How do you do and be good in a polarized world?
What a tumultuous 24 months! We’re all having to navigate new ground that continues to shift under our feet. There are more questions than answers, yet it’s important to keep asking questions and continue talking. The issues tend to be complex, emotional, and...
How to optimize getting in the flow to do your best deep work
Working from home during Covid-19 has served as a wake-up call for many of us knowledge workers. This time period opened our eyes to the ways we work, including how we integrate our work and personal life. And considering the length of time we’ve experienced...
How snarky feedback can help you get better, not just older
Do you still remember and hold onto any stinging feedback from the past? I do -- all the way back to my freshman year of college. And this past year during the pandemic, I found an effective way to channel this feedback. I use it as a challenge to myself to keep my...
Why and how to cure tunnel vision with “anthro-vision”
Did you have WEIRD experiences as a college student? Not WEIRD as in strange, but WEIRD as participating in psychology, economics and other social science experiments? If so, you and I are definitely part of the WEIRD – Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and...
Want to improve accountability? Insist on 2-way streets
When was the last time you visited Pity City, that imaginary destination where you’re entitled to feel sorry for yourself and your situation? Pity City welcomes visitors and renters yet outlaws home ownership. As one of my former colleagues used to say, “You can visit...
How “high conflict” can be combustible even when you’re dressed for the occasion
One summer six years ago, two individuals from different church groups contacted me several days apart. Both groups said they needed assistance dealing with an escalating conflict around meetings in their congregation. As each individual described their situation, I...
Why autonomy matters and how you can use it to your advantage
Autonomy is a HUGE benefit for so many of us. Just ask -- er, watch -- my dog Marcel in action. He loves to choose where to walk, whether to take the elevator or the stairs, and where and when to drink. And we humans love our autonomy too. It serves as a feel-good...
5 ways to power up and reenergize your change communication
The story of the investment firm Engine No. 1 gaining three ExxonMobil board seats for their carefully selected candidates initially reminded me of the classic children’s book The Little Engine That Could. If you remember the story, a little engine agrees to try to...
13 clever ‘hacks’ to adopt a more optimistic mindset
In this expert panel from the Forbes Coaches Council, 13 Forbes Coaches Council members, including me, shared clever “hacks” that you can use to increase your optimism, or at least turn your pessimistic outlook into a more optimistic mindset. Being more optimistic...
