Savoring and Rumination Part 3: Building a Conscious Savoring Practice
In Part 1 of this series, I introduced savoring and rumination as two sides of the same cognitive-emotional coin. In Part 2 we explored three strategies to reduce the damaging habit of rumination. Now in the third, and final, installment of this blog series I’ll share some ways to practice “conscious savoring”. While rumination comes […]
Part 5 – Leading Better Meetings: Five Strategies for Addressing Problem Behaviors
In Part 4 of this series we identified six archetypal problem behaviors – patterns of participation, often unconscious and habitual – that distract from the purpose of our meetings and undermine productive engagement. The following five strategies will aid you in addressing such behaviors. Separate the person from the problem behavior. As a rule, problem […]
Part 3 – Leading Better Meetings: Stage-Setting for Success with ACORN
Pilots don’t just throttle a jet down the runway and into the air. First, they check out the plane, set the GPS, and confirm the basics with their co-pilot. Likewise, the most successful meetings involve a “pre-flight protocol”. But too often eager leaders simply launch into their agenda and miss the opportunity to properly set […]
Five Things to Do When You Join a New Team
A move to a new organization or different team within your current organization can feel disorienting and stressful. You want to earn respect, be liked, and find meaning in your new venture, but the stakes feel high. They hired you for this position – now you have to prove them right. It’s easy to get […]
Discover Your Inner Saboteurs
For many years I’ve been asking my coaching clients to complete a free online self-assessment instrument developed by Shirzad Chamine, Stanford University lecturer and author of the New York Times bestselling book Positive Intelligence. His assessment helps identify “saboteurs,” the voices in your head that generate stress and undermine your potential for happiness and effectiveness. […]
Six Countercultural Declarations
An excerpt from Parker Palmer’s book, Hidden Wholeness, chronicles the ways in which blizzards – like life – can be overwhelming and disorienting. It’s a reflective piece about how swirling events and social forces can pull us farther and farther away from authenticity, integrity, and the things that nourish our souls. Consider these six unrelenting […]
Making the Case for Change
When it comes to organizational change, sometimes it’s hard to know how to begin. How do you assess if people are ready? How do you identify potential resistance? How can you motivate people to commit to a new direction? How might you engage them in shaping the future? People resist change for many reasons, including: […]
Anxiety and Our Three Brains
I received a number of appreciative emails about my recent blog (on the ways we can calm unproductive anxiety about the future) and was inspired to share a tool that might prove useful when you find yourself in a downward spiral of unproductive worry. The tool was developed by Due Quach (pronounced Zway Kwok), social […]
In My Tool Bag: Expand Your Thinking with (Digital) Images
When teams need to talk about big ideas, complex challenges, or emotions, it can be hard to know where to start. In these cases, words can be inadequate means for getting a team to talk. Among the tools in my travel satchel are markers, post-its, and tape and, also a deck of visual image cards. […]
IN MY TOOLBAG: Stick the Landing: How to Wrap Up Your Meetings for Impact
In the world of gymnastics, the dismount is the last thing a judge sees before determining an athlete’s score. When an athlete concludes their routine with perfection commentators often say that they “stuck the landing!” Too often, leaders bring people together to have important conversations or to make critical decisions but they fail at sticking […]