I often ask clients “What is fixed and what is flexible on this project?” It’s language I use for setting my own boundaries too, most recently when negotiating meeting formats. (“If you really want a hybrid event, here’s what must be in place…and here’s what I can flex with…”) The idea comes from the elastic metaphor I’ve been exploring, and today will be our final installment in that series.
Continue reading “Find Your Anchor”Elastics Snap Back…Sometimes
By definition, elastics snap back to their original shape.
Until they don’t.
Sometimes, stretched too far for too long, they simply remain limply in that extended state, unable to stretch much further, retain their previous shape or even meet a challenge in between. They’re done.
Continue reading “Elastics Snap Back…Sometimes”Elastics Snap
Continuing our exploration of an elastic metaphor of wellbeing from last week: when pulled too far too fast, elastics snap.
Moreover, as I was reminded by a friend last week, if they are already stretched tight, elastics are more vulnerable to stress. When stretched elastics get a nick in them, they are far more likely to break than if that same nick happens when the elastic has some give left in it.
Elastics Stretch
I remember when my cousin Paula became a teacher, she was determined to incorporate more than one way of explaining things into her lessons. It came from a memory of not understanding a math concept, and the teacher simply repeating what they’d previously said. Paula didn’t need repetition — she needed a different explanation.
Continue reading “Elastics Stretch”A Rich Conversation
As I continue an impromptu series on ways others’ work is making mine better, I need to draw your attention to a recent podcast conversation between three of the contemporary greats in leadership, work and team development: Brené Brown, Adam Grant and Simon Sinek (What’s Happening at Work: Part 1, Part 2).
Continue reading “A Rich Conversation”