, “Hell no. I’ll fail. I’m not good at presenting, and I will freak out. Yet here I am, and Quieting Your Inner Critic has become one of Statice’s most popular workshops.

We all have an inner critic—that voice in our head that unfairly judges us, points out our flaws, and tells us we’re not good enough. It can show up as perfectionism, self-doubt, comparing ourselves to others, or worrying about what others think. And sometimes that voice gets particularly loud when we’re taking on a new challenge or stepping into a bigger role. 

One of the techniques I use in my workshops is to notice the thought before trying to change the action. Think about a leader who has just been promoted to CEO and is questioning whether they’re ready:

• Name the thought. What are you telling yourself? (e.g., “What if the board realizes I’m not ready to be CEO?”)

• Notice the impact. How is that thought making you feel, and what is it causing you to do—or not do? (e.g., “I feel anxious, so I’m second-guessing my decisions and looking to others for reassurance.”)

• Challenge the message. Ask: What evidence do I have that this thought is true? (e.g., “I was selected for this role because of my experience and leadership. I’ve successfully handled difficult decisions before.”)

• Choose a more supportive thought. What could you tell yourself instead? (e.g., “I don’t have to have every answer. I have the experience and judgment to lead, and I can ask for input when I need it.”)

Quieting your inner critic doesn’t mean the voice disappears. It means learning to recognize when it shows up, challenge what it’s telling you, and choose whether you want that thought influencing what you do next.

And here’s one more question I often use with clients: Imagine a world where fear didn’t hold you back. If you weren’t afraid, what is one thing you would do differently?

If your inner critic is getting in the way of how you want to lead, this is the kind of work I explore with leaders through individual coaching. Together, we identify the patterns that may be holding you back and develop practical strategies to move forward with greater confidence, clarity, and intention.

I’m Presenting: ASAE CareerHQ

This September, I’ll join fellow ASAE Career Coaches for a conversation about what we heard from association professionals during coaching sessions at the ASAE Annual Meeting. I’ll be talking about how greater clarity and self-awareness can help us recognize what’s holding us back and determine our next step.

September 24, 2026 | 12 - 1 p.m. eastern | Free
Interested? Use the link below to register for The Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right Now: What We Heard from Coaching Sessions at the ASAE Annual Meeting.

I usually use this closing to share a story and connect it to a leadership lesson. This month, I’d like to dedicate this space to the 25th anniversary of September 11. I can easily remember what I was doing that morning, along with the deep sadness and shock I felt. I promised myself I would document my thoughts that week and in the years that followed. And I have.

When I first wrote my thoughts down a few days after the attacks, I noted, “Everyone is kind to each other.” We united in our shared grief, took care of each other, and many of us took a hard look at our lives and priorities.

On Friday, I will wake up, brew my Awake tea, and watch The Today Show, as I did 25 years ago. And, most importantly, I will never forget what happened, the selflessness we saw that day, and how kind we can be to each other.

Kathy

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