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TL;DR: Daryl Davis is a black man who has helped over 200+ white supremacists leave behind their ideologies. How? He approached with genuine curiosity, found things in common and looked to plant the first seed. Lately I've been running a lot of De-escalation skills and Hard conversations workshops. It's something many of us struggle with and the result? We dodge, dip, duck, dive and dodge these conversations (love a good Dodgeball quote). Or we have them in a place of anger

Courage is a big idea, and it's daunting. And challenging conversations take courage. I was mindful to go back quite a few years - 2013 to be exact - and find the best thing I've read about courage.  And it's relevant to finding the courage to say what you need to say to someone and hold that all-important conversation. Kouzes and Posner, Finding the courage to lead, 2013,   is the go-to I'm talking about. Why? They researched courage and asked people when they were courageou

Since we're talking about conversations, it was great to see that David Robson created an entire chapter called The Art of Conversation in his book The Laws of Connection: 13 Social Strategies That Will Transform Your Life .  Robson's book is useful and fascinating full stop. And, he adds two very quick, helpful sections to the end of each chapter, summing up: What you need to know, and Action points. But he also discusses a large amount of scientific studies and research th

When we think about what “normal” looks like in work styles, communication, and productivity, one concept you might not be familiar with...

One of my favourite stories about innovation, and thinking differently to create the outcome needed, is from WW2. In 1941 the German...

Often, huge amounts of courage. Especially when we're setting boundaries at work. Try picking up  Defy: The Power of No in a World That...

This is a tough one. When we set boundaries, we're defining what we want and need. And if that's not part of our make up, it can be...

We're five years into this Covid-accelerated workplace transformation: flexible - hybrid - remote working. But five years isn't really ...

A lot of us assume that if we can't get more done, we're the problem . We aren't optimising or prioritising , or focusing on...

I love a list - well actually several lists  - all in one place where I can easily access them. Paper, electronic - anything that works...

In his book, Our Brains at Work , Dr. David Rock has a great metaphor about our brains being like a stage. Here's the visual: The Stage =...

To the surprise of no one - workplace norms have changed. Hybrid, remote and flexible working arrangements are now part and parcel of...

Let's unpack this. These three ideas are related and worth bearing in mind when you're thinking: what the...? First of all our world is...

Yesterday I was working with a leadership cohort. We were thinking about what creates high performing teams and the discussion of...

We dubbed March, myth-busting March. And there are a lot of myths (or assumptions) about what makes for good communication at work....