Insights That Spark Transformation

Author

Wisdom for the Journey Ahead

Whether you're an emerging leader beginning your journey, a mid-career professional seeking clarity, or a seasoned expert, these books offer meaningful insights to help shape your next steps. Each chapter opens with haiku, inviting reflection and deeper understanding.

CEO Catherine Glynn's first book, Leadership Distilled, is part storytelling, part Zen koan, and part practical guide. It challenges readers to examine their current practices while encouraging simple, creative steps toward more enlightened leadership.

In her most recent book, Presence, Distilled, Catherine offers an impactful guide for those seeking that je ne sais quoi—the certain something that sets them apart from the crowd.

Both books are available on 

Amazon Barnes & Noble.

Leadership and presence themed book covers

Coming Next!
Devising, Distilled

Catherine will soon be undertaking her third book, Devising, Distilled. A joyful collaboration with Core A.R.T. Ensemble member Jerome Yorke, Chair of the Visual and Performance Arts Department at the University of Dayton, Ohio. Together they will explore ten years of solo-ensemble building, creative practices and the art of consensus building.

Poetry & Articles

Underwater scene with rays and fish

Safe Waters

When working with young leaders, I often encounter questions about how to speak up in...
Young athletes playing competitive basketball game

The fine art of pivoting

I love basketball. I played for nine years, growing up. In fact, I had the...
Artistic bunny in soft colors

Spring Interrupted

Just as March was getting her start Mother Nature gave us a fright It began...
Riddle Me This" spray-painted on wall

Riddle me this

A few years ago, my brother Tom used the phrase "riddle me this" repeatedly. It...
Yoga on a dock by the forest

A is for Abundance

I am intrigued by the concept of abundance. I believe a great many less than...
Exploring snowy forest with a compass

True North

There is a stillness That drops in and guides the heart May it find True...

The Story of a, Her Foot

Chapter One Cody Jennings ’s dog, Freckles, found it. She practically howled with grief after...

Coronavirus

I wrote this piece on January 26th, 2020 as a part of short stories called...
Winter scene with a squirrel

Spring Prayer

Squirrel bows in prayer Robins sing sweet hymns Spring blooms into Love
Rustic wooden house with autumn foliage

In the House of the Witch

Beatrix is from Marble Head. It is not lost in me that it’s just north...
Zebra leaping in grassy savannah

I know a zebra

I know a zebra Who gave birth to herself and Became a Phoenix
Neck tattoo featuring Chinese calligraphy

Don’t Forget to Breathe

This morning (as a part of some client follow-up that I promised) I wrote the...

Recent Poems

Giving Wings to My Words Until I Grow My Own

wings

torn from my back

long ago

what crimes

committed

over centuries

sins

omissions

jealousy and rage

quiet after birth

later

much

time after time

yet

just on the other side

—the reverse of the mirror

the wings

are growing back

softly

painfully

emerging from my shoulder blades

and I wonder

how much longer til I fly?

-March 2015

Shards

poetry

like shards of a pot

placed back together

after shattering

at the discretion

of the finder

words lost/found

rearranged

a whole new vessel

formed from

another’s

point of view

go ahead

drop it again

I dare you

to start anew

------------

for Jerome

Inspired by M.C. Richards

What Would Virginia Do?

(An overdue ode to the Cascade River in Spring)

sepia swirls

over mocking white foam

conifers dance and

bubbles beckon

what would Virginia do?

would she wade into your

cold and mocking waters?

or would she look in her pockets

and find a shining agate from the shore

that captures her attention

to stave off her demise

for another day?

Suspended in Honey

hazy warm air,

a bee’s sense of laissez-faire

i run my fingers through my growing

golden hair

marveling that i feel young again

never mind the glimpse of my actual reflection

my true self possesses some

certain something that never really leaves

that j nais c’set qua

and leftover aplomb

that suspends my true nature

in a state of honey

golden, glowy

a little bit showy

sexy and sweet

but be careful…

do not add heat

i’ve no fear of drowning in it,

rather

what I fear

is that in some

strange suspended state

my mind will harden like amber

around an illusion

of fate

Just Enough

they knew just enough

enough to be dangerous

dangerous in ways that left others unsettled

unsettled–as in feathers ruffled

ruffled and or preening in order to be seen

seen by those who left

left –right–or wrong–their presence was still felt

felt in the way peril and elation merge

merge and confuse you

you cannot escape their wisdom

wisdom that comes from knowing

knowing just enough

enough to be dangerous

Ode to a House Finch

your dainty redhead

turning this way and that

attentive and attuned

ready to fly at a moment’s notice

ready for anything

(including my cats)

undaunted

present

liminal and light

ready for nothing

ready for all

perched in between

ever ready

always ready

to heed the call