How many languages do you recognize when you hear them spoken? How many do you understand? How many do you speak? Over the last few weeks I’ve had a particularly high volume of interactions with people (sometimes including myself) speaking a second language. Throughout my English-speaking work and home life, I’ve noticed anew just howContinue reading “Poutine & the Cognitive Lift of Speaking a Second Language”
Category Archives: Blind Spots
Text, Voice, and Recalibrating Tone
Have you ever received a message from someone at work and interpreted the tone as angry, terse, or upset, leaving you stewing for days over what you did that caused that response, or how your reputation or relationships might be damaged as a result? On the flip side, have you ever sent a quick textContinue reading “Text, Voice, and Recalibrating Tone”
What is Cooperative Overlap? Isn’t It Just Interrupting?
Cooperative Overlap (or Collaborative Overlap) is a term coined by Georgetown University professor of linguistics and author Deborah Tannen, in which the listener starts talking along with the speaker, not to cut them off but rather to validate or show they’re engaged in what the other person is saying. In conversations, do you have aContinue reading “What is Cooperative Overlap? Isn’t It Just Interrupting?”
Is it Time to Sub in Your Rising Stars?
As we reach the final few matches of the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, I’ve been reminded of the key role that rising stars can play on a team, both in football and in the workplace. I’ve found myself drawn back to this piece published first in 2023 during the FIFA Women’s World Cup. WhetherContinue reading “Is it Time to Sub in Your Rising Stars?”
What IKEA Furniture Does to Your Brain
If you’ve built a few pieces of IKEA furniture in your time, you might be amused by this quote from company founder Ingvar Kamprad, posted on their website: “IKEA[*] is not the work of one person alone. It is the result of many minds and many souls working together through many years of joy andContinue reading “What IKEA Furniture Does to Your Brain”
The Goodness of Humanity
For the last several years, a reliable highlight of the rhythms of my work year is the few weeks in the second half of June and early July. That’s when I run workshops and team building programs for students starting a Summer college experience – as researchers, interns, student leaders, or degree-seeking students. Many ofContinue reading “The Goodness of Humanity”
Stanislav Petrov, the Man Who Saved the World?
Have you heard of Russian lieutenant colonel Stanislav Petrov? Maybe not. Or do you recognize his name in Russian, Станислав Петров? Unlikely. His name is not widely known around the world, and yet he may well have saved it – by doing nothing! Or more correctly, by disobeying orders and choosing not to take action. Petrov’s monumentalContinue reading “Stanislav Petrov, the Man Who Saved the World?”
Power of the People > the People in Power
“Power to the People!” John Lennon sang in 1971, bringing music to a slogan that had been chanted and shouted by young people across the US to protest the Vietnam War over the previous few years. Meanwhile, “All Power to the People” was also being chanted by the Black Panthers to protest what they perceivedContinue reading “Power of the People > the People in Power”
The Anti-AI Revolution at 2026 Graduations
I might pay attention to graduation speeches each year more than the average person. Despite missing my own graduation to work overseas, and sitting in torrential rain during for my graduate degree commencement ceremony a few years later, I then had the joy of working at Harvard University’s commencement ceremonies for more than a decade,Continue reading “The Anti-AI Revolution at 2026 Graduations”
Stephen Colbert and the Art of Adjourning
As you might know, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert ended last week, bringing to a close Colbert’s own 11-year run on the show, as well as The Late Show‘s 33-year run (which began with host David Letterman), and a history of TV variety shows in the same theater dating back to the early 1950s.Continue reading “Stephen Colbert and the Art of Adjourning”
Building Bridges Leadership 