ON MY MIND: Healthy Teams, Building Trust One “Bid” at a Time
Think for a moment about a relationship at work that you really value. How would you describe this relationship? Now, think of a relationship where you feel less trust and connection. What makes these two relationships so different? According to relationship researcher John Gottman, we are constantly making “bids” for connection, support, and affirmation — […]
ON MY MIND: Post-Traumatic Growth
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning.” —Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning I’ve always been interested in self-repair – the ways in which we put ourselves back together after things fall apart. Over the last year, more and more of us are feeling a little (or […]
ON MY MIND: The Myth of the Leader as “Talker-in-Chief”
Years of research show that top-down declarations and being “talked at” demotivates people, discourages the expression of diverse perspectives, and stalls organizational learning and change efforts. This leaves me puzzled when, at least a few times a week, I receive emails promoting professional leadership workshops on how to say things in ways that will sound […]
ON MY MIND: Three Ps of Team Excellence
Recently a client asked me, “what are the three things that matter most when it comes to creating a high-performance team?” Coming up with just three things was a formidable challenge. I can name ten. But three… After giving her question some thought, here’s what I shared: 1. Pride in Purpose A clear purpose inspires […]
ON MY MIND: Coming Back Together (Part 3)
If you have read part 1 and part 2 of this blog about coming back together, you have probably asked yourself the questions: What does coming together actually look like in the face of charged political differences? How do we build empathy and understanding across differences without avoiding our honest disagreements? A new short documentary […]
ON MY MIND: Coming Back Together (Part 2)
After describing the dynamics of polarization in a previous blog, this second installment will highlight Parker Palmer’s essay entitled, “Five Habits to Heal the Heart of Democracy.” It contains important insights on how we come back together in our families, work places, communities and our country. I’m taking some liberties with these five habits to […]
ON MY MIND: Distributed Teams (Part 2) – What About Culture?
Even before so many of us started working from home, companies were already mastering the art of distributed teams. Distributed teams are made up of team members working from different locations. Most commonly, distributed team members work in different cities and countries around the world. Still, with the abrupt pivot to remote work, many leaders […]
ON MY MIND: Distributed Teams (Part 1) — Here to Stay
Until recently, remote jobs were a novelty in industries outside of technology. Most of my clients resisted the idea of hiring anyone who couldn’t show up each day at the office. Today, many of those same leaders are asking: “Why do we have these offices?” Before COVID-19 forced more companies to go fully remote, Twenty-six […]
ON MY MIND: Six Practices for Difficult Times
Lately I’ve had an inordinate number of clients reach out to share that they are going through difficult times — health challenges, loss of key employees and/or customers, financial struggles, organizational changes that impact their sense of job security, etc. They say they feel like the rug has been pulled out from under their feet. […]