The Gift of Grace

In a recent poll cited by NBC news, 61% of respondents said, “The thing they missed the most from their pre-pandemic employment was in-person workplace conversations.” As much as some of us relish the flexibility of remote work and the pleasure of staying in our yoga pants for days on…

Are you Suffering Paradox?

Are you Suffering Paradox?

When I first heard this question, I didn’t quite understand what it meant. How could someone suffer paradox? I remember it well. I was in the initial weeks of completing my certification program to administer the Key Polarity Indicator, or KPI. (I would eventually become part of the first cohort of practitioners…

Hats

Six Hats Technique for More Creative Problem-Solving

Many clients seek out our facilitation services to help their team or department work through a challenging problem, to realign their strategy to a new set of organizational priorities, or to simply help them navigate a difficult conflict situation. In all these instances, creativity is necessary to find new approaches…

What’s the Deal with Sharing Pronouns?

What’s the Deal with Sharing Pronouns?

Maybe your company is already familiar with the practice of adding personal pronouns to your email signature line or other forms of communication. Or maybe you noticed all the rainbow flags and logos that popped up on your social media feeds and on product advertisements last month (yup, June was…

Words and Phrases that Transform Conversations III

Words and Phrases that Transform Conversations III

“I know…” Words matter. They really, really, really do. Yet, we often toss around words and phrases that convey something unintended without considering the impact of those words and phrases. Take the frequently overlooked example, “I know”, as in “I know you didn’t mean anything negative by it…” “I know”…

insecure leader

The Insecure Leader: Shifting from Isolation to Collaboration

Leaders carry a lot of responsibility. They are at once the high performer, the innovator, the visionary, the collaborator, the coalition builder, and countless other roles that get heaped on the shoulders of organizational leaders. Leaders juggle their many roles while aiming to satisfy and put on a good face…

reset realign restart

Hacking Your Workday

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to re-set an old pattern, practice or usual way of doing things that might be holding you back from your best work. In fact, studies show that just mentally allowing yourself to start something with a clean slate mindset can…

heart

The Right Way to Apologize

When I was growing up, I never liked it when my grandmother forced me to apologize for something, I’d done to aggravate my younger sister. In fact, most of the time, I just grumbled a quick “I’m sorry” just so my grandmother would leave me alone and let me get…

birds

New FBI Report Highlights Disturbing Statistics: Tips to Help You Stay on the Path of Inclusion

The FBI recently released its annual hate crimes report, showing that “bias-motivated crimes based on race, religion, disability and gender remain at troublingly high levels.”  The Human Rights Campaign signaled increased attention to the report of hate crime numbers based on sexual orientation that represent almost 17% of all hate…

convo

How to Turn Differing Perspectives into Your Team’s Advantage

As more and more organizations look to enhance their current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, the concept of “psychological safety” is a renewed area of focus. Widely considered to be the “Father of Employee Engagement”, Professor and researcher Daniel Kahn discussed the concept of psychological safety in the workplace…