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Interviews Should Look Out
“I wish I would have known, during the interview, what it took me four weeks to figure out,” Harper exhaled, plopping into a chair in my office. After four weeks of investment in developing a new team member, it had become clear to Harper that they were not right for...
Throwaway Comments Aren’t, Really
This is the third installment in a series on Irrational Habits, the very human stuff that messes with our desired outcomes. So far, we’ve covered eclipsing outcomes with feelings and crowdsourcing discontent. Let’s talk about another common habit: using broad,...
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Do you crowdsource discontent?
Meet the second irrational habit in a series about several. There is a low-value, highly draining habit that distracts from what matters most in organizations, even though it may feel helpful (or at worst neutral). It is so common as to seem unremarkable: talking...
Do you eclipse outcomes with feelings?
Like and dislike don’t matter nearly as much as shared outcomes. Many human-centered organizations develop a habit that diminishes outcomes and contributes to burnout, even though the habit is born from a beautiful intention: treasuring individual perspectives and...
Do you eclipse experts with over-engagement?
This is the fourth installment in a series on Irrational Habits, the very human stuff that messes with our desired outcomes. So far, we’ve covered eclipsing outcomes with feelings, crowdsourcing discontent, and the fact that throwaway comments aren't, actually. Let’s...
The Word “Executive” Is Not Silent
An Executive Director/President (ED) is the heartbeat of a movement. She channels collective energy, organizes chaos, and manifests strategy, often with little more than duct tape and a bobby pin. She serves to serve and gives for the good of all, taking charge of...
Stop Telling Women They Lack Confidence
During a panel about women and entrepreneurship, a male investor fawned a bit about how much he prefers women leaders. He said we work harder, smarter, and get more results. He then lamented that the only problem with women is our lack of confidence, that it holds us...
The Only Time to Apologize as a Speaker is if You Step on Someone’s Foot
Stop apologizing before you’ve even started Never, ever apologize for your public speaking performance, for not being prepared, or for having to lay the ground rules for the audience. Such hollow apologies turn off audiences. They make you seem insecure and make them...
Tone Down the Attitude
Tone is everything. Even without saying the actual words, people often call each other names with degrading or disrespectful tones. There is a wide palette of negative tones — sarcastic, passive-aggressive, cold and calculating, ridiculing — and so on. But they all...
You’re Not For Everybody (and that’s ok!)
That stuff you hide from others? Start showing them. People aren’t always committed to listen to what we say if they do not like us. Yet, our job as communicators is not to get everyone to like us. This is impossible, and in fact, could actually make people dislike us...