18 Reasons to have the Challenging Conversation

And an opportunity to have one! (And enjoy it!)

Have the challenging conversation

For more than a decade I’ve been thinking about challenging conversations.

  • About the people that avoid them at all costs.
  • And about the people that drive over others with their opinions while refusing to listen to another point of view.

How do you usually respond?  (I’ve done both.)

3 Tips for Fully Experiencing Your Story as it unfolds

(Instead of trying to flip ahead)

Don't flip ahead. 3 tips for fully experiencing your story

How badly do you want to know the end of the story?

Have you ever been in the midst of reading a book and just had to look at the last few pages to see how it ends?

Have you ever been at the bookstore and flipped ahead in  the books you are considering, to decide which ending you would prefer to read?

Or do you consistently read the story as it is written:

  • Bonding with a character because of the challenges they are facing?
  • Cheering for them to come through it all, victoriously?
  • Fully experiencing all of the emotions they are feeling?

How about with your own story?

21 Reasons that it might be time for YOU to Take Action

The answers you are seeking are lying dormant waiting to be released.

Have you ever:

  • Participated in conversations about the behavior of certain titled leaders?
  • Expressed frustration at situations that seem corrupt, not in line with core values or unfair?
  • Wondered why opportunities to problem solve and improve the future were not taken?

Have you ever spoken these words, “Why doesn’t “someone” do something?”  

When the change you want to see isn’t happening “out there”… 

Culture or Harassment: Are You Defending Your POV or Listening?

When was the last time you listened first?

I was facilitating a workshop for students. The goal was to help everyone identify the bubbles they live in, and to encourage them to strategically pop those bubbles.

I asked questions that encouraged laughter:

  • What is the craziest food you have ever eaten? Answers varied from peas to snake… (Yes for some of us, eating vegetables is crazy!)

Then questions that would help them think about their courage:

Beyond the puzzle piece: Why the whole picture is so important

In workplaces and nations

ONE piece of a puzzle

A friend recently had an appointment with a doctor. The doctor started to prescribe medicine to treat the symptoms of a gut issue.

So the patient advocated for herself. She reminded the doctor that she has additional medical issues that are bigger than the gut issue. She has osteoporosis and needs a stronger skeletal system and this medicine will make her bones weaker.

The doctor heard her concern and thoughtfully responded, “Well, I guess you need to look at the whole picture.”

At work and in our world is easy to focus on one piece of the puzzle: