Reading the room is a talent. And a gift. Some people got it in their bones. For others, it’s a learned skill. 

Leaders need it. 

Presenting to your team? You need it. 

Having a conversation with a client? You need it. 

Writing a newsletter on January 30, 2025. REQUIRED. 

Not gonna lie. I had a doozy of a newsletter in the tank for you today. It was spicy, relevant, and timely. 

Intense, a bit confronting, and thought-provoking are also words I’d used to describe it. 

Then, I read the room. I checked in with what I needed today. I checked in with what I imagine you need today. At the end of this month. At the end of these last two weeks. As today rolls out. 

When you read the room, you can never know for certain what’s going on. You pick up on the vibe. You sense the emotions. You can feel tension, or ease, or whatever might be going on. I have a pretty strong spidey sense passed down to me from my mom. Today, the room is telling me we need something a little different than those descriptive words above. 

We need shellbows. 

You heard me. 

Last night Mike and I were at the grocery store perusing the pasta aisle. I looked up and saw a bag of pasta-nugget-looking-things and saw they were called “shellbows.” Have you heard of such a thing?! 

I immediately started laughing and levitating on my toes almost to the point of jumping up and down because that name and the concept brought on an unexpected rush of joy!

Shells! And Elbows!! Shellbows!!!! 

My husband started laughing at with me because I was so generally HAPPY over this discovery and the word combo. 

Then he gave me the oh-my-what’s-happening-is-she-OK-because-this-is-a-strong-reaction-to-pasta-look. 

I was perfectly OK. Man did it feel good to have an unexpected joy trigger in the form of that bag of pasta. I had a skip in my step for the rest of the grocery adventure. Every few minutes I’d alternatively yell out or whisper “shellbows” in awe of the word, the concept…the moment. 

Today, in reading the room, I’m course correcting and adjusting the previously scheduled message to bring the word/concept/mystique that is shellbows to your worlds. 

Take a moment. Have a smile. Jump up and down for a minute even. 

Know that the world will continue doing what it does whether or not we stick to our previously 

arranged plans. 

Perhaps the only plan we should have is to prioritize shellbow moments. So we can continue doing what needs doing in this world.