Silver Linings International

10/28/2026

🚨 LAST CALL! Our FREE Emotional Intelligence Webinar is this THURSDAY!

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞! We all want to better understand ourselves and others, strengthen relationships, and respond more effectively, especially in challenging moments.

✨ But what if one of your greatest strengths is actually throwing you off balance, and you don't even realize it?

Our strengths help us succeed, but when they aren't balanced with other emotional intelligence skills, they can have an impact we never intended.

The good news? A little awareness can make a BIG difference!

Join Brandi Collins and me for:

Emotional Intelligence at Work: How We Show Up Matters
📅 Thursday, October 29 | 1–2 PM ET

💡 Just ONE hour. A fresh perspective. And maybe a few surprises about yourself and others!

Can't attend live? Register and we'll send you the recording! Also, feel free to share!

👇 Registration link in the comments!

10/20/2026

You think you're being decisive. Your team thinks you're not listening. How can both be true? 🤔

Last week, I helped teams explore the 5 domains and 15 elements of emotional intelligence (EQ-i 2.0):

🌟 Self-Perception: Self-Regard, Self-Actualization, Emotional Self-Awareness

💬 Self-Expression: Emotional Expression, Assertiveness, Independence

🤝 Interpersonal: Relationships, Empathy, Social Responsibility

🧠 Decision Making: Problem Solving, Reality Testing, Impulse Control

🌿 Stress Management: Flexibility, Stress Tolerance, Optimism

Here's why balance matters.

A leader high in Independence but lower in Empathy may feel decisive and capable, while their staff feel dismissed or unheard.

A strength can become a challenge when it isn't balanced with other emotional intelligence skills.

As a certified EQ-i 2.0 and EQ 360 practitioner, I help leaders and teams recognize these blind spots and build stronger relationships.

Here's my challenge to you: Think about your strengths. Which other skills could you practice more often to create balance?

Then notice how people respond to you.

Sometimes small shifts in how we show up make a big difference in how others experience us. 💚

Join us for a free 1-hour webinar on this topic: October 29 at 1 pm ET. See comments for the link!

10/09/2026

Facilitated a day long staff development training on Emotional Intelligence and team development for the NY State Financial and Budget Services Division! It was so fun and energizing!

09/18/2026

A keynote and workshop is in the books! Such a great turnout of crisis professionals!!

09/16/2026

09/16/2026

This is the keynote I’ll be delivering tomorrow and will be doing a workshop for crisis supervisors on Friday!

08/20/2026

Waiting patiently…

If we all could have the patience of a dog waiting for its ball to be “chucked”…what would we learn about ourselves?

08/18/2026

I've been dog-sitting my way across the UK this summer. 🇬🇧🐾

This morning, Diesel and I were out for our usual walk when we came up behind a dad and his son walking a dog.

As we got closer, their dog kept stopping and looking back at us, refusing to move. 👀

Diesel suddenly crouched low to the ground.

Not knowing his history or how he might react, I instinctively shortened the leash, not wanting to create a situation that wasn't there.

Then the gentleman turned around and smiled.

"They're mates," he called out. "They know each other." 😊

I relaxed my grip on the leash, and the two dogs had the sweetest reunion right there in the middle of the road. 🐕❤️🐕

As we walked away, I thanked him.

"I'm just looking after him," I said. "I didn't know."

As supervisors, we often make decisions with incomplete information, too.

We don't always know what experiences someone is carrying, what has built trust for them, what they're worried about, or what helps them succeed.

💜 That's why intentional curiosity matters.

Not to lower expectations.
Not to avoid accountability.

𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞'𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐞'𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞.

Sometimes one conversation...one piece of context...can completely change how we see a situation.

That gentleman knew Diesel's story. I didn't.

The difference between us wasn't that he cared more.

He simply had more context.

As supervisors, we won't always have the full story either. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐨.

💜 If you'd like to join us for our next Trauma-Informed Supervisors cohort beginning September 22, 🔗 the link is in the comments.

08/11/2026

Over the past several weeks in the UK, I didn't just collect memories...I collected reminders.

🌿 I noticed a tiny feather caught on a dried flower.

💜 I discovered a path that had been beside me all along, but I hadn't seen it until weeks later.

🎶 In Liverpool, I was reminded that sometimes our deepest losses can become the foundation for incredible strength.

🐾 Even walking the dogs taught me something about slowing down, paying attention, and noticing what I would have rushed past before...like a heart-shaped stone in the cracked earth at the edge of a hay field.

As I pieced all of these experiences together, I realized they weren't just teaching me about travel. They were teaching me about myself as a .

There have been times when I noticed I was stressed...and ignored it. I convinced myself I just needed to push through.

There have also been times when I completely missed the signs that someone else was struggling. Looking back, I can see the opportunities I missed to ask one more question, to check in, or to simply get curious instead of making an assumption.

That, to me, is what trauma-informed leadership is really about.

Not having all the answers.
Not getting it right every time.
𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Because when we hashtag sooner, we can respond differently. We build trust. We create psychological safety. We strengthen relationships. And sometimes we change the trajectory of someone's day...or even their career. Or we save ours!

That's exactly why we created our 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐮𝐦𝐚-𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞. It's designed for leaders who want practical tools to recognize stress responses in themselves and others, respond with intention instead of reaction, and build teams where people can do their best work, 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙨 𝙔𝙊𝙐.

Our next live cohort begins September 22. See the comment below.

08/07/2026

One thread kept weaving its way through the stories as I wandered through The Beatles Story museum in Liverpool, UK.

With the headphones on 🎧, listening to the history behind the music 🎶 and taking in each exhibit, I realized I wasn't thinking as much about the songs...
I was thinking about the people.

Before they became two of the greatest songwriters in history, John Lennon and Paul McCartney were just two boys who had both lost their mothers far too young. 💔

Paul was 14 when his mum, Mary, died of breast cancer.

About eight months later, in July 1957, 15-year-old Paul met 16-year-old John at a neighborhood church fair, where John was playing with The Quarrymen. 🎸

Before the day was over, John had invited Paul to join the band.

Less than a year later, John's mum, Julia, was struck and killed by a car. 💔

As I listened, I found myself wondering what it must have meant for two teenagers to find someone else who understood that kind of loss.

Then another thought quietly found its way in...

Sometimes our deepest pain becomes the place where we find people who truly understand us.

Sometimes it's also the place where we discover a passion, a purpose, or a determination we never knew we had. 🌱

Not because heartbreak is a gift...

But because human beings have an incredible capacity to keep loving, creating, and hoping, even after life breaks our hearts. ✨

As I was leaving, Yellow Submarine started playing. 🎶

I smiled. 😊

Not because it was my favorite Beatles song...

But because after spending a few hours listening to stories of loss, friendship, hope, and the people behind the music, it somehow felt like a quiet reminder...

We're all just trying to find our place in the world.

And maybe...

We're all traveling through it together. 🌍 💜