Watching the Paris 2024 Olympics, I have been struck over and over again by the way these games intersect with our everyday lives in the workplace and in our communities. Mental health and self-care continue to be headline topics after rising to the surface at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics; we are seeing much greater discussionContinue reading “What are Your Team’s Fosbury Flop Ideas?”
Author Archives: Ian Jackson
“The Pommel Horse Guy” and Multiple Intelligences
Are you someone who watches the Olympics religiously, someone who couldn’t care less, or are you somewhere in the middle? Wherever you fall, how can the Olympics help us to learn something about ourselves, and the teams we manage? How might they tie into Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences? If you watched the USContinue reading ““The Pommel Horse Guy” and Multiple Intelligences”
Taking Time Off Work? Here’s a Challenge: Don’t Work!
How often have you found yourself checking your work email while on vacation? Or still holding your weekly check-in meetings, even on a day off? Whether it’s a break of a few weeks, or a weekly routine of long weekends, many of us take vacation time during the Summer. But how many of are reallyContinue reading “Taking Time Off Work? Here’s a Challenge: Don’t Work!”
Keep the Questions Coming: To Inception and Beyond
How do you feel when you have the leeway and support to pursue your own idea? What if the action steps you’re taking are the same, but the idea and the steps were dictated to you by your manager? If the action steps are the same, what feels so different about the two situations? IfContinue reading “Keep the Questions Coming: To Inception and Beyond”
“Ubuntu” and Connection Before Content
Last week, I led a team building program for a group of international students on the first full day of their summer together. I lead a hundred or more programs like this each year, but it quickly became apparent that this one was special. The group was joyful, engaged, and excited about the time theyContinue reading ““Ubuntu” and Connection Before Content”
How is Your Team Like a Fireworks Display?
In honor of this week’s Independence Day celebrations in the United States and in Canada, we are revisiting this article, originally posted in 2021: If you live in the United States or Canada, you’ll have the chance to see fireworks at some point this week – in person or on a broadcast. If you’re anythingContinue reading “How is Your Team Like a Fireworks Display?”
Why Not Advertise to Yourself?
How many advertisements do you see every day? How many of those impact your behavior? Researchers disagree on the answers to these questions – some say the number is in the dozens, some say it’s in the hundreds, and some say it’s up to 10,000. The reasons for such a wide spread are based onContinue reading “Why Not Advertise to Yourself?”
Watch Yourself on Video – It’s Painful! And Super Helpful!
How often do you hear a recording of your voice and think “That doesn’t sound like me!”? Or see a video of yourself and just cringe and turn it off? Perhaps you even remember the first time you heard your voice on a recording and realized that your voice sounds different to other people thanContinue reading “Watch Yourself on Video – It’s Painful! And Super Helpful!”
Remembering Barbara Jackson, 1944-2024
My mom, Barbara Jackson, died last week after living with Motor Neurone Disease / ALS. How long she lived with it is somewhat unclear, as is sadly the case with many people with this disease; she was diagnosed only nine months ago, but many symptoms overlap with other conditions and she displayed some of thoseContinue reading “Remembering Barbara Jackson, 1944-2024”
Happy Pride Month! – and the Iceberg of Invisible Identities
In the United States and in many other parts of the world, this week marks the beginning of LGBTQ+ Pride Month. The first Pride March was held on June 28, 1970, to mark the one-year anniversary of the six-day Stonewall Uprising of 1969, a turning point in queer history. As such, it’s important to rememberContinue reading “Happy Pride Month! – and the Iceberg of Invisible Identities”
Building Bridges Leadership 