Moonshot Mentor with Laverne McKinnon What Are You Not Seeing At Work? 🕵🏽‍♀️
My birthday is this Wednesday.
I usually like to fly under the radar but this year I’m trying something new. Instead of hiding out feeling self-conscious about my warped relationship with age and time, I’m choosing to go on a mission to spread joy along with cool things I’ve been learning.
Take a full watch of this YouTube video that made me laugh so hard I cried. And then I watched it a second time and laughed so hard I cried. Then I shared it with my youngest daughter and we laughed and (happy) cried together. Consider it a gift from me to you!
It’s a cover of the Bee Gees’ song “How Deep Is Your Love” by a South African musical sibling trio called Biko’s Manna: Biko is the eldest sister and lead singer, Manna is the guitar playing brother, and Mfundo is the youngest brother who at the time the video was made was still figuring out his musical north star.
Their musicianship is locked in. Biko’s voice is unreal, Manna’s finger work is magic, and their harmonies are gorgeous. They started out as street performers in Johannesburg and have performed on shows like America’s Got Talent.
As you’re watching, I imagine you being swept away with the joy of Biko and Manna’s interpretation of the song, just like me. And then, in the background, Mfundo glides into frame.
I won’t spoil it. Just watch. But I will tell you that there are flippers, a helmet, backbends and more.
What got me was the contrast. Biko and Manna are fully in the song. And then this tiny chaos comet is doing his own one man show behind them.
And this is where the joy turns into a fabulous lesson about strategy.
It’s great to be in flow, but not at the expense of completely ignoring your surroundings.
For years, I was so uber focused on supporting clients one to one, and doing it well, that I didn’t fully clock what was happening in my background. Messages asking if I had any in person retreats coming up. Whether there was a group where people could take the lessons of the blog into real life. Whether there was a monthly call where we could workshop what folx were navigating in real time. Whether there was a place that made the lessons feel less theoretical.
People were asking me for more community.
Ask Me Anything (AMA) Live
🗓️ Thursday, Feb 12 at 1:00pm PST here on Substack.
Bring questions from this week’s post, your current career strategy puzzle, or whatever you’re navigating right now.
I’ll help you sort signal from noise and find your next right step.
How I Course Corrected
Last year, when I finally noticed what was happening in the background, I piloted a career grief group. It was terrific, but what I wasn’t prepared for was the request to keep going. People wanted to stay connected and not just let it be a one and done experience.
That’s what inspired me to create an ongoing group I’m calling Solid Ground.
Think of it like your favorite farmers market. Come as you are. Drop in when you need, run into familiar faces, pick up something useful, and leave feeling lighter and clearer.
Solid Ground is a monthly space for anyone navigating career change that hits harder than expected.
The heart of the group is simple. When work changes, you need more than a plan. You need support that’s emotional and practical, because real change asks for both.
Each month, I send a short video lesson on career grief and a worksheet on the third Wednesday. Then we come together for live coaching, typically on the fourth Thursday, so you can bring what’s coming up for you and get traction in real time. (You don’t have to remember all these deets - I send reminders!)
Solid Ground is included with your paid Moonshot Mentor membership. You can show up live to the coaching calls, catch the replay, or use the lesson and the worksheet whenever you need them.
How To Look Up Without Losing Your Flow
Whether you join Solid Ground or not, the point here is that when you’re laser focused, you miss cues that could change what you’re doing in the moment.
The trick is not to stop focusing. Focus is a superpower.
The trick is to add a wide angle check in that’s brief, scheduled, and non dramatic. It gives you a moment to look up, notice what’s happening in the background, and make small course corrections that align with your greater goals.
Once every three months, set a 30 minute appointment with yourself and answer these questions.
* What is my current “song”? Name the thing you are most focused on right now. A role. A project. A revenue goal. A skill you’re building. A version of your life you’re trying to create.
* What’s happening in the background? List the signals you’ve been glanced at, but haven’t paid close attention to. Invitations. Patterns in your energy. A recurring idea. Feedback that keeps popping up.
* Where has my focus tipped into rigidity? This is often where we keep pushing even though the data is changing.
If you lead a team, add one more question. What are people not saying out loud, but acting out in the background? Think less initiative, more caution, quieter meetings, slower decisions. That’s usually where culture is speaking.
This is the part I missed in my own work for a long time. I was heads down in one to one client success and not noticing that the wider signal was pointing toward greater community along with all the great practical wisdom. People want a place to stay connected through change, not just power through it alone.
Bottom Line
That Biko’s Manna video delights me because it is so human. Two people are fully in the song and life is still happening behind them.
That’s career strategy too. You need the ability to lock in. You also need the ability to look around you. Because sometimes the thing that changes your strategy is not another idea. It’s what’s been trying to get your attention.
If you’re in a season where work has changed and you can feel yourself getting tunnel vision, Solid Ground is a place to process what’s real and figure out what’s next with support that’s both emotional and practical. You can find the details here.
Birthday request. Watch the video. Have the laugh. Then take ten minutes to look up and see what you’ve been missing.
If someone came to mind while you were reading this—please send it their way. You never know the impact a well-timed message can have.
Related Content
* How Do You Rewrite Your Career Story? ✍️
* Is Your Career Where You Want It? 🚀
* How to use Deadlines to Get to Excellence 🌟
Perks for Paid Members
Moonshot Mentor is for people and teams moving through professional change that hits harder than expected. Get short monthly video lessons on career grief, plus a simple guide that helps you turn insight into your next right step, live monthly coaching to work through what’s happening in real time, and weekly meditations and journal prompts to steady yourself and move forward with clarity.
Journal Prompts
Here are 3 journal prompts for paid Moonshot Mentor members. Use them to spot what you’re missing in the background.