Lessons from tree life The book ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben, changed my ideas about trees. Like humans, trees live as communities. Tree parents nurture their children for several years (even up to 100 years). Trees know to bond, communicate, and even are good at learning. However, trees fared better than humans …
Lessons from tree life | Inactive bystander | Get beyond coasting Read More »
Generosity burnout I have friends who love to give. They are generous to the fault. They do not say no to giving their time, money, energy, or resources. While they are seemingly angels on earth, they have a dark side. They grapple with exhaustion after emptying themselves for others. As a result, they withdraw, snap …
Generosity burnout | Hindsight bias | Choice as a change agent Read More »
Internalization Many times we internalize what others think of us and project on us. A classic example is the tale of the ‘Ugly Duckling’. For a long time, it internalized that it was an ‘Ugly Duckling’. Ultimately, the ‘Ugly duckling’ learns that it is neither ‘Ugly’ nor a ‘Duckling’. Until that moment of realization, it …
Internalization| Activity Adequacy Mindset | Paralympics Read More »
Emptiness A page is half-filled – Fill it up with more contentA room has space – Fill it up with some furnitureCalendar is open – Fill it up with some meeting It seems like emptiness is something miserable to bear. However, in Buddhism, nothingness or emptiness signifies all things are impermanent and interconnected. It is …
Delivering bad news Persian messengers had a tough job. When they conveyed the good news of victory they got rewarded lavishly, and when they delivered bad news they got killed. People are aware of the consequences of being the Persian messengers in the workplace. They stay silent about bad news fearing reprimand or consequences. As …
Delivering bad news | Vulnerability loop | Reverse signoff Read More »
Psychological Safety While there is a lot of discussion about psychological safety at work, not much is said about the feeling of psychological safety with close family and friends. We may be taking this for granted but it is most important in our personal space. One indicator of psychological safety is our ability to be …
Psychological Safety | Confidence | Finding your anchor Read More »
Economics of delegation Economist Ricardo stated that even if a nation can produce all goods by itself, it is beneficial for the nation to trade goods with other countries. We term this as Comparative Advantage. Can we extend this beyond the economics domain into managing teams?Before becoming a manager, here is one question you can …
Economics of delegation | Gold Silver Bronze | Exformation and coaching Read More »
Difficult people Few people are difficult to be with. I have seen that these people trigger the worst in us. I see them as the black belt trainers. The role of the black belt trainer in marshall arts is to throw us down. Our role is to try not to fall or bounce back to …
Difficult people | Community of Practice | Self-effort in liberation and coaching Read More »
Caring for one starfish A few years ago, I watched the video of Joel Barker telling a story of a man on the beach who was saving starfish one at a time. When someone questioned about the impact of his actions, he picked up one and said “It makes a difference to this one.” Last …
Caring for one starfish | Coach – Coachee relationship | Acting into feeling Read More »
Kind stroke Once in a moment of deep of pain, I held someone’s hand and gently patted them. The person later confided of feeling deeply nurtured. It assured them that the world is safe and they are not alone. As for me, I felt connected to the person at a deeper level. A gentle and …
