How to Give a Proper Apology
Saying sorry is hard and most of us suck at it. Apologies are uncomfortable, difficult and they can be embarrassing. They can also be healing, transformative and satisfying. They help us have better conversations in our worklife, too. Great apologies…
Three Ways to Reframe Winning
Human beings have a problem with winning. Too often we focus on winning as a zero-sum game and define “winners” highlighting the failings of folks who didn’t win – when we do this we call peoples or teams “losers”. Focusing…
Aspirational Self-Awareness
“You are the way that others see you” is, according to the Gikomba Market vendor who sold me a sarong in 2006, a Maasai proverb. When we seek to understand how others perceive our actions and absorb the impact of…
15 Positive Self-Talk Phrases that Will Build Your Confidence
The global pandemic is approximately one year old. Arguably the next few months will be the hardest because we are heading into the final stretch of this hellish marathon. So many of us are hitting walls in our work and…
How to Suspend Judgment
The potential of dialogue Meaningful dialogue is an elusive thing in our communities. Having a respectful conversation with someone about something on which we do not agree isn’t common. Yelling opinions over someone else or building a newsfeed that reinforces…
Eight Professional Lessons from the Movie Chef
Last week I re-watched Chef – written, directed and starring Jon Favreau – on Netflix. The film is about Carl Casper, the head chef at a high-end Los Angeles restaurant who loses his cool, loses his job, loses a lot…
Three Things That Make Cooperatives Different
The cooperative business model advances economic, social, and environmental progress and demonstrates versatility and resilient. Even though nearly two billion people around the world are members and/or directly impacted by cooperative enterprises across virtually every sector, the value of the…
10 Better Descriptions than End-User
“End-user” is a common term that’s used for everything from technical projects to marketing campaigns. It’s a term that just feels weird and, frankly, misused to me. Across North America, communities are being devastated by the injuries and fatalities of…
How to have Better Year End Conversations
Performance reviews and year end conversations are ramping up around the world, which makes a lot of us uneasy because the experience can be clunky (HR systems aren’t slick like apps), emotional (money and personal identity are on the line!),…
What I’m Learning from Using Gender-Neutral Pronouns for My Bike
Last year I joined several of my Vancity colleagues in a gender identity workshop delivered by Adrienne Smith, a transgender human rights activist and drug policy lawyer. Adrienne shared simple tips for fostering inclusive communities, especially for folks who identify…