Competing for the Best
Angela Cusack • May 30, 2017

We all want the best team. After all, it is often said, “the best teams win.” 


Often people mistake “the best team” for the most talented team of superstars that have all the experience, education, and natural skills possible. 


Here’s the problem: "the best team" doesn’t always win. 

 They don’t win often unless they have two very important ingredients.

The first absolutely critical ingredient is leadership. 


Does the team have alignment around a vision and values? 


Are they all working for a common result? 


Are they putting the team first? 


Without leadership, this can never happen. Why would it? 


A leader must be present to set the direction and help everyone be successful.

The second ingredient, which is even more important than the first, is a sense of belonging. 


Does each person on the team share the values of the whole? 


Is each person committed to shared success and meeting the goals of the team?

You see, short term winning may be possible with a group of individuals, however, true sustainable success can only be achieved if the whole functions greater than the sum of its parts.

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Constructive or Destructive Conversations? Which are you having?

By Angela Cusack, EdS, MCC & Michelle Vander Stouw, MPH, ACC • November 11, 2022
Conversations are rarely neutral. Conversations live on the spectrum of being productive to unproductive, constructive to destructive. The primary purpose of conversation is to coordinate and effectively move action forward for the sake of reaching a goal—ideally a shared goal.
A group of women are standing in a circle and smiling

Part II, The Truth About Trust

By Angela Cusack, EdS, MCC & Michelle Vander Stouw, MPH, ACC • November 11, 2022
Trust Requires Us to Be Adults. Not victims of circumstance. Not rescuers trying to fix or save colleagues relationships, making everyone feel a bit better. Not persecutors who look to place blame and foster shame in others.
woman book

Part II: Imagine Your Potential. Step Forward into Your Future Now!

By Angela Cusack, EdS, MCC & Michelle Vander Stouw, MPH, ACC • November 11, 2022
I took up golf later in life. Yet, it was a game that I had always been attracted to--a sport that when I was in my 20’s I attempted to learn, but my wallet wasn’t fat enough to allow it to happen. But I never lost sight of seeing myself playing the game well, competing against other women who likely had been playing a good portion of the lives.
The word trust is written on wooden blocks on a wooden table.

The Truth About Trust

By Angela Cusack • November 11, 2022
Trust is messy. It takes work. It requires intention. It demands our commitment. And quite frankly it is easier to Distrust than to Trust.

Imagine Your Potential. Step Forward into Your Future Now!

By Angela Cusack • November 11, 2022
From early childhood--well before I could read--I would devour the pictures in our 1960’s Encyclopedia Britannica. As I developed my reading skills, my time with these fascinating books only expanded. I’d sit for hours reading text and sub-titles drifting off as I imagined myself on safari, flying strange aircraft, throwing elaborate dinner parties where every utensil was used--all 22 forks. Every day offered a different opportunity to explore and try on something new.
A group of people are giving each other a thumbs up

Cultural Humility

By Angela Cusack, EdS, MCC & Michelle Vander Stouw, MPH, ACC • November 11, 2022
The only practice you need to expand your cultural awareness
A woman is standing on the beach looking at the ocean.

When You Stumble

By Angela Cusack • May 21, 2020
There are days when you stumble…and then there are days when you stumble upon a trinket from your past.  Our experience of the two isn’t dissimilar:  It breaks our flow; the forward movement toward something else we desire. We feel flush with excitement, shame, or something in-between. Our breathing shifts, our minds uncontrollably leap forward and […]
Two men are shaking hands in front of a bookshelf.

TRUST, a Hallmark of Success

By Angela Cusack • May 21, 2020
The cornerstone of every productive, caring, and meaningful relationship is trust.  Trust only exists within the framework of a relationship. Without trust we live in a superficial world where we silently doubt, reconsider, wink in agreement, and speak covertly about what we don’t like—these very actions undermine what we claim to care about albeit unintentionally. In […] The post TRUST, A HALLMARK OF SUCCESS appeared first on IgnitingSuccess.
A group of people are sitting around a wooden table with laptops and tablets.

Power of Practice

By Angela Cusack • May 21, 2020
We are always practicing something. The question lies in whether what you are practicing will get you where you want to go and where your company’s shareholders expect you to go.  Let’s face it, we are blind to the practices we practice daily. We get up, do what we do, go to work, pick up […] The post Power of Practice appeared first on IgnitingSuccess.