Dominos No More: Ending The Knock-On Effects of Stress

Illustration of human domino's effect

Picture this: you’re sitting at your computer, working away quietly, when your colleague Toby storms past. He slams a huge pile of papers marked “URGENT” on his desk, picks up the phone, and starts barking at another colleague, Yolande, in Accounting: “I HATE when you do ABC…I’ve got enough on my plate right now!”  How […]

The Secrets To Effectively and Politely Opposing Others

playing-tug-as-methaphor-for-opposing-others

“Great idea!” “Right on!” Don’t you love hearing that you’re correct? It’s a good feeling when others back you up, share your vision, or can’t wait to implement your suggestions. We’ve all been there! The opposite, however, doesn’t feel as great. Many of us get uncomfortable even thinking about turning down someone else’s idea or […]

The Correlation Between Feedback and Quality

I’m a big fan of feedback. I played a lot of different challenging sports in my earlier days, where advice was always valuable in helping me learn, improve, and up my game. These days, that attitude lives on in me. Not that I always respond to feedback with a grateful smile and thanks, but I […]

How We’re Taught To Think In Silos

Picture of empty classroom

The other day, after all these years, I once more found myself sitting on some school benches. I was second in a row of four guest lecturers who had been invited to speak to the students and was enjoying the nice opportunity to hear what my colleagues were up to. As the day unfolded, two […]

Trainers: Here’s How To Know Your Group Dynamics In Advance

hand holding glass ball. In the ball you see a team working together.

As a trainer, there’s always a feeling of nervous excitement before you find out who you’ll be working with in a new group. It’s not at all unusual to feel a bit jittery about encountering peoples’ first reactions. How likely are they to show resistance, or will they take a wait-and-see attitude? Do they need […]