Blog

TurbulenceSurfing

Every team, every organization experiences turbulence. Stuff happens that is unsettling, disruptive, distracting, off putting. How we respond to turbulence has a lot to do with how well we ultimately achieve the outcomes we desire. It also has much to do with the...

PowerQuestions

Good questions have extraordinary power to make us think and reflect.  Here are three very simple, very short, very provocative questions: 1) What have you learned lately that has made you better? 2) How did it do so? 3) What do you think you need to learn next? GO!...

TrajectoryChanging

 Simple choices can change trajectories. Consider what might happen if we were to...      > Choose to be authentically present      > Learn something new, continually      > Help someone -- anyone -- every day      > Challenge dogmas and question...

TradeTools

Folks who work in the trades have many kinds of tools at their disposal. Some of the tools are quite pointy and/or extremely sharp. Scalpels used by surgeons and picks used by jewelers come to mind. On the other hand, some tools have wide reach and are, by design, not...

LeaningInto

Leaning into betterness requires introspection and reflection. Both of those processes are facilitated by asking some questions that need substantive answers from us: What am I doing? Why am I doing it? Should I keep dedicating time/effort/resources to doing it? If...

DEpowered

Team members work most energetically when they feel empowered. Oddly, some folks in leadership end up squelching that energy and enthusiasm (often not intentionally, but it occurs nonetheless). How do leaders sometimes throw cold water on the vibrant and robust...

StaticStatus

Change is inevitable. We may think we can deny, ignore, or stop the evolutionary process, but.... The misperception of being in a stable and non-fluid environment is similar to feeling like we are "still" when sitting in our recliner. It might feel like we not moving,...

Compassion

Lao Tzu provides powerful guidance to us: "I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures." In our busy lives of commitments, deadlines, supervision, data inundation, cluttered calendars, it is easy "drop"...

DifferentlyAlike

Just take a look. When you're at a ballgame or in the grocery store or at your house of faith. Observe how different the noses are on each of the faces. Or, the differences in the shape of the ears. Or, the varying heights of the folks in attendance. The differences...

MatterMost

High functioning organizational teams are the result of many variables. Here are some of the important elements that  go into that complex melting pot: Purpose Clarity of Vision Autonomy in work deployment Alignment of skills to assignment Fair compensation Trust...