What Most Leaders Get Wrong About Commitment
In my Five Behaviors of a Team® workshops, many leaders and managers are surprised to find out that agreement is not a prerequisite for team commitment. But here’s the truth: Meeting someone’s individual preference isn’t necessary for their commitment. Group agreement...
Situational Agility: When You’re a Hammer… All You See is a Nail
You know that saying “When you’re a hammer… all you see is a nail.” Or maybe you know the song: “If I had a hammer, I’d hammer in the morning, I’d hammer in the evening…all over this land.” We all can be hammers sometimes. Clinging to our default settings – refusing...
Fixing the “Terrible Meetings” Problem
Your time is valuable. And so is mine. There are probably a million little things that need your time and attention, like right now. That’s why there are few worse things than a truly terrible meeting (TTM’s for short!). TTM’s are unfortunately a ubiquitous part of...
Don’t Let Your Team Get Caught in the Team Finger-Pointing Web
Ever feel like your team is stuck in this scene from the Spiderman multiverse? Everyone is pointing fingers and no one sure who’s actually in charge? The truth is, finger-pointing is often a symptom of unclear roles and responsibilities. And when no one knows who’s...
How Can DiSC® for Managers Help Your Company Thrive
In the past year alone, I’ve partnered with six different companies to improve employee experiences through coaching, training, and consulting. Time and time again, I have observed the same thing: Managers play a crucial role in employee safety, satisfaction and...
The Art of Gathering Requirements: Make Your Boss Feel Heard
Have you ever been blamed for missing something… you didn’t even know was expected of you? Years ago, I was working for a mentor I deeply admired. We’d been collaborating for about a year when she asked me to help pull together an important meeting at our office. Over...
Managing Under Chaos – Lessons from FX’s The Bear
As Portland has been going through another cataclysmic ice & snow storm – I’ve been spending my indoor time watching the first season of FX’s The Bear – about an award-winning chef who leaves his Michelin starred restaurant role to manage the family sandwich shop...
Navigating Change with DiSC®
Probably every manager can identify with the phrase – “Hey! Don’t shoot the messenger!” It can be so difficult to help your team navigate change. Most especially unwanted change. But helping your team through a difficult moment of change can be one of the most...
Delegation: A Managers Recipe for Preventing Burnout
Many leaders and managers are suffering under the illusion that they are the only ones who can really get the job done. In my coaching 1-on-1’s, I often hear from managers who really feel like they can’t trust the people they’ve hired to do the work. “When I give work...
Turn BAD Meetings Into GREAT Meetings For Each DiSC® Style
In my DiSCovering DiSC® workshop – nearly every skit (or panel discussion) created by various DiSC® styles includes a comic send up of BAD MEETINGS. D’s skewer the dreaded icebreaker that has NO relevance to work tasks or results. S’s embody the frustration of being...
DiSC Personalities Explained
Discover how the four DiSC behavioral styles shape communication, decision making, and teamwork. A simple, research backed framework that helps people understand themselves and collaborate more effectively at work. The DiSC model describes four observable behavioral...
No Trust, No Results: Here’s How To Fix It
Trust is the foundation that makes every other aspect of teamwork possible. When trust is low, teams stall. People hesitate to ask for help, avoid hard conversations, or second-guess decisions. But when trust is present? People speak up. Disagree. Pitch in. Move fast....
Use Catalyst’s™ NEW Get Advice Feature To Avoid Communication Breakdowns
One of the main reasons my business clients choose DiSC® is because they know that effective communication on a team is paramount to their success. That’s why I’m thrilled to share that the Get Advice tool on Everything DiSC® on Catalyst™ is now live. Get Advice is...
Even Billy Strings Takes Music Lessons
Even Grammy-winning bluegrass superstar Billy Strings still takes music lessons. Despite selling out arenas and topping charts, he fears getting stuck in ‘old default ruts’ and pushes himself to keep growing. His secret? Embracing discomfort, seeking feedback, and never stopping practice. This post explores why true mastery isn’t about arriving—it’s about staying curious and loose, even when you’re already skilled enough. What skills are you currently building?
