Deconstructing Trust
At some point in the course of tackling a challenge, we often name part of the issue as trust—or to be more precise, the lack thereof. Almost always, when I’m coaching and my client names trust as an issue, I ask them to dig deeper, to articulate a more nuanced understanding of what “trusting” means.
The Power of Naming
Naming our experiences, emotions and sensations often creates a sense of relief and opens the door to new possibilities. What is the power of a name?
Living With Hair Loss: My Story
I’ve wanted to write about my hair for months—tried to write this post more times than I can count. My hope is that it will help my friends and my clients understand that while losing my hair is, in fact, a big deal—I’m ok. I hope, too, that my story can help others facing similar challenges.
Navigating Polarities: The Power of “AND”
That ability to hold multiple perspectives and experience seemingly unresolvable tensions as interdependent pairs may be one of the most powerful tools we have in navigating an increasingly complex and polarized world.
Rethinking Time Management
Oliver Burkeman wrote for the Guardian until a couple of years ago. In that capacity he wrote about, among other things, productivity tools. In 4000 Weeks, he challenges the notion that these tools will help us live better and richer lives. Here are a few of the things that were particularly meaningful for me in the book.
Making Sense of Complexity
“Embracing complexity requires acknowledging that when things are hard to decipher and solutions seem out of easy reach, they probably are.”
Resources for Leading Virtually
Since many of us will be working virtually for quite a bit longer, finding new and different ways to stay connected remains important. Enhancing the quality of our gatherings can enhance our work cultures for the long haul.
How We Change Our Brains (and why that matters)
“If the first big idea is that our brains are not all that well-designed for a reality that isn’t primarily focused on physical threats and rewards, the second big idea is the good news: We can change our brains.”
THE PROBLEM WITH PROBLEM-SOLVING
The challenges we are collectively facing are profound and highly complex. I believe that learning to shift from problem-solving to being truly present in the complexity of those challenges is critical capacity for our society and world.
The Doing and Being of Difficult Conversations
“To successfully transform a conversation from just plain difficult to productive and constructive, we needed to genuinely be able to hear the other person.”
For the Sake of What?
“In the moment, our habitual patterns of behavior can be strong enough to override our desires for things to be different.”
Mood Check
“Becoming aware of mood gives you a chance to shift or generate moods rather quickly.”
Learning from Head to Toe: Embodying Leadership
“One of the main reasons that change doesn’t stick, or feels hard, is that we typically try to do the work only in our heads”.
Practicing Leadership
“Awareness creates choice, practice creates capacity.” - Amanda Blake
Career Conversations in Complex Times
“Complicated is predictable and knowable, whereas complex is unknowable in advance.”