Chaos. Not knowing. Confusion. Uncertainty. These are not words that we typically include in describing the environment we want to create to solve problems. More likely these are often the descriptors we are actively seeking to eliminate. And yet, it’s at the edge of chaos and order that innovation lives. It is also the exact place where...

On Sunday I ran a 10k race in beautiful central Ontario. When I picked up my kit bag, my t-shirt was men’s size small/medium which was the smallest shirt they had. Too big. Again. Not a big deal you say. Not really. Except that I have so many men’s t-shirts from running races that do not fit because they are too big and too baggy....

Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about how to make lasting systemic social change. There are lots of methodologies and best practices and training programs around that serve a good purpose and yet the problems they are intended to resolve are still prevalent, in some cases getting worse.

Last week I attended a Change Lab ...

What is so fearful about saying “I don’t know”? Who made up the rule that we have to know all the time? That there is something wrong if we don’t know?

No such rule exists. In fact, the more we can slow down and be ok with ‘not knowing’, the better ideas we’ll have and the greater progress we will make...

Recently I was in a meeting with a few colleagues talking about co-developing a customized leadership program for a client. When it came time to decide how we’d actually create the program, one person said “well we all know the best way to develop a program is to lock yourself in a dark room and write it by yourself.” I was...

I did it! Boston 2011! 

On April 18th I ran the 115th Boston Marathon. I achieved my really big goal. However, it didn’t turn out exactly as I anticipated. My finishing time was 4 hours 27 minutes – a full 30 minutes slower than my qualifying time!! And the weather conditions were perfect – 55 degrees and a strong...

I’m running the Boston Marathon on April 18th for the first time. I’m very excited. It’s been a really big goal for me since my first marathon in 1995. Since then I have run 15 more marathons in my effort to qualify to run Boston. For those of you not in the running community, Boston is the premiere marathon. Every marathoner I...

There are many different types of coaching – leadership, team, executive, organizational, wellness, life, sports – to name a few. Coaching exists along a spectrum from being more supportive at one end (think life coaching) to directive at the other end (think sports coaching). At the core they are all the same – helping...

With the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day taking place on Tuesday this week there have been lots of articles, stories and videos about women – our successes and accomplishments over the years as well as the many challenges and barriers still ahead. For as much as we can measure our progress we still have a...

When it comes to professional development, mentoring is a popular subject. Co-mentoring is about establishing mutually beneficial learning relationships among our colleagues and friends.

Rather than look “up” in the organization or further “out” of our immediate network the way we typically do, we can also look at...