Managing Your Emotions Before They Manage You
You’re in a meeting and the same irritating colleague you’ve had to work with for months cuts you off, again. By the time the meeting ends, you’ve replayed it three times, and you’re fuming. That evening, you’re short with your kids and you’re not quite sure why. We all have moments that trigger us. Those […]
Ego Doesn’t Always Look Like Bragging
I was recently at a conference listening to Rob Fraser, CEO of Outway. He talked about his lessons learned as a leader. One of his lessons was to keep your ego in check. Ego isn’t just the kind that brags. It’s so much deeper than that, catching us off guard when we least expect it. […]
Why High Achievers Struggle to Rest
I can already feel the air changing. The mornings are cooler. The days are getting busier. I can imagine that in just a few weeks, as we get closer to Canadian Thanksgiving and Halloween, the pressure to achieve will start to weigh on us, if it hasn’t already. So before the season picks up speed, […]
What is possible with 5000 people in a room.
Where were you on September 11th, 2001? This coming Friday, it would’ve been 25 years since 9/11. If you are old enough to understand what was happening, you probably remember exactly where you were. It’s hard to forget. Everyone knows the towers came down. Everyone knows a memorial stands there now, in the middle of […]
Hope isn’t a feeling. It’s a sequence of choices.
The world doesn’t look great right now. Wars keep dragging on. Economies feel shaky. Trust in our institutions is cracking in a dozen places at once. If you’ve felt something close to hopeless lately, you’re not alone, and you’re not imagining it. At the Victoria Forum, I heard a talk that changed how I think […]
What leadership in action looks like
Chatting with former Governor General The Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean.
No Matter What Happens, I Win: What Writing My First Book Is Teaching Me
Everyone tells you raising kids is a lot of work. But like any parent will tell you, you don’t really understand what that means until you’re the one in it, sleep deprived, figuring it out in real time. Writing a book is the same. Every author will tell you it’s hard. One author I know […]
Same fight, different day? Change Your Steps.
Whether it’s at work or at home, chances are you’ve got a dynamic you’re not crazy about. It could be with a colleague, your boss, or a family member. Tricky dynamics can drain your energy faster than you’d believe. You try hard not to react. But this person just knows how to rub you the […]
Focus Is Power: How Time Boxing Changed My Productivity
We often think we don’t have enough time to do everything we need to do. Yet there’s a principle called Parkinson’s Law that says work expands to fill the time available for its completion. In other words, if you give yourself all day to write a report, it’ll take all day. If you give yourself […]
Why Leaders Get So Tired (It’s Not Always About the Work)
A few months ago, I signed up for dance lessons. It was all brand new to me, and I decided to challenge myself by learning the lead role. But then I found myself wiped out after every class. My brain hurt from learning new steps and my shoulders ached. Nothing about the actual dancing should […]