Onboarding a New Employee When Your Team Uses DiSC®
Can you remember your BEST onboarding experience? What about your WORST? Recently, a coaching client shared this nightmare of an experience: “There was no onboarding at all. Getting information and meeting people was completely on me. For weeks they promised the...
Why Two Different Companies Chose DiSC® Workshops For Their Teams
Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with four different leaders to learn why they chose to bring DiSC® to their company retreats and off-sites. Here are their stories: Wyld When I joined forces with Natasha and Rick at Wyld, a cannabis company, they were...
How DiSC® Can Supercharge Your Project Kickoff
Has your team ever lost steam midway through an important project? Thoughtful project kickoffs can be crucial for sustaining successful teamwork. Why? Kickoffs lay out the basic information that teams need to know in order to be successful. Including: → The scope and...
Balcony Time
Leaders are often firefighters – caught up in emergencies, last minute requests and handling day-to-day issues and problems. “I’ll focus on the big picture later” – we say. But later never comes. Enter: Balcony time. What is “Balcony time”? Balcony time is the...
A Bridge Back to Trust (From Someone Who’s Built a Few)
Trust gets broken. Even in healthy teams. Even with the best intentions. A deadline gets missed. A comment lands the wrong way. Someone shuts down instead of leaning in. And suddenly, there’s distance where there used to be flow. So how can we come back from that? One...
DiSCover Your Team’s Potential With DiSC®!
Could a deeper understanding of your team’s unique strengths and preferences improve their overall performance? Over the years, my experiences leading and facilitating teams introduced me to two basic truths. To be successful: we need to be both self-aware…and aware...
You Are a Performance Coach: 3 Types of Coaching Every Leader Needs to Master
The photo below is from a recent half marathon that I ran with the intention of finishing under two hours. Afterwards my running partner looked at my data and said "Wow, your heart rate was high! You were really working!" And while it was not easy, she gave me...
Communication is Still Key: A 4-Step Framework to Avoid Workplace Miscommunication
Hello all, How we communicate is one of the most important things we can do as partners, friends, employees and leaders. Not communicating effectively leads to challenges in productivity and relationships. For instance, my husband and I were talking about parental...
How to Stop Productivity Paranoia: A Leadership Guide to Priority Management and Team Alignment
We bounce between meetings every day, at the end of each one adding something to our to-do list. From there we try to deliver, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. Constant prioritization and communication is important for yourself and for your teams. Here's...
How to Run Effective Meetings: A DiSC-Based Guide to Managing Different Decision-Making Styles
In Everything DiSC workshops, which identifies workplace priorities, motivations, and styles for individuals, and we work on how each style relates to one another. One difference that always comes up is this: some personalities are ready to make decisions quickly and...
Meeting Overload Solution: How to Audit Your Calendar and Reduce Unnecessary Meetings
Hello Everyone, The virtual/hybrid work environment has not done our calendars any favors, has it? We are either back in the office and juggling hybrid/virtual/in-person meetings or we're at home, begging to jump off a call early for a bio break between eight hour...
What Nuclear Energy Leaders Know About Workplace Culture That You Don’t
Hi all, Last year I was coaching leaders from the energy sector, and we were talking about culture when they mentioned the "Principles for a Strong Nuclear Safety Culture" as their framework. These principles were created after the nuclear energy governing body,...
The Power of Predictability: How Transparent Leadership Improves Team Performance
The first time I ran a marathon, I had no idea what I was doing. I remember the night before the race I had a tough time sleeping: I didn't want to miss my alarm, I was terrified to finish, and I wasn't sure if my preparation was correct. I finished the marathon, but...
Why Leaders Should Let Their Team Learn Through Experience (And How to Do It Right)
As a counselor I was trained to let the person on the other side answer their own questions because they internalize the information better. Sort of like when you tell a child to NOT touch the stove, but sometimes they have to experience the heat in order to...
The Elephant Trick: How to Tackle Overwhelming Leadership Challenges One Step at a Time
Leadership requires constant effort and difficulty, and it can be difficult to find the motivation needed to stay on track and make progress. "There is only one way to eat an elephant: a bite at a time" captures the essence of how leaders should approach challenges....