How often do you reach the end of a team or solo project that has taken hours, weeks, or even months, and move straight on to the next thing? If this is common for you, is this invigorating and motivating? For some of us, it is – we get momentum and forward motion that kick-startsContinue reading “Creating a ‘Closing Ceremony’ for Work”
Category Archives: Creativity
“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”
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”
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?”
Understanding and Supporting Neurodiversity on Your Team
Image: University of Washington In your work on teams, have you ever been surprised by someone else’s ability to see patterns in data? Or when someone has pointed out a detail that everyone else has missed? Have you been struck by team members’ ability to see things differently, and the value that’s added to theContinue reading “Understanding and Supporting Neurodiversity on Your Team”
How to Make Your Bed at Work
You’ve probably heard axioms along the lines of “success starts with making your bed.” You may have even seen the popular 2014 University of Texas at Austin Commencement address by Naval Admiral William H. McRaven, which has inspired thousands of people to make their beds each morning when they first wake up. But whether or not youContinue reading “How to Make Your Bed at Work”
Banquet, Potluck, and Thanksgiving Models of Leadership
While the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US has a controversial history and our cultural retelling of it is inaccurate, the traditional Thanksgiving meal can help us reflect on how we lead others. So this week we’ll partake in our annual tradition of revisiting the ideas of Banquet Leadership, Potluck Leadership, and the hybrid model we call ThanksgivingContinue reading “Banquet, Potluck, and Thanksgiving Models of Leadership”
Finding a Thought Partner for New Perspectives
In your line of work, how often do you work in partnership with someone else? Do you have a regular partner, or partnership team? When was the last time you partnered with someone new on a project or initiative? If it’s been a long time, is that by choice? In my work as a facilitator, partnership onContinue reading “Finding a Thought Partner for New Perspectives”
Talk to the Duck
When you’re facing a problem that you think you should be able to solve, but you can’t see what you’re missing… what do you do? For many of us, frustration just builds and builds – and, while you may not need scientific studies to back up what might seem obvious, “frustration is often negatively associatedContinue reading “Talk to the Duck”
Building Bridges Leadership 