Just utter one of these very overused phrases and watch the energy get sucked out of the room.
What’s the leader’s role in creativity?
February 19, 2013 By Leave a Comment
One of our favourite workshops to facilitate is creativity and some leaders get nervous about the idea of holding back on critical analysis of their employees’ wild ideas. For some, the idea of defining the boundaries or playing field helps them empower their people while allowing them to sleep at night 😉
What type of change leader are you?
February 18, 2013 By 3 Comments
Today’s visual was inspired by a provocative blog that suggested leaders fall into two main styles when leading change. While I’m not sure about there only being two styles, what I do agree with is the notion that we need to figure out our style and remain true to that.
Gnarly roots
February 17, 2013 By Leave a Comment
While out walking on the beach a month ago, I ran across this fallen tree with the most amazing gnarly roots. It reminded me of the complexity of interpersonal communications on some teams. We sometimes need a lot of patience to unravel issues and get back on the same page.
Everything is just fine …
February 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I’m teaching a teams workshop with the University of Alberta today, and inevitably someone talks about being on a team that goes sideways. What I find fascinating is that most times people know something has been brewing but thought it would just “blow over.” Trust me, it never does. It takes courage to surface issues and may feel uncomfortable but that is a whole lot better than dealing with the broken trust that happens after things blow up.
How aligned are you?
February 15, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Having a powerful vision is one of the defining characteristics of leaders, especially when it comes to leading teams. While devoting time to creating understanding among team members about your vision is important, regularly checking in with and creating alignment is even more important. Regularly check in with the vision through asking the following:
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What do you think we should start/stop doing on this team (project)?
What are the three best and three worst examples of us living our vision?
On a scale of 1-10 how are people doing, how is our stress level, how do we feel about the progress on the project, etc.?
What is one thing we need to do to better align our actions with our vision?
This blog is based on the 3 of hearts from our Teamwork Explorer cards.
Send yourself a Valentine
February 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment
While Valentine’s Day is the quintessential couple’s day, I think it’s also a great day to treat ourselves well. It’s more likely we’ll inspire others when we are feeling terrific about ourselves, and this comes with the care and feeding of our own souls.
Hitting the wall
February 13, 2013 By Leave a Comment
I think this says it all. There are just some days when nothing seems to work, but after some yoga or meditation, a brisk walk, a good sleep, a good laugh, or even a short break, most problems become manageable. It just takes some perspective to get out of making a habit of downward spiral thinking.
Dance your way to happiness
February 12, 2013 By Leave a Comment
What more to say about today’s blog? It’s difficult to hang onto a bad mood when you play your favourite high energy music (mine is disco 😉 and dance like no one is watching!
Random acts of kindness
February 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment
The random acts of kindness movement has been around for some time, and, given this is BC’s first ever Family Day, it seems right to focus on it. Have a great day everyone!
