Five Ways to be a More Engaged Citizen
2016 will be remembered as one of the weirdest, disruptive and polarizing years in recent human history. From a Canadian perspective, we elected a government on promises of environmental and electoral progressiveness, but, much to the chagrin of many folks…
What I am Learning from Dinner Conversations about Gratitude
Having dinner together as a family is one of the simplest things that you can do to build a healthy community at home. Whether you share a meal with one person or twenty, taking time together to reflect on our…
Five Lessons in Awesomeness from Tom Petty
My favourite podcast is called Stop Podcasting Yourself and a few months ago its hosts Dave Shumka and Graham Clark talked about Running Down a Dream, the documentary about Tom Petty that you can find on Netflix. I love Tom…
Three Reasons Why You Should Cultivate Grit
Having grit means being in possession of courage, strength and resolve – it means having passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Literary and cinematic characters that are known for their grit are persistent, resilient and thrive during uncertain…
How to Cultivate Resilience Through Hiking
I’m on a journey to become a more resilient leader. This journey is an important one because I work for an organization that is in the midst of a massive transformation. As it turns out, my generation might not be…
Three Ways to Lead Amidst Ambiguity
Navigating uncertainty. Working in the grey. Change management. Process transformation. Whatever you call it, in many organizations working without clarity and amidst ambiguity is the new normal. Priorities, tools and people are changing more frequently than ever in order to…
Five Ways to Achieve Focus Through Listening
I’m on a journey to become a better listener. This journey will make me a better leader, dad and partner/friend. For the most part, my listening skills are fine; this said, I am an enthusiastic talker who loves to fill…
How to Learn from Summer Interns
Interns are adding value to companies, non-profits and the public sector around the world this summer. At Vancity, one of the things that we want from this experience is an exchange of ideas – put another way, we want “reverse…
Three Career Lessons I Learned from Tossing Hay Bales
I grew up in a small rural community on Vancouver Island, British Columbia called Merville. When I was a kid I helped my dad help his best friend clear hundreds of hay bales from his field. When I was a…
Career Lessons from Climbing Mountains
A few weeks ago I attended and presented at Canada’s leading conference for career practitioners, Cannexus. One of the workshops that I attended was led by Rob Shea and Senator David M. Wells – it focused on the connection between…