Image adapted from Jackson Simmer / Unsplash. Recently I had the privilege of co-leading a day-long program for immigrant families from Central and South America. The program was designed as a day of respite and fun during turbulent times, with team building and collaborative problem solving as key focus points, and a 40-foot rock climbingContinue reading “Translation, Reliance, and Gratitude”
Category Archives: Authenticity
Stop, Collaborate and Listen
In recognition of the July 4th holiday here in the US, Building Bridges Leadership is taking a few days off, but you may want to read our now-traditional early-July article, How Is Your Team Like a Fireworks Display?, or alternatively revisit the post below, originally posted in early July, 2020, with slight updates below. Re-readingContinue reading “Stop, Collaborate and Listen”
Leading People in a Time of Distraction
Photo credit: Mike Stewart/AP How often are you taking part in (or leading) a meeting but finding it hard to concentrate because of something happening in the wider world? How often have you noticed someone else in the meeting suddenly disappear – mentally, if not physically? With news feeling like drinking from a firehose theseContinue reading “Leading People in a Time of Distraction”
What is “Good Work”?
With economic upheaval, tariffs, and government cuts, I wonder how many people you know currently looking for work? I know at least a handful – maybe more. On the back of Covid’s ‘giant game of musical chairs’, huge numbers of workers have left or changed their jobs in the past five years. Perhaps you’re even one ofContinue reading “What is “Good Work”?”
Allowing the Right to Repair within Teams
Are you familiar with the “Right to Repair” movement? “They don’t make things like they used to” is an oft-repeated phrase, and there’s truth to it – with cheaper materials, planned obsolescence, and the proprietary nature of information and parts, it can sometimes seem impossible to fix something that’s broken. It can seem like theContinue reading “Allowing the Right to Repair within Teams”
A Moment of Rudeness
There’s a moment I think about almost every day, which I’ve never told anyone. In some ways it’s a small everyday moment, and I don’t like to think about it much – but it comes to mind often as I’m interacting with other people, and I find it both confronting and helpful, personally and professionally.Continue reading “A Moment of Rudeness”
Reclaiming Rest
In 1910, President William Howard Taft proposed that every American worker should receive two to three months of vacation time each year “in order to continue [their] work next year with the energy and effectiveness that it ought to have.” Sounds wonderful, right? Of course, captains of industry – and U.S. legislators – disagreed, andContinue reading “Reclaiming Rest”
When You’re Stuck with Curmudgeons and Critics
Bring to mind a time when you were on a team or in a meeting with one or two people who – either literally or metaphorically – sat there with arms crossed, only speaking up to criticize the work of others. Perhaps you can recall many experiences like this. If so, I wonder how youContinue reading “When You’re Stuck with Curmudgeons and Critics”
Retreat Yo Self!
When was the last time you took a personal, or group, retreat? Perhaps this is something you make time for regularly, or maybe it’s been years – if ever. Maybe your association with retreats is entirely based on corporate retreats. I’ve known more than one organization that bristles at the idea of a “retreat” (somethingContinue reading “Retreat Yo Self!”
Five Years On: Honoring Covid “Anniversary Reactions”
Have you found yourself reflecting on “five years ago…” this week? I have been part of several conversations about this, and overheard others. Coronavirus cases first appeared around the world in late 2019. For many readers in the Western world, however, the most direct impacts began in March 2020 – with lockdowns and other sweepingContinue reading “Five Years On: Honoring Covid “Anniversary Reactions””
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