The Restoration Project

Oftentimes I have clients who say to me (hey there ?? it's me, Brooke!): ?? “Look, I get it. I know I have to have this tough conversation. How do I do it?” Clients get into having a tough conversation and then they either shut down or freeze up. ?? They think to themselves: “I'm making somebody upset or mad. I don't know how to do this.” ? The good news: I'm here this week to tell you that difficult conversations can be made easier with a few tools and techniques that I'm about to share with you below. ?? The uncomfortable and radically courageous news: we have to practice this over and over again to make it feel routine. I love to reflect on the above quote when it comes to practicing difficult conversations. “Those who make conversations impossible, make escalation inevitable.” If we don't have difficult conversations, if we avoid them, it's only going to get worse. We have to face these challenging conversations head on, not with aggressiveness or a winner-take-all mentality, but with curiosity ? Next time you're facing a difficult conversation, stay curious and use one of the following sentence starters to open your conversation in a respectful, open-ended way: ?? “The story that I’m making up is…..” ?? “I’m curious about…..” ?? “Tell me more….” ?? “The way I see it is...” ?? “I’m wondering…..” ?? “Help me understand….” Staying curious can help both parties stay in the difficult conversation to find common ground and mutual solutions for the benefit of all involved. ?? Need more support in facing a difficult conversation? ?? Head to our website and check out our NEW Difficult Conversations self-guided course. ? This is our most-requested training to share with individuals, teams, and organizations. Take it solo on your own time OR use it alongside your team members at your next leadership meeting. ?? Get all the details and get started at https://lnkd.in/g8HAJshG

?? The good news: Our Energy Builder Brooke Fitzgerald is here to tell you that difficult conversations can be made easier with a few tools and techniques. ?? The uncomfortable and radically courageous news: we have to practice this over and over again to make it feel routine. Watch the video for a brief overview of Module 5, Lesson 2 in our Difficult Conversations course in which Brooke teaches you Communications Tools & Techniques to implement in your next challenging conversation. What can you expect in our NEW course, Difficult Conversations? ? 8 learning modules ? 17 video lessons ? 24 printable tools ? strategies, exercises, & frameworks ? example scenarios ? practical application ? trusted coaching from The Restoration Project We invite you to watch this exclusive preview to experience a bit of the course yourself. Head to https://lnkd.in/dCzcNSt8 for more information or to get started on your journey!

?? How can our team at The Restoration Project help you and your organization in 2025? ? Individual Coaching - Limited Availability in Q2 2025! Contact us to book now for limited Q2 engagements, or inquire for Q3/Q4 availability. Understanding yourself also enables you to establish safety, belonging, and trust in any environment so you can perform at the highest level and achieve your goals with family, friends, coworkers, and your community. We work 1:1 with you to define your version of success and help you take action to get there. ? Group Coaching Most workplace challenges stem from human issues. The absence of trust, lack of clarity, and misunderstandings or misperceptions are at the root of most problems in work and in life. If we spent more time creating understanding and communicating our expectations, we would improve productivity, engagement, morale, and outcomes quite drastically. Our team development programs integrate individual tools with communication strategies to help your team operate at its best. ? Organizational Consulting We identify your organization's challenges and growth opportunities and tie in the strategy and team dynamics to ensure we hit the mark and maximize impact through our signature Restoration Process. ? Speaking Events, Workshops, Online Courses & More! Whether you are looking for energy and motivation in an hour engagement, a year-long leadership development experience, a customized team development plan, guidance on strategic planning, or a strategic free agent to be on your team in an ongoing capacity, we will work with you to identify how we can help you achieve your goals and then customize an approach and engagement that works for everyone. ?? Ready to speak with a member of our team? Head to https://lnkd.in/gCGrqpXQ or send us a message here on social to start the inquiry process.

