Resources
I write regularly on topics and resources that inspire me, disturb me, invite me to see the world differently… I post them here to invite a conversation with others in my community – whether friends, colleagues, peers, clients… I believe that by entering into dialogue and sharing more of what matters with each other we will become more connected, more resilient and ultimately find better solutions to the world’s challenges. Please read and join me in conversation. I will respond to everyone who writes back.
How Many Hours Do You Work Each Day?
I was asked this question recently by someone who is looking to move from a role in facilitation within an organization to setting up her own business. And the question flummoxed me. Because it’s really complicated. At least it feels that way. On the one hand there is...
The (Work) Phrase That Makes a Little Part of Me Die Inside.
“I didn’t get any work done today because I was stuck in meetings”... If I had a dollar for every time some has said that to me – my spouse, colleagues, friends, peers – I would be rich indeed. And every time I hear that, I cringe internally. Because built into that...
Lessons From the Kitchen: The Secret Ingredients of Effective Meetings
(NB. This blog was inspired by a combination of some recent facilitation and being immersed in the current season of the British Baking Show! If you aren’t into baking, you might still find some morsels of use in this blog!) I love to cook but I have a pet peeve when...
When Coaching Isn’t Working For You – What Then?
As an executive and leadership coach this feels like a strange title for a blog! I’ve experienced personally how coaching has at different points transformed how I was showing up in the world. There was the time when my coach helped me to understand how to advocate...
Volunteering vs Paid Work: Why I Need to do Both
I grew up doing a lot of volunteering. My friends and I set up our town's first paper and aluminium recycling program which involved a lot of sorting of rubbish and jumping on cans to squash them flat! And my first year overseas was volunteering for a peacebuilding...
Dismantling vs Destroying: Why It Matters
This is an article inspired by the work of a dearly beloved Portland insititution called the Rebuilding Center. They are maybe best known for their 30,000 square foot warehouse where you can find pretty much any piece of second hand building supplies for cheap to...
How to Read more Intentionally
I like reading. A lot. I’m excited to be currently stuck into a work of fiction involving time travel that I can’t put down (The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard if you are interested). I’m even more delighted by the fact that I feel I can count reading as a...
Why Leaders Should Practice Following
I’ve finally come to own that I love leading, and probably always have, (ask all my younger siblings and cousins who I led - coerced?! - into all sorts of imaginary games of my making). It’s taken me a while to own that thought but I’m starting to claim that love as...
Sometimes It Takes More Than a Village (AKA Gratitude)
A dear friend and I (Myriam Khoury for those of you who know us both), recently gave a keynote address at a conference for non-profit leaders. The topic centered on bringing strategy to life, and was motivated by a paper that the two of us had written last year called...
Why Hire a Facilitator? Four Good Reasons and a Bad One
I recently facilitated a mid-size gathering for a former colleague who is themselves a very skilled facilitator and convener of events. Objectively, they have just as many skills and capacities as I do to hold space for a group wanting to dig into strategy and to...
