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.
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...
Strategy in Crisis: 5 questions to ask when your current strategy is ripped from under you.
“Not having a strategy is a strategy in itself…” This was something I used to say to leaders in my previous organization when they told me that things were too uncertain and unpredictable to put a strategy in place. Or that they needed to be responsive to what donors...
Preparing to Talk About the Monsters Under the Bed: Four Sets of Questions to Help Regroup with Your Team
The world of work where I spent significant parts of my career is experiencing deep upheaval right now. Thousands of my friends and colleagues have been laid off or furloughed and are having to radically rethink their lives. And thousands more still have their jobs...
Getting Greater Impact From Training: Tips for Helping Training Stick
Think back to the last training you attended that you enjoyed. Ask yourself what you most enjoyed about it? Then ask yourself if you can name three key takeaways? Then ask yourself, how many things you can identify that you are doing differently because of what you...
Does How You Like to Travel Create Insight into How You Live Your Life?
This is a time of year when many folks, particularly in the Northern hemisphere are on the move - traveling to either find the snow or escape the cold, visiting family, revisting established traditions or creating new ones. Getting on planes, trains or buses for work,...