Thoughts on radical courage by The Restoration Project's Creator of Calm, Sarah Watson. The typical courage loop contains a big section centered on Avoidance. And ohhhhh let me tell you, I've been there: ?? When a problem has a multitude of solutions, sometimes I become paralyzed. ?? Avoiding > decisions. ?? When a difficult situation arises, sometimes I'm reluctant to share my ideas. ?? Avoiding > conflict. ?? When I'm having a tough week, sometimes I stubbornly push through. ?? Avoiding > rest. ?? When I've made a mistake, sometimes I blame external circumstances. ?? Avoiding > responsibility. When I choose radical courage: Awareness > Acknowledgement > Action, I'm serving others in a more positive way ? ? Bonus: I'm growing as a leader. I love this piece from the book?Freedom is an Inside Job?by Zainab Salbi: "The only way to hold the reins of our lives is to be fully present to the good, the bad, and the ugly that exist in each and every one of us. We show up in our fullness. Then we can stop pointing our fingers at others in fear and anger and start talking and acting from a place of clarity. This is how we avoid destroying ourselves and the world and start building the world we want to live in." ? So, friends, this is your encouragement to show up in your fullness and choose radical courage in this season.

FREE event ?? Virtual Lunch & Learn: How to Live, Lead, and Work with Intention with Lindsay Leahy ?? Are you living and leading with intention? When is the last time you reflected on what’s important and aligned your actions to your intentions? ?? In our fast-paced world, filled with distractions, it can be easy to get caught up in reacting to what’s around you, running from one thing to the next, to wake up one day wishing things were different or wondering if you’re really making the impact you want to make in the world. ?? Register here: https://lnkd.in/geEk3yEU ?? This FREE virtual lunch and learn event on Thursday, May 8, 2025, will introduce you to ideas, frameworks, tips, and questions from Lindsay Leahy's book Take It All Apart: How to Live, Lead and Work with Intention. ?? These 60 minutes will support you in making the most of your life and leadership, and help you be more successful in creating the impact you want to make in the world. ?? You will walk away from this webinar with a process you can follow, questions to help you improve your self-awareness and grow your intentionality, and action steps to initiate the internal transformation that creates positive change. This webinar is facilitated by Lindsay Leahy, Dream Builder at The Restoration Project and author of Take It All Apart. She believes in order to be your best self, live your best life, do your best work, and have the best relationships, you have to make time for thinking, reflection, learning, and growth ???? ?? Register here: https://lnkd.in/geEk3yEU

“Anything worth doing is worth inviting someone else into, so they can help make it better..." - @lindsaymleahy, Dream Builder at The Restoration Project and author of the book Take It All Apart: How to Live, Lead, and Work with Intention ? This spring, we want to take some time to introduce you to a few people who make our programming better...our Ambassadors! Our Ambassadors are leaders who help our coaches carry out our mission and foster a strong sense of community by participating in and inviting people into the experiences we provide. Ambassadors main goals are to: ?? Increase awareness of the programs we offer and work we do with clients. ?? Diversify attendees for a variety of industries, organizations, and life experiences. ?? Create meaningful connections and make people feel more welcome. ?? Build Connection. Restore Intention. Inspire Action. This spring, we're going to introduce you to our talented leaders on the Ambassador team. Stay tuned here at The Restoration Project on social media, or be sure to join our email list to see them all: https://lnkd.in/gyzSPaPU

?? Courage: Mental or moral strength to persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. The quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc. in spite of fear. Typical Courage is what we traditionally see modeled in our culture. Typical Courage in the moment can feel like: ?? being "right" above all else ?? protection from ideas we don't agree with ?? independence ?? being "in control at all times" ?? never showing weakness ?? being strong What Typical Courage actually is: ?? force ?? control ?? overwhelming ?? lonely ?? unsustainable ?? isolating ?? pushing others away So what keeps us stuck in our TYPICAL COURAGE in our life and leadership instead of stepping into courageous action? ? Fear ? When something challenging happens or we become aware that we are “wrong,” we get scared, and our body goes into fight, flight, fawn, or freeze mode. ?? Our natural tendency is to avoid (usually at all costs). We pretend like the challenge doesn't exist or refuse to take ownership. Sometimes avoidance looks like refusing to entertain other ideas or even shutting down. While we think this is a move of strength and protection, avoidance actually creates anxiety in our mind, body and spirit. This anxiety can bring about a host of physical symptoms as well as social and emotional adversities that bring about new challenges. And so the cycle continues ?? ???????? Until we choose another, more courageous path with intentional, inspired action. Take a moment today to ask yourself: ?? What is something I've been avoiding that is causing me anxiety? Locate it in your brain, heart, and body. ?? How is the avoidance of this thing actual making anxiety bigger? There's no need to take any action yet. Simply acknowledging the existence of a Typical Courage pattern is enough to bring awareness to it and begin to break the cycle ?

