Recent Articles
- Unethical and Toxic Leaders“They see people as chess pawns and move them around when others begin to see through their actions. Unethical and Toxic Leaders Can an organization with unethical and toxic leaders be successful? Obviously, yes. These leaders often get away with breaking laws and people until they are forced to stop. Then, these leaders find a …
- Systems Theory in Business“The system functions at whatever level it needs to in order to accomplish the goal. This is systems theory in action.” Your System is Functioning-Even if it Doesn’t Seem Like it. The biggest “Ah Ha” moment, when it comes to understanding systems, is that your system IS achieving a goal. It may not be …
- You Did Not Forget How to Lead“There is a cognitive reason why you are frustrated with the people you lead.” Your Mind is Just Full There is a cognitive reason why you are frustrated with the people you lead. Here’s a scenario: Tamara is a Chief Engagement Officer at a medium sized company. She’s been leading her team for four years …
- Everything’s Fine…Or is it?Everything’s Fine…Or is it? There are some things that have become normal. People leave your organization to the tune of at least once a month, but that’s just the “Great Reshuffle.” Aren’t employees quitting instead of working it out lately? What does it mean when people keep quitting? It seems like there is something missing. …
- Can you take feedback?
- You Did Not Forget How to Lead“There is a cognitive reason why you are frustrated with the people you lead.” Your Mind is Just Full There is a cognitive reason why you are frustrated with the people you lead. Here’s a scenario: Tamara is a Chief Engagement Officer at a medium sized company. She’s been leading her team for four years …
- The Impact of Losing a Leader
“The loss of a leader could mean a lot of things. The first assumptions that people make are the politically correct ones: They are seeking a change of scenery; They would like bigger growth opportunities; The are looking for a new challenge.” Losing One of Your Best Sucks As you wish your former employee/leader their … - Facing Backlash as an Ally
Facing Backlash as an Ally In a previous post, I discussed how hard it can be to be an ally. You face defensiveness and backlash from many different sides. People will question your intentions and will even insult you with the intent of silencing and harming you. It comes from all angles and it can … - Being an Ally Can Be Hard
Being an Ally Can Be Hard If you have committed to Allyship and are working toward an equitable world, it isn’t easy. I recently ran a workshop on equity, diversity, and inclusion with another consultant here at Mud and Lotus. We got a question that stuck with me and I have wanted to write about … - Managing Conflict
Managing Conflict Research is showing that changing someone else is hard.When we walk into managing conflict, there are generally two people who are solid in their stance and changing that stance is not easy. Helping them find solid ground and “get along” is going to take some skill and finesse, but it is possible. … - Accountability Can be Tough
“Holding people accountable is not for the faint of heart and here are some pieces of advice that have gotten us through these moments.” Accountability Can be Tough We have been there…too many times. Getting called into an environment where a small group of people have gotten away with something for WAY too … - So you f**ked up
How to own it So you f**ked up with a colleague, now what? I recently spoke with one of my fellow social justice warriors. She is an amazing restorative practices expert who has many years of experience implementing RP and also working in various environments from business to the community. She mentioned that … - Your Biggest Mistake
Why do we hurry to hide a mistake? What should we do instead? Your Biggest Mistake is Covering Up Your Mistake Why do we do this? Lately, two major mistakes, in two organizations we work, with came to light. The mistakes were made and the leadership did as much as they could to mitigate the … - Drama at Work = Lack of Boundaries
Drama at Work is a Symptom If you are noticing a lot of drama in your workplace, then there is definitely a lack of boundaries happening. It’s time to reorient your team with some new agreements. To do this you need to sit everyone down and decide where lines are being crossed. Then you all … - Climate Survey Feedback
“Restorative leadership WILL acknowledge and label this feedback in an honest and vulnerable way.” Negative Climate Survey Feedback? Next Steps to Transformation When a climate survey goes out, it can be a hard pill to swallow. Sometimes you will receive negative climate survey feedback. Many of the comments can be hurtful, personal, and directed towards … - Is HR Your Friend?
You Know HR is Your Friend When… Problem Solvers Your Human Resources department is your friend when they are working diligently to solve interpersonal problems in your organization. The key word in Human Resources is the “Human” part. If your Human Resources department is honoring humans as diverse beings you will see … - Don’t Call if You’re Not Ready for Change
Don’t Call us If You’re Not Ready for Change When it comes to equity, diversity, and inclusion work, repair workspaces, and improving organizational health, consultants often get calls from leaders who are looking for us to “fix” problems without any real change. We understand that there are levels of change … - Organizational Agreements as Mediation
“When your organization has shared agreements, you can leverage those agreements to create space for HUMANE interactions between departments” Dr. Autumn Thomas Organizational Agreements Agreements Between Departments My favorite part of organizational agreements is that they lead to cross-departmental opportunities for restorative mediation. When organizations grow, dehumanization can occur between departments. You will … - Negative Employees
Look for negative patterns in employees. Have top leaders take responsibility for the relationship. Hold each other accountable to new agreements. Negative Employees Oh no!! They are raising their hand again!! There are often people who constantly raise their hands in meetings to say something discouraging. These people sometimes have the reputation as negative employees. … - Employee Retention – Shifting CultureIt’s Time!! Retain Your Employees and Shift Your Culture. Your company has gone through some change lately. It is now time to re-establish norms and agreements, it is time to make sure that you train and retain your new employees while honoring those who have remained loyal to your company. It’s …
- Fostering RelationshipsAssess Relationships Start the Work Professional Boundaries Fostering Relationships Are you connecting with your team? Assess Your Professional Relationships People are naturally social beings, Dr. Louis Cozolino who wrote The Neuroscience of Human Relationships points out, “our social brains have emerged during natural selection because being social enhances survival.” This is …
- System AssessmentLook for Systemic Values Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Survey for Themes Systemic Thinking Starting the year off with a system assessment can help guide your decisions going into a new year. To assess your system, you need to step back and take a balcony view. Here are some things to remember when you take this …
- A Good Consultant Gives it to You Straight“When the conversations at the top are focused on fixing everyone else, the conversation is going in the wrong direction.” A Good Consultant Gives it to You Straight Sycophant is a word that needs to make a comeback. If everyone around you is agreeing with you and not challenging your thinking, you might be surrounded …
- Ownership is HappinessOwnership is Happiness Do your employees own your vision? Do they own their department or other workspaces? Are they completely responsible for all the outcomes they produce or do they point to all the other factors holding them back? Building capacity in your people is building ownership. People thrive when they own all the solutions …
- Outside Help for EDI?Outside Help for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion? When an organization creates an internal position to support Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion work in the organization, it can be incredibly isolating for a EDI representative. The work that they are doing is something that challenges others to look internally and make some changes. The conversations can be …
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