Miriam de Dios offered up a challenge to all of us back at “90 Ideas in 90 Minutes” in September: Champion Inclusion That seems like a no-brainer—anyone who studies organizational effectiveness and community development knows that diversity and inclusion make for stronger teams, organizations, and communities. But Miriam offered a couple angles we hadn’t considered. Oftentimes, … Read more
I’ve heard a few versions of “Ask yourself if it needs to be said” before speaking out loud. When I heard Kristi Knous speak recently at the 90 Ideas event, I appreciated her 3 questions for leaders before speaking. I wrote Kristi, as I wanted to get her words just right, and she graciously emailed … Read more
In a recent address from Dana Wingert, the Des Moines Chief of Police, he emphasized the value of everyone in an organization thinking a rank or position above themselves. The guiding question is this: “How would my boss handle this, and what are his/her expectations?” A few examples: When you’re assigned a project, execute it … Read more
Can you empathize with this mindset? He never puts stuff away and never gets caught. I’ll just put this extension cord on the floor in the waiting room after hours – he’ll finally get blamed. I know I’m framing him. But, it’s justified because he does it all the time and never gets caught. I’m … Read more
When we stonewall, we make it clear to others that communication is not welcome. We let people know that their behavior or ideas are so unacceptable that we are unwilling to compromise or discuss a resolution. I was in a planning meeting for a musical event once that got heated – there was no easy answer to … Read more
Denaja was right. She knew she was right. She had designed four other projects, all with similar scopes. They had gone so well that she was now permanently in a designing role – an expert. But when Roman gets started, he won’t let up. He dominates, gets aggressive, and can sometimes make personal cutting remarks. So … Read more
Sarcasm has no place in effective leadership. That’s not the most popular thing I’ve said, but it needs to be said frequently. It’s personally frustrating, because sarcasm has been a big part of my sense of humor most of my life. But it’s gotten me into trouble at least as often as it’s gotten me … Read more
“Who should get this project?” Greg trusted Monica’s judgement, and saw her as a future number two, and Greg’s current number two was out of the office, so this was a test. “Jean-Paul”, Monica said with no hesitation. “Really?” Greg mused, “I was sure you’d say Rich. This is right up Rich’s alley – and … Read more
Some people know how to push our buttons. When they do, and there’s an element of truth to it, we get a little testy. We want them to know that we’re angry, but we also know it’s best to avoid full-on conflict. Being passive-aggressive can seem like the perfect solution. We get to subtly punish someone … Read more
Overpowering involves drawing on all the sources of power at our disposal to defeat someone during a conflict. Sometimes that power is social or organizational authority, but sometimes it’s simply using the force of a strong, vocal personality. “It’s NOT GONNA HAPPEN!” Joyce shouted. “Well,” said Marco, “I think things have changed enough that…” “Who … Read more