Deanna Doss Shrodes

People's failures teach us as much if not more than their successes. One of my greatest failures happened because I refused to use one of my greatest strengths. Resilience: My Personal Uzi I've always been resilient. Had to be. It's a story bigger than one blog post. The crux of it is, I learned pretty early in life that I could be resilient or die. My former boss used to joke that while other employees were complaining about something that happened, I had already formulated a 10-point strategy to come back from whatever took place and was passionately trying to sell everyone on it. Why Some Leaders Don't Move Forward A lot of leaders stay down too long after a hit. Staying immobilized for too long impedes a comeback. If something bad happens in the course of my job, I usually blow off steam for no longer than a few hours. Then, I pray about it and work hard on quickly creating and announcing a new plan -- that day. The goal is move f...

Succeeding at anything long-term will be a challenge for those addicted to affirmation. Affirmation is a wonderful thing when it happens. I love it. (What human being doesn't?) I try to remember to give it to others, knowing how much it means. I have a collection of affirming communications people have sent me over the course of my life. Such notes are of value and are appreciated.  At the same time, I'm mindful of guarding against the trap of needing any of it to: 1) Do what is right. 2) Fulfill my purpose in the earth. 3) Lead in the way God has called me to. I learn by observing others, more than anything. I notice that affirmation addicts tend to spin their wheels a lot, never gaining serious traction. This is because they have to wait for more affirmations before they can keep going. Or, they go full steam ahead for a while -- perhaps even make major progress -- and then crash when enough affirmations aren't coming in. If affirmation is your fuel and ...

“I'll take fifty percent efficiency to get one hundred percent loyalty.” Samuel Goldwyn, U.S. Film Producer I often share with those I'm coaching about loyalty. In job coaching we talk about hard skills vs. soft skills. Things like knowing Microsoft Office or how to operate a forklift would be a hard skill. Things like honesty and loyalty are soft skills. It really doesn't matter how skilled you are, if you aren't loyal nothing else matters. I can teach someone to do a lot of manual skills. Matter of fact I could instruct someone who isn't even a Christian how to present the Bible in a compelling way. But I can't manufacture a pure heart.

Last night, a bunch of them came to Celebration Church , and to me. It was awesome. We laughed. We cried. We hugged. We went there. We talked about stuff some people are never brave enough to speak of. We tackled the tough issues. We were strengthened. "Can we do this all the time, PD? Like everyday?" they said. "Ummmm....everyday? Can we gather in person with this group every single day at the church?" I said..."In person...realistically, probably no. But can we get together on a regular basis in person? YES. Absolutely. Yes!!!" (And we can get together every day, on Facebook in between times!) Last night I gave each of the young ladies a stack of small papers and a pen as they came in. We sat in a circle. A bucket was placed in the center. I told them at any time during the evening they could get up and put a question in the bucket that they didn't feel comfortable to ask out loud. A lot of questions were asked out loud, but p...

I was recently in a regional leaders meeting where we discussed the fact that today's people want events, seminars, workshops, mentorship and coaching. More than anything they seem to crave a leader's personal investment of time and interest. However, it was also noted that when any of that hits home and puts the finger of truth on areas of their life that need change, they back off.  Scores of leaders affirm that people want them to pour into their lives but only to the degree that it doesn't mess with their desires, habits, goals and plans.   I've noticed two things about people who grow.   1) They recognize/honor the gift of God. " So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…" Ephesians 4:11,12 Christ Himself gave these people to us to speak into our lives. Christ is not confused about what He sent. ...

Most of what I do in my role as a career coach is over the phone and online. Inevitably during resume work, I have to tell a client, "okay, I'm just letting you know, when I get quiet, I'm very much still here. I am working hard on your behalf, as you'll see in a moment..." After a few minutes they'll say, "Are you still there?" "Yep, sure am..." I reply. "I'm sending something to your e-mail right now..." And in a few moments they read something I just wrote based upon what we've been talking about and they respond with something like, "Wow. Um, just wow...that's really good. You've just truthfully stated my experience and accomplishments in a way that makes me sound like I should be running for president or something..."  Mission accomplished! There are so many thoughts running in my head right now, so much I'm processing, much of which I am writing. I'm putting the finishing touches...

The life of a writer can be really rollercoasterish (I'm aware that's not a word) and if you let it get to you, it could put you permanently between a case of Prozac and a dozen donuts. Lucky for me Dunkin Donuts is less than a mile away. Remember yesterday when I talked about there always being a next? Well, I know what I'm talking about, from experience. They say a man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument. I think that works for a woman too.  I'm sure there's always a next. As sure as Chick-fil-A has the best iced tea... As sure as this presidential election has shaped up to be the lamest ever... I'm confident, absolutely sure , 100% positively certain there is a next. Are you breathing? Then there's something for you to do next.  You're never, ever through. Even when you die, you're not through. No, that wasn't a typo. You aren't through when you're physically dead, because you will live forev...

This week's posts are going to be a series about mentorship. I'm not going to do all the posting. Tomorrow we'll have a guest post you don't want to miss. It's from someone I've been mentoring. So tomorrow, we will hear from a mentee's perspective. Right now I mentor less people up-close-and-personal than I ever have. It's a temporary season I'm in, and there's a good reason for it. Back when I started in ministry a little over 25 years ago, people would occasionally approach me and although they didn't always use the word mentorship, that's what it was. I was flattered, and humbled and overwhelmed when they came to me, a very young woman at the time.  I was green and needed a lot of experience, and I took every opportunity I could in an effort to learn. I had a great passion to help people. Through the years I gained more experience and learned a lot of things in the process. I learned that: Many people don't want a ment...

Surrendering your schedule to God is so important for two reasons. First, the most important thing we do in all of the roles we carry is to point people to Him.  Second, seeing the hand of God move in hearts and lives makes the mundane or difficult things we go through worth it all. Tuesdays are very busy days for me and my working day doesn't typically end until late as I'm doing a full day of ministry stuff and coaching.  On Tuesday nights I always have a meeting with my boss Kathryn to give a report on all my job seekers and assignments. Last night I called and she  said she was still on the phone with a client, and asked if I had the flexibility in my schedule to give her 30 minutes grace. I was thrilled because I realized I could squeeze in time to ride my bike at sunset. I said, "Can I have 35 minutes because my bike route takes exactly that long..." She said, " take all the time you need, you're doing me a favor..."  I was pedaling along...

People who are most effective in life have in common that they get things done regardless of what comes up.  Dependability is one of the most important soft skills a person can possess. Right now you may not feel like you're at your optimal best with hustle and bustle and holiday stress. I know the feeling. The other night it was all I could do to get through a rehearsal, I was so physically and emotionally exhausted from the extra holiday load.  Then a few days ago a cold sore showed up on my lip -- always one of the telltale signs that I'm stressed. But I know that my success depends on me pushing through the more challenging days and doing what needs to be done in spite of the way I may feel. Your success depends on that too. Here are five things that help me to press on when I feel like stopping or procrastinating: 1) Start the day with a bit more self care For me this means extra time to get ready in the morning.  I like to start my day quietly with just ...

You know that old saying, "if it's not broke, don't fix it"?  Well, that's dumb.  This is the kind of thinking that never moves anybody forward.  It just keeps people, relationships, systems, businesses, churches, homes and ministries right where they are. We wouldn't have a lot of the amazing things in our world today unless somebody decided to fix what wasn't broken. Only by trying to fix what's not broken do we advance.  But it takes brave people to go there.