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5 Practical Strategies to Overcome Burnout When You’re a Change Agent
Social Justice Change Agents, Can You Relate? Burnout. Passion fatigue. It’s something I’m seeing a lot more of these days. And yes, bad-ass change agents, I’m seeing it in you, too. You’re on the front lines working tirelessly for social justice and greater inclusion in our organizations and our world. But… Too Many Change Agents Are Neglecting Self-Care As an advocate and activist, you’re going out there every day putting in long hours to create meaningful change as you bring awareness to social justice issues. In the midst of all this, way too many of us are neglecting self-care. Answer me this: How often do you feel depleted? Had your…
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Just what is a change agent? Are you one?
What is a change agent, exactly? I hear this question a lot. Too often, people believe that you have to be a senior leader or someone with some advanced or specialized level of training to be a change agent. This couldn’t be further from the truth, and I want to help dispel that myth right here. Defining a Change Agent To help you understand the definition of what a change agent is, I find it helpful to explain it in the context of a few key questions: Do people regularly come to you for advice, counseling and/or coaching? You can be a change agent. Are you concerned or frustrated with…
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Overcome Office Dysfunction
Here’s the truth: There ARE more effective ways to deal with frustration in the workplace – some simple tips can show you how and when to implement the tools necessary to transform negative workplace dynamics and office politics. Even though you can’t control people or situations, you can take charge of the way you respond. Reclaim YOUR power today… Ready to Change Your Response… and Change Your Results? Well… I’m showing you how it’s done and sharing examples in this recent TAI Talk video! Click PLAY to watch it NOW! Are you tired of responding to triggering situations and workplace conflict in ways you later regret? Are you frustrated by…
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Identify Your Hot Buttons to Effectively Navigate Workplace Conflict
Finding yourself frustrated with coworkers, managers, or employees? If you feel that your ‘hot buttons’ are being pushed at work and you’re ready to take action and gain some tools to navigate these situations of office politics and workplace conflict, keep reading… You’re leading an important meeting or making a presentation when someone interrupts you and takes over. A key project deadline is missed when someone drops the ball and doesn’t follow through on what he promised to deliver. While talking one-on-one with a direct report, she seems distracted – continually checking her phone and scrolling through messages. Sound familiar? People often share these and similar challenging workplace situations with…
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Change your response, transform your results
I don’t know about you, but stories have always helped me take a concept and really experience it… digest it… learn from it. That said, I’d like to share a story with you about a client of mine who had to deal with a difficult workplace situation that I know you’ll be able to relate to. I shared the whole story and a lot more on workplace triggers and emotions when I gave a TAI talk recently, and you can watch the entire video here. Julie Before: In an Emotionally Triggering Situation Julie told me that she’d been really anxious and had been carefully preparing to attend a presentation in…
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Less Conflict at Work: Is it Really Possible?
I’ve been hearing from so many people about the difficult situations they’re encountering at work – tangled conflicts, mismanaged situations, ego-driven politics, and escalating tensions – to name just a few. And the results of workplace conflict are catastrophic to any business! In the 30 years I’ve been doing training and organizational change work, my own perspective has changed a lot. I used to believe that all people needed was to attend one of my workshops and they would quickly and easily change their behaviors. Just like that, they’d walk out of my workshop and immediately start creating greater productivity and inclusion in the workplace. Easy, right? Are you laughing…
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Triggered? Take control and choose how you respond – don’t just react
Triggering events occur when we react unexpectedly and/or intensely to an internal or external circumstance or “trigger.” This happens to us all. The “trigger” itself can be just about anything – a colleague says something offensive; a participant in a meeting makes snarky comments; you read an inflammatory post on social media; a family member pushes your buttons at a gathering when you’re already stressed… All too often, we react unconsciously on automatic pilot – and do or say things we later regret. Instead, we can learn the tools to identify and interrupt the cycle of events that happen when we’re triggered – keep reading for more ideas and tools!…
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You’re not racist…or are you?
When I was growing up, “racist” to me meant the KKK, white supremacy, white nationalists – those types of terms. So, I came to believe that I was a “good” white since I wasn’t one of those people. After all, “racist” meant you were a horrible person, evil. How many of you reading this can relate? The book I wish I had… On reflecting, I think I wrote my book, “…But I’m NOT Racist! Tools for Well-Meaning Whites,” for my younger self. This is the book I wish I had read and the support I wish I had decades ago. Why? It wouldn’t have taken me this long to get…
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Increase Your Effectiveness: Pointers to Help You Navigate Challenging Situations
In a recent post, I talked briefly about what to do when you encounter a challenging situation. Now, I’m going deeper into this topic with pointers to help you respond more effectively. Have you ever felt… -a wave of emotion come over you that you weren’t expecting? -knocked off your game? -like your buttons are being pushed? -angry, scared, nervous, embarrassed or excited to the point where you couldn’t think straight? These are all what I call triggering moments. In response, you may say or do something you really wished you hadn’t. Triggers aren’t always negative… You’re prepping for a party when the doorbell rings. You feel awash with…
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What To Do When Your Buttons Get Pushed: Tools To Help You Respond In Difficult Situations
Tell me if this sounds familiar. You’re at work when someone says something that rubs you the wrong way. It takes you off guard. Now you’re hooked…and before you realize it, you’ve said something you know you’re going to regret later on. Who hasn’t encountered a situation like this? I know I have, many times. Rise Above… In an interview with Liz Wolfe, a breakthrough coach for entrepreneurs, we talked about my book Turn the Tide: Rise Above Toxic, Difficult Situations in the Workplace. Really, this book goes beyond difficult situations in the workplace – I wanted to reach a broad audience because we all encounter tough situations – at…
