Giving yourself breathing room: The restorative potential of creativity + community Hi, I hope this finds you well, grounded, and finding ways to connect/reconnect with a sense of possibilities. [Pressed for time? Resources and invitation links below.] An invitation for next Tuesday (and beyond): The low-key, drop-in, creative coffee hours that I facilitated in April were so energizing and fun that we’re doing it again in May.The last series ranged from people sheltering […]
Getting grounded and/or creative and/or productive Hi, I hope that you are well, finding your bearings, and well-connected to your support system. [Pressed for time? Invitations and resources listed below.] WE ALL BELONG. I love this image and this idea. It’s from a poster at the Orca K-8 School in Seattle: agreements for how they tend to their community. Everything grows out of the first line: WE ALL BELONG. What would the world […]
Sharing resources + getting together (virtually) Hi, I hope that you are well, finding your bearings, and well-connected to your support system. [Pressed for time? Invitations and resources listed below.] This is hard. And it’s going to be challenging for awhile. This pandemic is bringing alarming realities into every region of the world, enormous disruptions to daily routines, and a profound sense of uncertainty. And nobody is immune to what’s unfolding, […]
![Staying connected over [social] distance](https://shorthandconsulting-wp.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/25204212/hans-peter-gauster-3y1zF4hIPCg-unsplash700x200.jpg "Staying connected over [social] distance")
Checking in, sharing resources, extending an invitation I’m writing this on a Monday night, and who knows what Tuesday will bring. The refrain in my head these days is this: MULTIPLE THINGS ARE TRUE. As I’ve been connecting with folks across the country over the past week — from Florida to Rhode Island to Alaska, and especially around Seattle and across the State of Washington — it feels like people are in different parts […]
An interesting read in the Stanford Social Innovation Review about the different roles that we can play in social change. One highlight from authors Julie Battilana & Marissa Kimsey: “We identify three distinct roles played by those who participate in movements for social change: agitator, innovator, and orchestrator. An agitator brings the grievances of specific individuals or groups to the forefront of public awareness. An innovator creates an actionable solution […]
You’re not alone if you sometimes get discouraged, uncertain, or stuck-in-place when you grapple with persistent and complex societal problems. Here’s a thought-provoking article by Becca Dove and Tim Fisher in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. The authors are two self-professed “relational activists”, and they share several really interesting and hopeful examples of relational activism in action. Photo by J W on Unsplash.
My colleagues did some research on program outcomes* for Gauge Leadership Lab, and I’m excited about what we are seeing: 79% of previous participants believed they learned to capitalize on their strengths in the workplace. 98% of previous participants felt they had resolved work conflict more effectively. 35% of participants got promoted after completing Gauge. 100% of participants felt they had been more authentic after completing Gauge. Sound intriguing? I’d […]
Before you give up on the bad listener on your team (which, of course, might be your boss… or, um… you?!), have you considered what you could do to improve communications? This article by Rebecca Knight offers some great tips and reminders, along with two brief case studies that illustrate some practical strategies. Like so many things, we don’t get to control the outcome of a conversation. But we do […]
Practices to strengthen your capacity to navigate conflict In my last post, I wrote about the challenges of navigating conflict, especially where people have long-standing reasons for distrust and disagreement. I outlined three ideas for strengthening your capacity to navigate complex challenges by: (1) reframing collaboration, (2) deepening your self-awareness, and (3) refining how you listen and communicate [ii]. Continuing the conversation, this is focused on practices that can help […]
