A couple of years ago, I blogged about American psychologist Rick Hanson’s Red Brain, Green Brain model and how it can help us to reflect on our mental wellbeing. I regularly use this model when coaching my institutional clients on how they can improve their workplace cultures and facilitate their employees’ mental wellbeing. But these …
All Systems Red: Mental Health Under COVID-19 (part 1) Read More »
She spoke at every staff meeting, making her points at length, asking questions that seemed to slow the process down. Folks rolled their eyes and exchanged knowing looks. She was at it again… This individual was considered a low performer, or at least someone who only performed in a narrow area of expertise. She rarely …
Do you ever notice yourself getting defensive? Here’s how I’ve seen it work in myself and others: Someone in either a social or a professional setting says something we perceive as critical. Maybe they feel we were taking the floor too often or directing a group too much. Maybe it’s not even a critical comment, …
One of the most important components of a healthy, functional workplace is trust. And yet in many ways, trust remains a little elusive. We all know what it is, even though we rarely put it into words. Allow me to try: trust is to believe in someone despite uncertainty. We can never fully know a …
Stories have always been a vital way for humans to communicate—across ancient campfires, in handwritten manuscripts, and now on television, in movies, and books. I wonder, though, if in our current age we’re missing opportunities to engage the full power of stories. I have been re-learning the impact of storytelling as I incorporate it more …
In our time of accelerated technological growth, it seems we’ve come to prize innovation above almost everything else, even in non-technological realms. I was recently reminded that striking a balance between bold innovation and existing wisdom is essential for organizational changes to succeed. This helpful reminder came to me at a community meeting, where we …
A bronze sculpture I was commissioned to create was unveiled recently, and reading various reactions on social media opened my eyes to something I need to work on. The response to this public art piece has been largely very positive—and I’m grateful—but there have been a few negative comments….and I’ve found myself dwelling on these. …
I had a tantrum the other day. It wasn’t terribly long, but it was a surprisingly intense meltdown. The person at whom I was raging said, afterward, “Oh, so you’re actually human!” Yes, I’m human, but this behaviour isn’t like me at all! I am generally level and calm around others and no, I don’t …
Recently I went to the bank with an envelope of rent money from a tenant. I wasn’t anticipating anything much from the errand other than ticking an item off my to-do list. But when I got to the teller and began to pull bills from the envelope, I realized I had more money than I’d …
Can We Use the Mirror Effect to Become Beacons? It’s become a common understanding that if someone, or their behaviour, is unreasonably irritating to you, you’re experiencing what’s known as the Mirror Effect. This is the idea that we are disproportionately irritated by the behaviours in others that we most dislike in ourselves. …