Sharon L. Mikrut - Empowerment Coach

Honoring Honesty - How Honest Are You?

Honesty is one of those virtues that most people say they possess. When you look at your interactions with family members, friends, colleagues, and others, how honest are you? To what extent are you truthful? When you say you will do something, do you actually do it? When someone asks for your opinion, do you provide an honest one, even if you know it may hurt the person’s feelings? Do you strive to be honest but back away in fear of retaliation? This article provides some tips on what honesty is and how to be honest in a way that is not offensive to others.

The Benefits of Having a Coach in Your Corner

Although coaching is beginning to gain some momentum in the nonprofit field, most nonprofit professionals don't understand what coaching is or how it can be of value to them in their personal or professional life. Also, individuals often confuse coaching with therapy, counseling, or consulting. The following article provides information describing the difference between therapists, counselors, consultants, and coaches, and how coaches work with their clients to resolve issues, achieve goals, or makes significant changes in their lives.

Top Eight Characteristics Of True Friends

Over the years, I have observed people who are real friends and people who claim to be friends. As I get older, I truly believe the old saying that you can count your real friends on one hand. So, you may be asking what makes a person a real friend. I have identified my top eight characteristics of what I feel constitutes a true friend, or what I feel I need most in a friendship. In observing your relationships with other people, whether they are family members, people you went to school with, coworkers, or colleagues, how many of them are real friends? How many of them possess the following characteristics I feel contribute to or reflect real friendships?

Top 12 Attributes Of Effective Leaders

Have you ever wondered why some individuals make great leaders yet, no matter what they do or how hard they try, others fail at leadership?  Most likely, it’s because great leaders share a common set of attributes that inspire others to follow them.  If you want to be a leader in your field but are not sure how to go about it, let’s explore what you can do to become an effective leader.  Having been a leader and observing leaders over the years, the following is a list of those attributes I feel best exemplify true leaders.

1. Leaders possess charisma.  They are positive, friendly, engaged, and fun.  There’s that “something special” that makes one want to be around them.

10 Ways To Operate From Your Highest Level Of Integrity

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, integrity means to have a “firm adherence to a code of especially moral or artistic values.”  My Oxford American Dictionary defines it as “honesty, incorruptibility.”  From these two simple definitions, it is obvious that one of the highest compliments you can pay an individual is to say that s/he has a high degree of integrity.  The reason for this becomes apparent when you consider the following top 10 attributes; critical attributes that I believe individuals need to possess to warrant a high degree of integrity:

1. Displaying honesty in all personal and professional relationships.  Call it karma or what you may, but if you tell a lie, it will generally come back to haunt you.  When you demonstrate honesty, people may not like your answer or stand on an issue, but they’ll have a lot more respect for you.