Some situations don’t have a simple, tidy solution. If you want to resolve it, to improve things, to create the necessary change – to be a positive force – then, guess what? You have to work your way through. A step at a time. Doggedly. Kindly, keep going. Continue reading When there are no quick fixes
I enjoyed a talk today, about how a software project was rescued by adopting a more Agile culture. In it was an exhortation to focus on value over deadlines. The latter can change what may be valuable, but the former is more important. How often do we wrestle with conflicting demands, when instead we could concentrate on merely taking the next valuable step? Take the … Continue reading To time, budget and quality – honestly
Reading a coaching article about the language we use (with ourselves, as well as others), I noted that we should avoid the words “don’t” and “didn’t” where possible. But, that seems really tricky I thought. I read that “but” should be avoided, too. Then I read that we shouldn’t be avoiding certain words, per se, and we should focus on positive, benefit driven language. There’s … Continue reading Don’t, but, didn’t
I’m getting a lot from reading The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris. Yesterday I read two variations on the same thing, each of which resonated so strongly. “We feel our thinking, not our circumstances.” It’s just thinking – it’s not necessarily how it is. “What we think, we feel.” So if you want to feel better, you can work on your thinking – easier than … Continue reading Thank you mind!
I related my meandering career path to a mentor I’ve just started working with yesterday. I say ‘career path’, but it doesn’t feel it’s had enough direction to call it a path. Their advice – own it. Whatever we’ve been through has given us some benefit or insight, if we looked closely enough and with curiosity. We might prefer to live without it, but there’s … Continue reading It happened, so own it
For some folks, there’s a strict schedule to stick to when training. This has its merits and I recognise the value of that discipline. For me though, almost every run is a mindful opportunity. To listen to my body. To look at the skies. To feel long grass brush my shins. Delight in the uphill that’s making me work hard. Watch the heather sway across … Continue reading Oh. my. god. moments of beauty
I find it hard to go back to something I’ve already read or watched. It seems like I’m turning down opportunity when there’s so much good stuff to consume. The really great work is worth sitting with again, though. You’re not the same as you were the first time around. The situations you’ve lived through and are thinking about now aren’t the same. New insight … Continue reading Re-reading, re-watching
In some ‘effective communication’ training today, we were encouraged to examine people’s status on two different scales of 1 to 10. black: external, positional, formal red: internal, emotional, personal For example, black status might be afforded by a person’s job title and red status by their confidence in that role. The combination of these scores determines their effectiveness. No matter their position, someone scoring low … Continue reading Status and contribution
Having established that inquiry is more important than certainty, it’s worth thinking about where to inquire. Be wary of folks whose answers support only their own conclusions. Be pleased when you’re given the scope to probe, interpret and challenge. Be alert when opinion is dressed up as fact. Be content when your answer is a deeper, more meaningful question. Genuine inquiry is a challenge and … Continue reading Where to inquire
Listening to the Attribution podcast today, there was conversation around how most of us like simple narratives. To boil things down to those attractively simple stories, we reduce complex ambiguities into tidy absolutes. Humans are compressed into stereotypes. Journeys are contracted into linear paths. Possibilities are shrank to one version that loosely fits. Evolution has primed us to find the quick answer, and it pays … Continue reading Less certainty, more inquiry
Sometimes You Learn 