Carpenter Smith Consulting, llc

05/18/2026

Whether you’re a seasoned CEO, soccer coach, new manager, employee, teacher, spouse, or kid, you’re not alone if you struggle with messy conversations. We do too!

Today, we want to support you in navigating these messy conversations.

So, we’re providing you some suggestions, using some steps from our Leader in You® Framework, of how you might show up for messy conversations, in any area of your life.

Here are a few highlights from our post. If you're interested in the full details, click below.

🟠 BEFORE the conversation, PAUSE, and consider your goal for the discussion. How do you want to show up? What would you like the outcome to look like?

🟠 DURING the conversation, seek to INFLUENCE and be INFLUENCED by. What are the possibilities to create a solution, together?

🟠 AFTER the conversation, REVIEW & REFINE how things are going. What's gone well? What's been challenging? What will we do moving forward?

🧡 When you can show up with compassion, curiosity, and respect for yourself and others, you’ll find that you have more meaningful discussions and create deeper relationships. 🧡

As you identify an important and/or potentially messy conversation on the horizon, consider some ways that you can prepare to show up at your best as well as supporting the other person to show up at their best.

Let us know how it goes!

Today, we're providing some guidance on navigating difficult and messy conversations.

05/11/2026

We're excited to announce that we've officially made Retirement Coaching one of our services.

While we've helped numerous clients over the years, we hadn't yet named this as one of our offerings, until now.

We know it can be difficult to sort through all the options for retirement and get clear on what’s most important to you— especially when you may feel a sense of loss as one chapter ends and a new one begins.

Our goal is to support you in your transition into retirement so that you can feel satisfied with what’s ending and energized with your new beginning.

Whether you need guidance with the big picture, identifying the fine details, staying on track, or any combination of those phases, we’re here for you!

Together, we'll guide you through questions like:

🔵 Who and what are the things that matter most to you in your life and what will you focus on in retirement?

🔵 What are the various criteria that you want to keep in mind for how you’ll spend your time in retirement?

🔵 If you’re fulfilled and satisfied in your retirement, what will that live like, look like, and feel like?

🔵 What personal and professional steps will you need to take to successfully transition into retirement?

🔵 Who and what can support you to continue moving forward toward retirement success?

Please email Heather Stewart at [email protected], if you’d like a free 1/2 hour consultation to see if Retirement Coaching is right for you.

Don't delay, your next chapter awaits!

Today, we're sharing a simple framework to help you come back to center when you're feeling scattered.

05/04/2026

Feeling scattered?

In addition to creating structure and taking regular micro breaks, try a minute or so of this mindful breathing practice and see if you feel more settled and centered:

🟢 PAUSE 🟢
Pause and rest for a moment. Put away distractions.

If you’re comfortable doing so, close your eyes to help you focus on the here and now.

🟢 BREATHE 🟢
Pay attention to your breath as you breathe in for 5 seconds, pause for 2 seconds, and breathe out for 7 seconds.

Mindful breathing is a powerful intervention for your body.

In addition to slowing your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure, and signaling to your brain that things are okay, mindful breathing also provides more oxygen to brain, which can help you to think and become centered.

🟢 SMALL STEPS 🟢
Once you’ve done a few minutes of mindful breathing, we encourage you to think about your next small step.

Whether it’s writing an important email, preparing for a big meeting, brainstorming new ideas, or even decluttering your space, ask yourself something like, “What’s my priority? What’s my next small step?”

Consider taking a few minutes today to practice this mindful breathing checkin and see how it goes. Let us know what you find!

Today, we're sharing a simple framework to help you come back to center when you're feeling scattered.

04/30/2026

In these challenging and uncertain times, people are feeling that too many things are out of their control, making it hard to know what to do to feel impactful in their own lives.

With this in mind we want to remind you of something that’s quite powerful that you do have control over: your words.

So, what’s in a word? The power to change your experience of your life from “I HAVE to”, to something that feels like you have considerably more agency, like, “I CHOOSE to.”

The words you use can actually change your sense of influence and power in your life and can directly impact your energy, engagement, and motivation.

