How to protect your right to speak and vote to save democracy
Company leaders ordering employees to stop talking about politics at work is akin these days to generals who are preparing to fight the last war. How do you win a war of words when the conversation has moved past politics? The new dividing line is between facts and...
How to use the ‘power of yet’ to encourage learning and growth
Have you discovered "the power of yet"? This three-letter word is especially potent for increasing learning, building engagement, and improving self-confidence, especially when working with powerful jerks. In my Forbes article, How to use the 'power of yet' to...
Want to see a culture clash? Put rule makers with rule breakers
Learning about Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals That Direct Our Lives has been a memorable experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. The book’s author, Dr. Michele Gelfand, is a professor in cross cultural psychology at the...
3 tips to help “culture adds” acclimate and make a difference
As the days grow longer and warmer this spring, the trees, bushes and flowers are responding with healthy new growth that fills the air with wonderful sights and smells. Amid all of this beautiful new growth outdoors, how well are your latest “culture adds” taking...
Why and how to ignore this bad advice: “Know your audience”
“Know your audience” is great advice for actors, musicians and other performance artists. For those of you working in organizations, “know your audience” is bad advice because it sends the wrong message. As another saying goes, you want to be much more granular in...
How to be a more inclusive leader: improve your communication
If you want to be an inclusive leader or someone who strives to be more inclusive in how you relate to colleagues and others, you need to be inclusive with your communication. In other words, your talk needs to match your walk on your path to create a more inclusive...
How my biased brain cost me time, money, and worse
Blame my biased brain. Back in December 2019 I made a bad decision that cost me money, time and my self-respect. The consequences of my bad decision didn’t hit me until last fall. That’s probably because it took several months for the full adverse effects of my poor...
How inclusive leaders accept and encourage employees for who they are
Inclusion affects everyone. That’s one of the reasons why it’s top of mind today for many leaders. For example, when a team member doesn’t feel intentionally included in a group setting, they’re likely to feel excluded. That feeling can contribute to the individual...
How being a fly on the wall helps you stop your chatter
When your days are packed, it can be hard to find and take time to reflect. Yet, self-reflection is a free and powerful tool to review your actions and feelings. You tap into your inner coach to get insights on what you might want to do differently next time,...