North Star Visioning

01/25/2025

FAREWELL FACEBOOK

The energy of Facebook feels out of alignment for me, so I've decided to swim on out of here.

I will not be posting to this page and likely will remove it entirely.

If you would like to follow me on social media, the best ways to do so are:

Substack - This is where I am going to be blogging on a regular basis and building community.
https://open.substack.com/pub/northstarvision?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=q3u1n

LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyalima?utm_source=share&utm_campaign=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=android_app

Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/northstarvisioning?igsh=azZvaTA0OWt4d2Y0

Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/northstarvisioning.bsky.social

And also, my website www.northstarvisioning.com

May you be well. 🙏🏽

01/23/2025

And still the sun shines.

These are wild times, my friends, so I figured I'd seek wisdom in the wilderness.

It took nearly 8 hours of bushwacking and routefinding to get up and down this unnamed mountain.

As always, I didn't know if I would make it but elk energy was with me, giving me strength and stamina to go the distance, one step at a time.

May we all find our inner strength and stamina to face the challenges that lie ahead, knowing with certainty that the sun shines above all.

01/18/2025

"Never trust a northwest flow."

I took a mountain weather forecast course recently and the Avalanche Canada meteorologist who taught it kept repeating this phrase.

A northwest flow (winds from the NW) are highly volatile and so the forecast is less predictable with them.

Things can change quickly, without warning. Conditions are highly localized...it could be sunny and clear in one moment but clouds could move in suddenly and now you are in snow. You have to be prepared for anything.

Sound familiar?

In leadership, we often try to forecast what's going to happen, to survey the scene, analyze the data and make our best prediction about how to move forward.

But some conditions are more volatile than others. Some situations can change quickly, going from sunny to snowy with little warning.

Part of the art of leadership is learning how to read the "forecast" and be prepared to adjust quickly to volatility and changing conditions.

Being able to recognize in advance which situations, people, projects, decisions, etc. are likely to be volatile helps you prepare accordingly.

What in your leadership environment is a "northwest flow"?

12/08/2024

I'm feeling excited and energized after facilitating an all-day planning session for an organization that has been struggling with making decisions about complex emerging issues.

In one day, we...

💫 clarified the organizational core values and guiding principles;

💫 introduced a 7-step decision making process based on the work of Phillip Moffitt;

💫 practiced applying this framework to a real-life organizational challenge;

💫 discussed the complexities underlying the challenge;

💫 decided on the best options to try out and;

💫 committed to clearly defined next steps for implementation.

Whew! That's a LOT!

And would you believe that we ended a bit early and with people feeling easeful not exhausted?

I call that a success. 🙌🏽

10/21/2024

This weekend was my first live event with Tami Simon who was teaching about embodied leadership as part of the Sounds True Inner MBA program that I'm taking.

I had the opportunity to share with Tami my experience of the meditation she led...including how my mind wanted to "get ahead" of knowing what we were doing, to have a sense of certainty.

Tami reminded me of the value of having a beginner's mind. Of approaching each moment as a fresh one which allows for us to see things in a different way, rather than a conditioned mind.

It was a great reminder and a very useful skill to cultivate for dealing with uncertainty.

Want to be an armchair traveller on my Inner MBA journey?

I'm planning to blog on about my learnings in the Inner MBA program over the next 9 months. 💫

10/21/2024

This weekend was my first live event with Tami Simon who was teaching about embodied leadership as part of the Sounds True Inner MBA program that I'm taking.

https://innermba.soundstrue.com

I had the opportunity to share with Tami my experience of the meditation she led...including how my mind wanted to "get ahead" of knowing what we were doing, to have a sense of certainty.

Tami reminded me of the value of having a beginner's mind. Of approaching each moment as a fresh one which allows for us to see things in a different way, rather than a conditioned mind.

It was a great reminder and a very useful skill to cultivate for dealing with uncertainty.

Want to be an armchair traveller on my Inner MBA journey?

I'm planning to blog on about my learnings in the Inner MBA program over the next 9 months.

Drop a "Follow" comment below or message me to recieve notifications about new blog posts. 💫

Integrate spirituality + business to achieve exceptional results

10/05/2024

Huge thanks and deep bows to the organizers of Hollyhock Leadership Institute Social Venture Institute 2024.

This video gives some insight into the SVI experience...if you look carefully, you'll see me in there a few times. :-)

Anyone who is involved in cultivating community knows that it takes both hard work and magic.

If you are an experienced leader or changemaker and would like to become part of a small community of like-minded people, please check out my upcoming Navigating Complexity group coaching program.

https://northstarvisioning.com/complexity

Registration Deadline is October 8. Hope to see you there!

10/01/2024

My true story about staying calm in a volatile situation:

Over the weekend I hiked to the top of a wild Vancouver Island mountain to spend the night on the summit. 🥾 ⛰️

The weather was perfect, the views incredible and the sunset spectacular. 🌄

And then...after the sun dropped...the wind picked up. Powerful strong gusts of wind that shook my tent. All.Night.Long. 🌬

If there is ever a time to lean into skills of grounding, centering and remaining calm, this was it. I definitely practiced what I teach that night! 😬

Fortunately, I didn't get blown away, the wind died down as dawn broke and the sunrise was so spectacular it made me forget the difficulties of night.💫

Because I was able to stay calm, I still had the physical and mental fortitude to hike for many hours down the mountain, safe and smooth. All was well.🙏🏾

If you'd like to strengthen your own abilities to stay grounded and centered in the midst of potentially volatile situations, please consider joining my upcoming leadership circle, Navigating Complexity.

https://lnkd.in/g8tctr8f

💫 The Early Bird Bonus ends today, October 1. Register now to get a free 1:1 session with me. 💫

09/18/2024

Does this describe you?

~ You are a leader or changemaker in a senior position

~ Your work involves lots of complexity and uncertainty

~ You regularly deal with emerging situations that feel volatile

~ You strive to be responsive rather than reactive but sometimes you get triggered

If so, the Navigating Complexity leadership circle is for you!

It will help you...
~ Break the isolation of leadership

~ Get ongoing support for a difficult work situation

~ Deepen your sense of the interconnectedness

~ Get clarity and perspective

Full program info at www.northstarvisioning.com/complexity

** Early Bird Bonus **
Register by Tuesday, October 1 to receive a free one-to-one session with me to explore and understand your character strengths as they apply to leadership.

09/13/2024

Big news! I'm launching a leadership program called 𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐭𝐲! https://www.northstarvisioning.com/complexity

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩.

Even if you have great colleagues, team members and partners, sometimes leadership feels isolating.

𝐖𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠?

Join other senior leaders and changemakers like you in this online leadership circle and group coaching program to explore how to navigate situations that are...

★ volatile
★ uncertain
★ complex
★ ambiguous

Check out the link for more information!

(𝘛𝘰 𝘢𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘙𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮. 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘊𝘙𝘋 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘧𝘧, 𝘉𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴, 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘙𝘋 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘙𝘋 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘮𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴.)