Jann’s Jottings - February 2026
“The most practical pages for perusal on the web”
Jotting (defn): short details of significant events, behaviours and conversations about wellbeing, growth and education/career.
Wellbeing Jot: Intentional Margins
After a wonderfully relaxing few weeks at the coast I was reminded of how rest is a necessity not a luxury. My challenge this year is to work hard and to leave a margin. That looks like resting enough so that I have an energy margin, a creative margin and a relationships margin. I find when I am tired these are the three areas that suffer: my energy, creativity and relationships.
Ponder this: Where do you need to build in intentional margins to thrive this year?
Coaching can help with that.
Growth Jot: We lead from who we are
I received Strong Ground by Brene Brown from Santa and this really resonated:
“Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead.” - Brene Brown, Strong Ground, p.89
When we feel uncertain, threatened, insecure, challenged or emotionally exposed we either self-protect and fight back or close down. Brown suggests a healthier way is to pause, recognise and name the feeling, step into courage and lead through it with humility and vulnerability. For example:
Admitting when we don’t know the solution or best direction
Apologising for harsh or unkind words
Having a real conversation even when it is difficult
Trying again after failure
Leaving and starting again
Brown concludes that “our ability to be daring leaders will never be greater than our capacity for vulnerability.”
It’s a great read if you want to know more.
Strong Ground: The lessons of daring leadership, the tenacity of paradox and wisdom of the human spirit. Brene Brown 2025, Vermillion, London.
Career Jot: Develop potential
This year, complexity and volatility are not going to dissipate or even slow down. It takes courage and tenacity to continue leading despite the pace of change. To this end, we need to develop mindsets and skill sets in our team to ride the waves of change.
One effective mindset is to hold yourself as a leader accountable for developing the potential of your people and ideas rather than getting fixated on plans and long-term goals, which, let’s face it, are subject to changes we cannot even predict.
Developing your people’s potential includes finding out and harnessing their motivators, ideas and values in three areas:
Heads – why they do their work
Hearts – how they see their work
Hands – how they do their work
As leaders we will help our team thrive when we meet the moment, accept reality and lean into potential – our own and our team’s.
Coaching can help with that.
“You are loved, valued and worthy. Keep up the great work!”
— Jann Carroll
