Perhaps one of the most popular topics I work with clients on is conflict. It's no surprise, as conflict truly has the power to make or break a team, depending on how it's handled. However, while conflict is one of the most common topics I work on, it often comes in a reactive way rather than a proactive one.

So if I say the word meeting, what comes to mind? Chances are if you are like most people, whatever you imagined probably had a negative connotation. In fact, there is such a stigma around the modern-day workplace meetings that they have become an endless supply of material for memes, TV shows, and comedians.

I like to joke around and say that the most productive people tend to also be the laziest. In reality, we know that is not the case, but there is a hint of truth in it. Paradoxically, I have observed that many hyper-productive people do not work the most hours and often maintain a relaxed pace throughout the day.

A few years back I was conducting a workshop with a senior leadership team. Our goal was to build greater cohesion amongst them as a team, and also map out some priorities for developing their people in the coming year. Beforehand, some members of the team reached out to express their concern with one individual.

We've all been there. Sharing something with a coworker in confidence, and somehow the whole office knows the next day. Or perhaps we have been on the other end. A coworker spilling the tea to us about someone else on the team and suddenly we think, "wow... what must they be saying about me when I'm not around?"

It's September 2015, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has just discovered that many Volkswagen cars being sold in America have been installed with a "defeat device." This was actually software in diesel engines that could detect when an engine was being tested versus actual driving, and change its performance significantly to improve its testing results.

If I could only use one word to describe my journey into understanding AI tools, it would be this:

Overwhelmed!

It seems like every day there is a new AI app popping up, or a new update for an existing one. To top it off, most of us are being bombarded with messaging telling us we either keep up, or risk falling behind.

"His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There's vomit on his sweater already, mom's spaghetti." Let's face it: when it comes to public speaking, most of us feel like the opening of this famous Eminem song.

While team cohesion is a topic I am deeply passionate about, it is also something I typically don’t enjoy writing about. This is because the field has become so saturated in recent years. So there’s not much you can say that hasn’t been covered already.

We have heard it said there are 2 things in life that are inevitable: death and taxes. A mentor used to tell me there was a third… conflict. The more time I have spent working with organizations, the more I am convinced this is true.

One of the great benefits of entrepreneurship, and working in the coaching industry, is the flexibility it allows me to plan my day. If I have a dentist appointment or need to run errands, I can plan my day around the different appointments I have. Then if I need to catch up on work, I get a little done after dinner, or start work earlier the next day.

As a leadership coach, a big part of my job is helping leaders perform at their best. However, while leadership is often top of mind for many organizations, it can also be a very vague and ambiguous term. What exactly do we mean when we say “leadership?”