IN MY TOOL BAG: A Mindful Approach to Washing Hands
It seems like we’ve all been spending a lot of time engaging in two distinct activities lately — hand-washing and hand wringing (e.g., worrying about the future). The latter activity —worry — has us predicting or imagining a negative future and then living with that fear as if the future has already happened. Notice that […]
ON MY MIND: Learning to THiNK Before You Speak
I’m a big believer in free speech. But, when it comes to my own freedom of expression, I’ve learned that there’s such a thing as speaking too freely – too hastily, too re-actively, too fervently — especially when I am trying to influence others. Asking myself the following four questions is particularly helpful when I […]
IN MY TOOL BAG: 3+3+3 Centering Practice
When friends ask me, “how’s your week going?” my most common response is “intense.” It’s not that my work is any more demanding than yours. It’s that I have a tendency to be hyper-focused —tuning out even my own basic needs, like food. While this characteristic makes me very productive, it can also deplete me […]
ON MY MIND: The Art of Self-Repair
Recently, I discovered Kintsugi, a fifteenth century Japanese art form dedicated to repairing broken ceramics by filling in the cracks with gold. Once the repair is complete, the “brokenness” of the item — its defects — become its source of beauty and resilience. What if the trials and challenges we face in life were simply […]
ON MY MIND: Leading is Convening
“I-don’t-know.” These are three words that most leaders rarely, if ever, dare utter. Why does the admission of “not knowing” feel so uncomfortable? As a client once shared with me, “A failure to know the answer or offer the solution feels like a failure of my leadership. That’s my job!” I disagree. Always knowing the […]
ON MY MIND: Masks, Light, and Leadership
I recently facilitated a workshop at the Encuentro Internacional de Equipos de Trabajo —an amazing international conference on best practices and innovations in workplace collaboration. My workshop was called: Taking Off Our Masks to Unleash the Power of Authenticity on Your Team. These are the words I used to open the workshop: “People are like […]
ON MY MIND: Saying a Skillful “No”
What makes saying “no” so difficult? First, we all have these archetypal saboteurs that run like tape recordings in our heads. Some of the saboteurs that make saying “no” most difficult include: The pleaser who believes “people won’t like or value me if I don’t meet their needs by saying ‘yes.’” The hyper-achiever who believes […]
ON MY MIND: Leaders, We Can Be Kinder to Ourselves
You won’t be surprised to know that I’m my harshest critic. Often, when I return from a high-stakes client meeting a family member or colleague will ask: “How did it go?” Usually, my answer is something like: “The client was blown away by how well it went…I give myself a B.” Then I list all […]
IN MY TOOL BAG: The Team Check-in
Most high performing teams run fast and furious. Moving at that kind of pace we often walk into our meetings and jump right into the agenda. While hitting the ground running may feel productive, something gets lost: We fail to look up from our devices and to-do lists, even if for a moment, to see […]
FROM MY BOOKSHELF: Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene’ Brown, PhD
“True belonging doesn’t require you to change who you are; it requires you to be who you are.” – Brene’ Brown Most of us want to belong. We want to be accepted, liked, and admired. Sometimes we feel that the only way to get this external validation is to silence an important part of ourselves […]