For example, while many of us have a long list of things we must get done, try to shift your self-talk to words that remind you that you’re making a choice:
🔵 Instead of: I have to get this project done tonight.
⚪️ Try: I choose to get this done tonight and free up tomorrow for other things that are priorities to me.

🔵 Instead of: I have to visit my family this weekend.
⚪️ Try: I want to visit my family and share some laughter.

🔵 Instead of: I have to exercise tonight and get in better shape.
⚪️ Try: I get to take a walk tonight and enjoy the beautiful blooms.

We encourage you to grab the impact that comes from remembering you “get to” do the work, connect with the people, and participate in this precious life.

Let us know how it goes!

04/22/2026

Think about your brain and how it operates naturally throughout the day.
🟡 Do you do your best big thinking in the morning and find you’re able to more productively work through operational or admin tasks later in the day?
🟡 Do you find that you need the morning to get organized and read through emails, and then you’re able to do your best intellectual work in the afternoon?

We know that it’s different for all of us, so we encourage you to make some notes over the next few days and weeks about what works best for you.

Once you’ve noticed the ways that your brain functions throughout the day, consider how you can break up your day so that you feel most productive and satisfied.

Here are some suggestions to get your started:

BATCH
First, group similar tasks as a way to reduce the mental toll it requires when you switch back and forth.

SCHEDULE
Then, consider breaking up your day so that your most demanding intellectual tasks are when your brain is at its peak, and the more routine tasks are when you’re slowing down.

IMPORTANT NOTE:
As we mentioned last week, it’s essential to take Micro Breaks throughout the day. We encourage you to book those on your calendar as well (or as reminders on your phone). These breaks are important to help your brain rest and reset which can support you to in being more focused and motivated to tackle your work throughout the day.

We know that you likely won’t be able to create a work schedule that allows you to always have the flow that works best for you. And, we encourage you to look for what’s possible!

Let us know how it goes!

Today, we're encouraging you to think about how your brain operates throughout the day and to schedule your tasks accordingly.

04/13/2026

We know that creating healthy boundaries can help you in living a more spacious life. But what should you do with those extra moments? Take a break!

Studies have shown that a helpful way to renew, reenergize, and combat burnout, is to take a combination of micro and macro breaks.

Here are some top highlights and examples:

MICRO BREAKS range from 30 seconds to a few minutes and allow your nervous system to recover, helps to maintain focus and boost energy levels.

Examples:
😊 Breathe mindfully.
😊 Stretch or walk.
😊 Laugh.
😊 Hydrate.
😊 Connect with yourself or others.
😊 Listen to music.
😊 Practice gratitude.

MACRO BREAKS range from long weekends to multiple week hiatuses and can support you in detaching from work, deeper recovery, and lower stress levels.

Examples:
😊 Take multiple one-week vacations (or staycations) each year.
😊 Travel to another country for 2-3 weeks every other year.
😊 Give yourself a long weekend at least once a month.
😊 Go on a 1-2 month hiatus.
😊 Enjoy a 3-day work week during the summer months.

As you read through the descriptions of both micro and macro breaks, think about what works for you, so that you can live a healthy and balanced life and have the best to give to your world. 💛 Then, take those breaks! 💛

Today, we're sharing with you the importance of taking both micro and macro breaks, along with some suggestions of what that could look like.

04/06/2026

In everything you do, if you seek to influence others and allow them to influence you, you’ll find better engagement and alignment.

When it comes to setting healthy boundaries, people often worry that they’ll come across as mean or aggressive. This can certainly be the case if you’re only trying to influence the other person.

Creating healthy boundaries isn’t about being mean. It’s about influencing them with your needs and then allowing them to influence you with theirs, by looking for the space between YES and NO.

Here are a couple of examples of what this could look like:
"YES, AND..."
🟠 A program manager asks you to take on a new graphics project that wasn’t completed before the previous designer left.
🟠 You could say something like, “Yes, I’d love to work on that, and I’m overwhelmed right now. Is this something that can be done at a later date? If so, could you reach out to me again in a month or so?”