"No" is a complete sentence, and you have the right to say it. Without guilt, over-explaining, or apologizing. Setting boundaries is a form of self-respect, and it allows you to show up fully where it matters most. If saying "no" feels uncomfortable, try these sentence starters: ? "I appreciate the opportunity, but I have to decline." ? "That doesn’t align with my priorities right now." ? "I don’t have the capacity to take this on." Remember, saying no doesn’t make you unkind, it makes you intentional. ??? If you desire more support in prioritizing your actions and saying "no" to what doesn't matter so you can say "yes" to what does, tap the link below to register for our upcoming FREE Brunch & Learn on "The Power of No" happening April 10, 2025, at Indian Creek Nature Center in Cedar Rapids. ?? https://lnkd.in/gSVB8Hce #OwnYourNo #HealthyBoundaries #LeadershipMindset

?? We often find ourselves saying "yes" to things that we really don’t want to. We say "yes" to projects, to people, to pressure and then... ?? PANIC. ?? No time ?? No energy ?? No balance ?? No control. ?? NO. A small word that packs a LOT of POWER. In fact, it is the most powerful word in the English language. Just ask any 3 year old! To them, "no" is an awesome super power. Children treasure this weapon along with an amazing concert of temper tantrums to go along with it. Eventually however, it becomes very apparent that society does not look kindly upon this as a default behavior. We are taught early on in our childhood that both saying and hearing “no” is a negative thing, that it hurts those around us and causes us to lose out on new or exciting opportunities. Eventually, most of us run out of energy and just start saying "yes" because it’s easier. We spend so much time saying "yes" to things as we're conditioned into preteens, teens, young adults, then adults, that it becomes a HABIT. Our default becomes "yes," rather than "no." ??? If any of the above resonated with you, then friend, I invite you to join me (Hi! It's me, Brooke Fitzgerald!) on Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 8:30-10:00 for a FREE Brunch & Learn Session entitled "The Power of No." ? This is a FREE 60-minute workshop designed to foster connection with other leaders and discuss the human skills required for effective leadership in today’s challenging and changing landscape. We will present ideas, frameworks, practical tips, resources and reflection questions you can discuss in our time together and take with you to continue your learning journey and share with others. ?? Get more information and reserve your spot at https://lnkd.in/gSVB8Hce

In 2018, my word of the year was “no” - hello there! It's me, Brooke, partner and Energy Builder at The Restoration Project ?? But I didn’t start saying “no” just for the sake of it all those years ago. I used “no” as a tool to prioritize what was most important - what I intentionally wanted to say “yes” to. To sort out your priorities, ask yourself three simple questions: ?? What do I want? ?? Why do I want it? ?? How will I achieve it? Once you have a clearer picture of your priorities, ask these four questions to assess each new request of your time: ?? Do I truly want to do this? ?? What do I personally gain out of doing this task or attending this event, etc.? ?? What has the person asking done for me lately? ?? What will I do if I don’t say yes? ? Allowing yourself the time and space to ask those questions will ensure that you’re saying “yes” to things that are right for you and “no” to what is no longer aligned. Of course, it can be challenging to say “no,” especially if the person making the request is your boss or someone you love and especially if you've been conditioned to say “yes” before all else. Join me and your leadership coaches at The Restoration Project for a FREE 60-minute workshop on Thursday, April 10, all about The Power of “No.” In this session we will help participants think through practical ways of getting commitment from teammates, clients, connections, and others, to say “yes” with intention. We will also talk about our own boundaries and priorities that help us to respectfully say “no,” and what outline we need to think through before we commit to something so we can keep our commitments and not be overwhelmed. ?? Reserve your spot here: https://lnkd.in/gr6A9BS6