Burnout: It’s not me, it’s not you, it’s all of us. In higher education world, February is often one of the hardest months of the year. Not only is the weather still wintering, and we are (so close!) to experiencing the turn of spring, but also for those of us Read more
Rituals, Routines and Innovation Innovation is a sexy word. When we imagine ourselves as an “innovator,” we might see a creative captain of our industry, solving the gnarly problems that have vexed leaders of the past. Innovators are solution-finders and forward-thinkers. As a leader-boss, of course you want to foster Read more
Nobody is born good at conflict resolution. NOBODY. It’s not uncommon for a client to use our time together to process a situation with a coworker. After they share the issue, I often ask: “So when you went to talk with them about this later, how did it go?” I’m Read more
Boundaries, limitations, and the power of supportive accountability When I was a very new professional, back before fire or the Internet was invented and chai latte wasn’t yet in fashion, I had a student come to me for some help planning a conversation she hoped to have with her supervisor, Read more
Share Your Expectations There is a conversation your staff wish you’d have with them. (Actually, there are a few, but let’s just take it one at a time!) I’m sure about it because I hear about it from them. They wish they knew your expectations for success. If you just Read more
Conference Season Conference season is here! As reliable as the leaves turning colors, invitations to professional development meetings are in our inboxes: regional and national conferences, in-state seminars and professional development meetings are upon us! These gatherings are a hallmark of people-serving industries and since so many of us find Read more
Unintended Consequences My local gym has a new key checkout policy. It seems that some members (and maybe kids bored between basketball games) had become a bit lax in how the equipment in a particular room was being treated and there was some ongoing damage. Hoping to solve the problem, Read more
Spider Lily The strangest thing has happened in my living room this week. Here’s the backstory: We have been fortunate to have been gifted a few “orphaned” plants over the years – plants from friends who were moving and needed to rehome them. Despite my lack of green thumb, I Read more
You Can’t Win Without a Hit I love an old ballpark, the kind that looks like something out of a movie set, where you half expect a baseball player in balloon pants to come out of nowhere. An afternoon at an old ballpark is time well spent indeed! Over 20 Read more
Giving Feedback to Your Team I have a client who is in the process of significant culture change in their team. He routinely onboards new professionals who bring inconsistent workplace behavior expectations from part-time or grad school positions. One of the elements of his current role is giving feedback to Read more