VOLUME 3 AUGUST 2026
This last month, we bid farewell to Christine, a valuable member to our group. We will miss her passion, insights and drive but we will always know that she is a phone call away. We wish her all the best on her future endeavours.
At Global Positive Links, we are four women from around the world, brought together through Points of You® Business Training and united by a shared calling: to bring more humanity, courage, and creativity into the way we live, work, and lead.
With roots in Canada, Singapore, South Africa, and Trinidad, we carry a rich blend of perspectives, coaching styles, and lived experience in leadership, workplace culture, and personal growth. Each month, we share insights designed to spark reflection, offer fresh perspectives, and gently down‑regulate the stress that so often accompanies leadership.
Our hope is that these tools expand your view of what’s possible, and that you take what is offered and turn it into the opportunities that matter to you. We’re honoured to walk this path alongside you.
The Global Positive Links Team
Inside The Global Post this Month
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Authentic Leadership Series
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Creating Environments Where People Thrive by Lydia
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Importance of Presence in Leadership
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Presence Creates Possibility - by Laurie Renton
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Come and share your leadership insights with us through an interview.
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Keep up to date on where we are and what we are doing.
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Answer to the Quiz
What’s Coming Next at Global Positive Links
Next in the Authentic Leadership Series, we shift from self‑leadership to intentional leadership. The practice of choosing direction rather than being carried by pace. On October 6, we’ll explore how leaders create clarity and focus in environments that reward constant motion.
If this first session has stirred something in you, a desire to slow down, to lead with more clarity, or simply to reconnect with yourself you are not alone. Many leaders are feeling the pace of the year and sensing the need for a steadier, more intentional way forward.
We would love you to join us as we begin this journey together.
Remaining Relevant in The 21st Century
Creating Environments Where People Thrive
I have been thinking a lot lately about what helps people thrive.
Not because I’ve found the answer.
But because I keep noticing the same moments.
A meeting where everyone agrees, yet no one seems convinced.
A leader who has all the answers but somehow leaves the room feeling smaller.
A colleague who quietly carries more than anyone realizes.
A conversation where someone finally feels listened to, and you can almost see their shoulders soften.
They’re ordinary moments.
Easy to miss.
Yet I wonder if this is where thriving begins.
Not in the strategy meeting.
Not in the vision statement.
Not in the next initiative.
But in the space between people.
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring leadership, connection, culture, flourishing and the positive chain reaction that one small action can create.
I have realized these are not really separate conversations.
They’re all asking the same question.
What helps people feel safe enough to bring more of themselves?
Because before people contribute ideas, they decide whether it’s safe to speak.
Before they collaborate, they decide whether they will be heard.
Before they innovate, they decide whether mistakes will be punished or explored.
Most of those decisions happen quietly.
No one announces them. They simply begin to perform.
We become careful instead of curious.
Helpful instead of honest. Busy instead of present.
Not because we’re pretending.
Because we’ve all learned, in different ways, how to protect ourselves.
I don’t think that’s failure. I think it is human.
Which is why creating environments where people thrive feels less like changing people and more like changing the conditions around them.
A leader pauses before responding.
A colleague asks another question instead of giving advice.
Someone says, “Tell me more.”
A different opinion is welcomed instead of defended against.
Nothing dramatic happens. Yet something shifts.
A little more trust. A little more courage.
A little more of ourselves enters the room.
Perhaps that’s how thriving begins.
Not with a grand gesture.
But with one interaction that quietly tells another human being,
“You don’t have to perform here.”
I’ve found myself wondering…
Where do I hold space for someone to just be present?
By Lydia Mattison
Spotlight:
This Month’s Experience
This is our third newsletter, our key outcome was not to give you more to read, or another newsletter to add to your archive, but give you some time to breathe, feel lighter and ready to change a bad habit or continue to maintain a new habit. We have decided for our newsletter to be a consolidation of what we shared during the month of July in one place. If you didn’t have a chance every week to read, you can now catch it in one place. If you were able to read weekly, now is the time to check in with yourself, what matters, what must go and what needs to shift.
