Thoughts on Winter Solstice

Or, how watching my children sing helps me connect to my own voice

Tonight I had the pleasure of watching my children sing on stage at their elementary school's Candlelight Night, and I'm finding myself thinking about how each of us engages differently with expectations to perform, whether it's in front of our community, our teams, or even just in our 1/1s.

Sometimes, like when it's at a conference, we have the choice to opt-in to a performance. We seek out the right opportunities, we apply, and if we're lucky, we get a chance to speak in front of the communities that we value.

Other times, like with my kids tonight, we are pushed into performing by circumstance.

When faced with that kind of performance, some of us shrink or hide, like my daughter's friend who told her she was planning to "just mouth along." Others get through it, joining in from the middle of the pack, like my son. Still others, like my daughter, put themselves out there, adding hand gestures and personality as they perform.

And we're not all the same in every circumstance. The same person may sometimes choose to sit back, other times be in the middle, and other times be at the front, speaking up or leading the pack.

As a product management coach, I often find myself coaching, or coaxing, people out from the back. I often help them find their voice, in a way that feels authentic and valuable to them.

If you are a product manager who finds yourself hesitating to speak up or voice what you think, perhaps you just need to find the right connection to the voice inside you.

On this night of the winter solstice, I want to stand up, hand gestures and all, to say that whatever difficulties you face, you can develop the strength and skills to get through it. The long night will get shorter again. Just keep going.