There is no shortage of advice on how to lead. Most leadership lessons are designed for 2-D times when we are living in more than three dimensions. I used to love reading about leadership. I thought leadership was the key to successful organizations during my studies, and I was partly right. What I got wrong …
A myth of behaviour change is that we must be motivated before we act. Behavioural Activation shows us how doing can lead to new thinking and better change-making. Much of the literature on behaviour is predicated on the belief that we need to change our minds to change our behaviour. However, if you’re depressed, anxious, …
In this final series on designing for well-being, we look at the application of a design framework to achieving the core aspects of health and care for people. We’ve outlined the role of well-being in supporting a healthy organization and the core aspects of well-being itself in the workplace. Now, we turn to asking: what …
Organizations large and small are starting to re-assemble back in offices and considering what kind of culture they want to see. Part of this culture work is creating one that supports well-being. What was the culture of your organization like before March 2020? Was it one that had parties for birthdays, team development retreats, or …
It’s been said by (maybe) Peter Drucker and (definitely) the Internet that culture eats strategy for breakfast. This quote’s truth is solid even if its pedigree is questionable. Our culture shapes us in ways that are profound and often invisible. When I look at how I talk, what I say, and how I express things …
The informal conversations we have with friends and colleagues can have enormous value if we’re willing to recognize it. The COVID-19 pandemic gave me a gift that has produced an almost incalculable return on my creativity. Prior to the first COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 most of my engagements with friends and colleagues were episodic. …
Learning is at the heart of innovation and works best when evaluation is part of the process to spot what’s actually learned. Learning is a critical part of innovation and evaluation is about understanding its role. There are many definitions of innovation out there. After years of experience, observation, and study I’ve found them lacking …
Learning in times of turbulence requires much more than lessons or courses – it requires new systems. I’ve long contended that learning is all about systems. I’ve not backed away from that. However, I’ve also been a part of some rather terrible systems. Post-secondary education is definitely one of them. So, too, has most of …
Transparency without honesty is a way to create illusions under the guise of trust, truth and accountability. Work in human services long enough and you’ll come to learn that transparency is a word made of top-quality plastic — it can be molded into whatever people want it to mean. It’s a feel-good word that gives …
Change is hard because our identities often depend on us being right, even when we are not. Understanding the myths we hold to can be a means to get past this and make real change and make it stick.
