Remember the days of large gatherings of people, and sharing food with one another in an enclosed space? Those days may feel like a long time ago, but banquets and potlucks can help us to understand our workplace, and even our larger society. A large proportion of Building Bridges Leadership’s consulting and workshops focuses onContinue reading “Banquets & Potlucks In Your Workplace (And In The 2020 Elections!)”
Category Archives: Culture
The Rhythms of the Year…
In New England, where I live, the seasons are changing. The hot Summer weather has given way to cooler temperatures. T-shirts are increasingly covered with sweaters. And the academic year has begun – even as it looks drastically different in 2020 than in any prior year. The start of the academic year affects a myriadContinue reading “The Rhythms of the Year…”
Balancing The “More” With The “New”
Many organizational questions boil down to the categories of Evolution and Revolution: “What can we improve or change?” (Evolution) and “What can we do that hasn’t been done before?” (Revolution). A number meetings I’ve been a part of recently – with different groups of people, in different contexts – have ended up circling the same question: “Instead of Evolution,Continue reading “Balancing The “More” With The “New””
Forest Bathing And Unconscious Bias
In May this year, Building Bridges Leadership offered webinars on “Zoom Fatigue,” with the idea that during the COVID-19 pandemic, we had all been spending more time in front of screens and on video conference calls than was healthy for us. Almost four months on from that time, it’s safe to say that most ofContinue reading “Forest Bathing And Unconscious Bias”
A Virtual Community Doesn’t Have to Mean an “Almost” Community
Five months into this pandemic, we’ve all tried some form of virtual community at this point. From Zoom gatherings to group phone calls, WhatsApp group texts, Google Hangouts and more, we’ve all been part of groups trying to remain connected in trying times. Like many people, you may have started out thinking of these asContinue reading “A Virtual Community Doesn’t Have to Mean an “Almost” Community”
Making a Mosaic Instead of a Melting Pot
Like many people in the first decade of the 21st century, I was hooked on the TV show LOST. I watched it religiously, talked through theories with friends, and followed the character names to learn more about the real-life figures they were named after (Locke, Rousseau, and Faraday, to name just a few). One of theContinue reading “Making a Mosaic Instead of a Melting Pot”
Lessons from the Life of John Lewis
Two years ago, I was fortunate to be working at Harvard’s 367th Commencement ceremony, at which John Lewis received an honorary doctorate. In his speech, he encouraged everyone in attendance to make “necessary trouble” and stand up for justice, “even when injustice wears a uniform.” Mr. Lewis’s death last Friday has caused me – along with manyContinue reading “Lessons from the Life of John Lewis”
Who or What are Your Threshold Guardians?
Recently I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at “The Hero’s Journey,” for a writing course I’m teaching. The Hero’s Journey is a common framework for analyzing stories told throughout history. There are a number of variations of the model, but the most widely known model was developed by Joseph Campbell, in his 1949 book TheContinue reading “Who or What are Your Threshold Guardians?”
Stop, Collaborate And Listen
On July 4th, ’90s rapper Vanilla Ice was scheduled to play a concert in Austin, Texas. Billed as being a “carefree return to the pre-coronavirus ’90s”, he was promoting the show as late as July 2nd, before quickly reversing course just four hours later, saying “I listened to my fans… I didn’t know the numbersContinue reading “Stop, Collaborate And Listen”
Poison Ivy And Privilege
In New England, where I live now, poison ivy is commonplace. But in the UK, where I grew up, there is none. So unlike many New Englanders, I didn’t grow up with regular exposure to poison ivy; nor did I grow up looking out for it, or being able to identify it with a “leavesContinue reading “Poison Ivy And Privilege”
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