General wisdom

This week, I earned the coveted 25 donation pin from 𝐂𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐚 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. As I strutted through the hallways of the donation centre, fist bumping everyone I met, it occurred to me we could be doing the season of giving a little differently. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝? I won’t bore you with

Many of us have heard the word uttered during our careers. A well intentioned leader intones some version of the comforting phrase “I consider us more family than colleagues”. What’s the problem? Clearly a cohesive team that respects and elevates each other is a powerful element of a well functioning corporate culture. Unfortunately, I’ve watched

I’ve noticed people generally measure progress in two different ways – how far you’ve come from where you started or how far you have to go before a particular initiative is completed. My tendency is the later, which has been a source of strength in my career. However, I now realize it can also be

In a ground breaking, decades long longitudinal study covering 314,159 participants, organizational psychologists have concluded that individuals in the workplace have unique needs and motivations. They were also able to conclude that different types of work have different requirements*. What to do with this previously unknown information? Perhaps reconsider a blanket, one size fits all

Make it about you. Ending someone’s employment is emotionally challenging. But, it’s so much worse for the person being fired. Refrain from uttering some version of “this is hard for me” or emotionally breaking down during the notification meeting. It only makes a bad situation worse.

A significant amount of my time as a leader was spent evaluating proposals from staff. Each involved investing some amount of corporate resources to achieve an outcome the proposer felt would move the company forward. And if I didn’t accept the proposal? On occasion, I would get highly critical feedback that I simply wasn’t listening.

I’ve lost track of how many times this has happened to me. You’re preparing for a meeting and, suddenly, messages start flying. “Aren’t Melba and Alice on vacation this week…..is there even a quorum for the meeting?”. Or, just as frustratingly, you send a meeting invite and the person declines because they aren’t available. How

When the Business Unicorn asked what I would change in the workplace, I was inspired by the ideas already shared in this series on leadership, culture, and accountability. Then, contrary to the flamingo’s outgoing nature, I decided to look inward and wish for the gift of perspective.  If I had a magic wand, I’d make everything