This week I made a massive error. The kind you make and immediately recognize your mistake but it’s already too late. Let me set the stage. I’m in the middle of doing a pilot study with a small sample size of people and needed to send out a message to them with further instructions. But … Read more
Remember those frustrating school projects where one teammate thrived under pressure, while another crumbled like a stale cookie? Turns out, that difference might not be about raw talent, but about the wiring in their brains. As a stress physiologist, I’ve spent years peering into the neural soup, and let me tell you, leaders with a … Read more
Imagine scaling Mount Everest, not with the swagger of a seasoned climber, but with a rusty ice pick and a borrowed parka. That’s the uphill battle most businesses face – obsessing over innate talent, the “Sherpas” of the workforce, while neglecting the vast, untapped potential of the rest who with courage and resilience trek up … Read more
As the calendar turns to a new year, many of us embark on the journey of crafting resolutions — promises to ourselves to embrace positive change and become the person we aspire to be. In the spirit of this transformation, I’ve personally been reflecting and drawing inspiration from a recent Hidden Brain Podcast episode, “What … Read more
I’m done. That was the only thought I could think again and again and again as I made myself #girldinner (popcorn and Gatorade count as dinner right?). After yet another 14-hour day of work and that sinking feeling that I still wasn’t quite caught up enough to turn off, I started wondering….is this really worth … Read more
With all the personal responsibility gurus out there I have a seriously unpopular opinion about where to point the finger for your current situation – be it good, bad, or ugly. Don’t point it at yourself. Or other people. Or your genetics. Or your environmental circumstances. In fact, go ahead and don’t point a finger … Read more
It seems like every day I’m reading about another company enduring massive layoffs. In this environment of fear and change how can leaders (and anyone really!) navigate the tumultuous times that disruption brings? A fascinating study of the company that is often cited as enduring one of the worst periods of disruption, Illinois Bell Telephone, … Read more
If you want to be a leader start talking. At least that’s the conclusion drawn from a new study that has been deemed, the babble hypothesis. While controlling for other factors including intelligence, personality experience and background on specific tasks researchers have found that none of these factors influence the selection of a leader nearly … Read more
The responsibility of knowing that our decisions have the potential to impact the lives of everyone on our team can be a daunting weight to carry even in the best of times. But when we have drastic disruptions to our businesses, that burden of responsibility can become crushing. As our teams look to us for … Read more
Who’s to blame? I have a likely unpopular opinion on quiet quitting. Quiet quitting isn’t the employer or manager’s fault. To be clear, the employee isn’t to blame either. I believe the finger is to be pointed squarely at the cultural norms we have created around stress. The mindset most Americans hold … Read more