Seven tips for when you have to speak truth to power
Managing up is part of peoples’ jobs. Being able to respond to superiors when you don’t agree with their position is a key skill. Many organizations foster this sort of feedback – particularly those that recognize the importance of radical…
How to Interview like a Professional Actor
Working actors know that essentially, their job is auditioning. Booking a role is a great bonus, so they refine their audition technique, accepting that they will go through this grueling selection process anywhere from once a month, to five times…
Three Professional Lessons from the Fugitive
In the hit 90s film, The Fugitive, Harrison Ford plays Dr. Richard Kimble, a brilliant doctor falsely framed for killing his wife. After being convicted, a shackled Kimble is sent off to death row on a prison bus. During a…
Three Ways to Relate to Fundamentally Different People
Last month our book club tackled Jonathan Haidt’s The Righteous Mind: Why Good People are Divided by Politics and Religion. The book gave us an illuminating look at moral and evolutionary psychology, exploring the moral pillars that underpin the morality…
Five Ways to Support a Partner in Professional Trouble
It happens from time to time. Your partner comes home from work defeated. A project went off the rails, they failed to hit their annual target, or were fired after making a big mistake that cost their organization big bucks….
Seven Strategies for Creating an Awesome Vision
Sharing a compelling vision for your organization’s year ahead, your team’s work priorities or your family’s vacation is a differentiator. When a community clearly understands why something is happening and how it will unfold, shit gets done and people have…
Five More Tips For Asking Great Questions
Great questions inspire better conversations. My book club recently read Basketball (and Other Things) by Shea Serrano, which seeks to ask and answer approximately 33 questions about, you guessed it, basketball and other topics, such as action movies and anthropomorphism. …
Six Ways to Support a Spouse Running for Public Office
This fall my partner ran for public office. It was a first time for us both. While she was unsuccessful, losing by a mere 300 votes, the experience was very instructive for both of us. Running for public office requires…
Three Ways to Sustain Thanksgiving Gratitude
Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday and it just happened. In addition to the spectacular food and drink (thanks, Auntie Sharon and Uncle John!), I love spending time reflecting with my community about what makes us thankful. Expressing gratitude enhances human…
How to Give Feedback
A focus of this blog is to help you have better conversations. Enhancing dialogue at work, in classrooms and throughout neighbourhoods makes our communities more engaged, diverse and healthier. Accepting and offering feedback are essential elements of great conversations. Giving…