Returning to the Office Will Be Weird
As I wiped down my chair and a nearby desk that I may or may not have touched with various cleaning supplies, I looked up at my colleague, Deanna, and said “okay…returning to the office will be weird for everyone.”…
Three Collaboration Tips for Canada’s Minority Government
Canadians just engaged in one of the riskiest wastes of human, financial, natural, political, and social capital in modern history. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called an election with hopes of achieving a majority government; however, the country’s government looks pretty…
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…
Three Ways to Write Your Professional Journal
Writing makes your life better. Fast Company’s Drake Baer has his reasons for why writing cultivates knowledge, wisdom and a powerful personal narrative. For me, writing is the thing that slows down my thinking, sorts out my ideas and goals,…
The One Thing Leaders Need for Practicing Self-Care
The world is burning out and burning up. As organizations strive to enable hybrid work (or work from anywhere) amidst health and climate emergencies, leaders are being asked to do a lot. A former colleague of mine, Ilene, introduced nearly…
Elevating and Grounding
The best experiences simultaneously are elevating and grounding for people. Elevating means advancing something worthwhile, connecting people to a purpose or cause, and realizing our potential by striving with boldness. Grounding conjures ideas of sensibility, practicality, and being rooted to…
Five Compensation Questions Organizations Should be Asking
While the science is clear that money does not buy happiness, economists and organizational psychologists argue that compensation is a major factor for people when we are deciding where to work. Pay influences employees’ motivation, engagement, and productivity. According to…
Camping
Our family – like, the grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles – is camping in the woods of Vancouver Island. We are experiencing good food, sparkling conversation, and wonderful wilderness adventures. We might even climb a mountain and will definitely play…
Enough
I have had enough of the heat wave plaguing Western North America. By this definition, I mean having too much of something, like heat, intolerance, abuse, sensationalism, or fixed mindedness. Our tolerance has been reached or exceeded when we have…
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…