"NO, AND…"
🟠 A colleague asks you to step in and put together a last minute financial assessment for a new potential client.
🟠 You could say something like, “No, I’m overwhelmed and don’t see any end in sight, and I’d be happy to hop on a quick call with you to walk you through how to do it, or to brainstorm someone else who might be available.”

💡 Both of these answers let people know that you care about them (they influence you), the work/project/task they’re asking you to do, AND that you care about yourself as well (you influence them). 💡

There are, of course, many ways to word these sentences. Try out some phrases that work for you and let us know how it goes!

Today we are providing you with a simple framework to support you in creating and maintaining healthy boundaries.

03/30/2026

Today, we’re suggesting some spring cleaning with your top priorities.

What we’ve come to know is that when you identify your life priorities AND take the time to reflect on them regularly, you’ll increase your chances of creating the success that truly matters to you.If you haven’t reflected on your top priorities recently, let this serve as your encouragement to do so this week!

For each of your priorities, ask yourself these questions and make some notes (or create a word cloud, write yourself a letter, draw, paint, etc.):

🔵 What’s been going well?
🔵 What’s been challenging or feels out of balance?
🔵 What would I like to do differently moving forward?

If you'd like a printable version with different reflection options, click through to the post.

Consider taking a few moments this week to do some spring cleaning with your priorities and let us know what comes up for you.

Today suggesting you take some time to do a little spring cleaning and reflection with your life priorities.

03/24/2026

Now that we’re transitioning into spring, it’s a great time of year to do some cleaning and decluttering in places like your home, office, and car.

We’d also like to suggest doing some spring cleaning with your resume. Dust it off and update it to reflect who you are today.

To support you, we’re providing some of our top suggestions and best practices for creating a winning resume that tells the story of YOU.

🔵 Try to keep it to 1-page double-sided, max and embrace white space.
🔵 Think about keeping only items that you love to do, you want to keep doing, are in alignment with the position's needs
🔵 Delete old/irrelevant jobs. You only need to go back about 10 years or so in your work history.
🔵 Think about the “so what” factor in the bullets you list. List not just what you did but what the outcome was. Consider things like:
⚪️ Did you increase sales?
⚪️ How many people did you train?
⚪️ How many projects did you work on simultaneously?
⚪️ What did your efforts result in?

Consider asking a trusted friend or colleague to review and provide feedback on things like grammar, spelling, phrases that stand out, descriptions that are missing, etc.

Finally, as they review your resume, ask them what story it tells about you, and then ask yourself, "Is this the story I want to tell?"

Whether you’re aiming to grow within your current organization or explore new opportunities elsewhere, keeping an updated resume helps you stay clear about your strengths and goals, so you can find work that’s the right fit for you.

Today asking you to consider dusting off your resume and doing some updates so that it shows the best of you.

03/03/2026

Today, we want to review some ways that you can develop a growth mindset within your organization.

In our work, we’ve found that a growth mindset comes to life in a culture of curiosity and learning. One where all levels share successes, challenges, and learnings, and keep putting forth their best efforts, despite setbacks along the way.

Whether you’re a leader or a team member, think about how one or more of these ideas might come to life as you work to build a growth mindset within your organization.

🔵 Together, begin crafting a vision. Ask questions like,
"What might it look like to build an organization where learning and continuous improvement are truly valued and celebrated? One where every single member of the organization owns their leadership, regardless of their role or title?"

🔵 Together, work to define core behaviors. Ask questions like,
"What will it look like if everyone seeks feedback, is open and curious about others’ perspectives, and gratefully accepts their input? What if we embrace continuous recognition, learning from mistakes, and respect explorations, risks, and failures?"

🔵 Together, create a system to track and share progress. Ask questions like,
"What could we put in place to consistently review successes, challenges and learnings? What about sharing stories in bigger company forums like newsletters or all employee meetings?"

Practicing a growth mindset is just that—practice.

Be patient with yourself and others as you learn and grow individually and as a team.

Let us know how it's going!

Today we're sharing some suggestions for how you can develop a growth mindset in your personal and professional life.