In case you were wondering, my favorite type of feedback is 360. This powerful tool gives leaders honest input from both coworkers (at all levels) and important stakeholders outside the organization. But receiving input is just the beginning. To get the most value, I recommend taking several steps once the report is in hand. Read on for my suggestions ..read more

Great teams understand the importance of spending time together in person. Face-to-face time helps team members see each other as whole people, breaking down biases and boosting collaboration, all of which leads to improved productivity and enjoyment ..read more

As a leader, you can help your team get stronger and more efficient by coaching them to learn from mistakes and solve problems on their own. Added bonus: that frees up more time for you to work on other things ..read more

Triggering happens when something causes us to react quickly and unconsciously, usually because we sense danger. This is helpful in real emergencies but… it can lead to poor responses in daily life and work situations ..read more

Effective leaders understand the value of developing strong listening skills. Doing so improves relationships, builds trust, and increases engagement, all things that matter when working closely with others ..read more

Most days, I feel very busy. With three kids, an old house, two dogs and, not least of all, running my own business, there’s always something that needs doing. At this point, I’ve learned that it’s simply not possible to ever finish everything on my list. And yet, as I mentioned to my husband John last night at dinner, despite all my running around, I sometimes sit back at the end of the day with a sense that I have not accomplished very much. I know from talking with clients and colleagues that I am not alone in feeling this way. Working lots of hours does not necessarily correlate with ..read more

Last year, we moved from a farm to a house in the county seat. It never dawned on us that our dogs would take off into the street at every opportunity! We definitely didn’t worry about that when we lived in the country — a fence was their only hope. We share a common strip between our house and our neighbor. She is an avid gardener, so you can just imagine how she would feel about us putting a fence line through her beautiful flowers. I certainly did, which is why I avoided the conversation for weeks! Every time I saw her, I would think of a reason not to bring it up. Eventually, th ..read more

There are few things I love more than facilitating and teaching at events. It makes my heart sing to stand in front of a group of interested, engaged professionals, helping them grow and guiding them to reach their full potential. But setting up and managing the events? Bleah. I’m not very good at it and it takes every ounce of willpower for me to do what’s necessary to pull all the pieces together. Luckily, I’ve got Suzanne — Thrive’s Event Manager. She’s magic. I mean like Disney quality magic. She oversees all the hospitality for our workshops and programs and I leave the details to her. S ..read more

If, like me, you grew up in a house full of siblings, you may recall a (mostly) good-natured game in which one child grabs the arm of another and uses it to hit that person with their own hand, all the while saying, “Why are you hitting yourself?” The “joke,” of course, is that nobody would intentionally and repeatedly hit themself with their own hand. And yet, that’s more or less what we are doing when we get in our way by running old patterns of behavior. The Perfectionist Boss Consider the example of my client Martin. As an Enneagram One, he was terrified of making mistakes. This caused hi ..read more

My 19-year-old son, Scott, has turned into quite the cook. He’s always been curious about food and flavors and seems to have a knack for creating unusual combinations that taste fabulous (no, sadly, it’s not hereditary). As is often the case with Enneagram Type 7s, Scott’s natural curiosity leads to a wide variety of interests and skills. We’re at the point now where he’s often in charge of menu planning for special events, sourcing of obscure ingredients, and helping with family meal prep. But it wasn’t always that way; there were definitely some starts and stops — blaring smoke alarms and u ..read more