Our month of July we covered Presence.
Presence is more than the opposite of absence. We can be physically present yet mentally elsewhere. True presence is about respect, commitment, and choosing to show up fully — not as a slot to fill, but as a gift of attention.
Resources & Reflections
Leader Link
July 8The strongest leaders don’t always speak first. They create space for others to find their voice.
Reflection: How do people feel after spending time with you?
Human Connection
July 15Connection begins when we choose curiosity over judgement.
Reflection: Who in your life needs to feel truly heard today?
Workplace Wisdom
July 22Culture is built in micro‑moments, not annual plans.
Reflection: What is one small action you can take today to strengthen your workplace culture?
Flourishing Forward
July 29Success isn’t only productivity — it’s how much people grow together.
Reflection: What does flourishing at work look like to you?
Closing Thought
Presence is the thread that ties connection, culture, and flourishing together. It’s not about time as money, but time as meaning. Every intentional interaction is a chance to lead with humanity.
The next link awaits ….
Behind The Scenes
A Reflection:
Where could slowing down and being fully present create space for someone else to shine this month?
Presence Creates Possibility - by Laurie Renton
This month, our 10-year-old granddaughter spent a week with us at Burgis Beach. We had imagined days on the boat, but Mother Nature had other plans.
As it turns out, those changed plans gave us something even better.
She spent time in my office, greeted my notary clients with a warm smile, and before long she confidently announced, “I think I’d like to be a barista someday.” She even picked out the spot she’d serve from. ♥️
A few days later, we took her golfing. After four holes she looked around, found the ball washer beside the tee box, and happily declared, “I’ll be the ball washer!” While the rest of us focused on our next shot, she had found her own way to contribute.
Neither moment was extraordinary on its own.
But together they reminded me what presence really looks like.
Presence isn’t about directing every moment or filling every silence. It’s about slowing down enough to notice what lights someone up. It’s about creating space where people feel safe to explore, imagine, and contribute in ways that are meaningful to them.
Children have a remarkable ability to show us this. They aren’t preoccupied with titles or expectations. They simply follow their curiosity, immerse themselves in the moment, and confidently step into whatever role feels right.
As leaders, parents, grandparents, colleagues, and friends, perhaps our greatest gift isn’t having all the answers.
Perhaps it’s being present enough to notice the possibilities unfolding right in front of us.
Sometimes the greatest impact we make isn’t through what we teach.
It’s through the space we create for someone else to discover who they are becoming.
Community Moment…
We would love to interview you?
We’re opening this space to share moments from our wider Global Positive Links community, the small shifts, insights, or experiences that are helping you lead with presence, courage, and authenticity in your own environments.
We will begin featuring these soon. If you have a moment you’d like to share, we would love to hear from you, you can reach us at: connect@globalpositivelinks.com or through the contact form on our website.
From time to time, we’ll offer a complimentary 30‑minute session to a community member whose shared moment helps deepen our collective learning
An Invitation to Connect
Global Positive Links offers complimentary introductory webinars for teams and groups who want to experience our approach first‑hand. You bring the context, the topic, challenge, or question that matters most to your people, and we weave it into the month’s theme to create a meaningful, relevant session.
We deliver virtual sessions worldwide. In‑person experiences are currently available in the UK, Canada, Singapore, Trinidad, and South Africa, and we’re happy to explore additional locations where needed.
Please Register Your Interest here
Closing Note
Thank you for being part of this growing community of leaders who are choosing presence, courage, and quiet transformation in their everyday environments. Each month, we’re reminded that leadership is not a performance, it’s a practice. A series of small, grounded choices that shape how we show up for ourselves and one another.
As you move through the weeks ahead, may you find moments of clarity, steadiness, and alignment, and may those moments ripple gently into the spaces you lead.
We look forward to continuing this journey with you.
The Global Positive Links Team