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Embrace Your Humanity

We Know That Life Is Not Neat . . .

YOU do not fit in a box – YOU SHOULDN’T – we wouldn’t want you to
so, we don’t have boxes you can check
Instead, We Are
Collaborative
Inquisitive
Attentive
And we value
YOU
Our job is to work with you to elicit your best performance:
at work, at home, and everywhere in between
Our approach is holistic and grounded in a need to understand
Your needs
Your goals
Your context/reality
YOU
Every presentation/coaching session and workshop is a custom implementation rooted in your needs, relevant research and our expertise

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Blog

  • Building Heroes August 2021

    When I taught at Kansas State University many years ago, I felt overwhelmed and underqualified to teach the PhD students who sat before me.  I was fresh out of graduate school and these were mature students that had years of experiences in a wide range of work roles.  They had raised families, they had led universities and I felt that if anything; they could teach me.  As I contemplated standing in front of the class and giving a lecture, I wondered if this was the best format for this class of experienced human beings.  I also had an obligation to outline my teaching pedagogy and as such – the search was on.  At one point, I found something called a constructivist approach to teaching.  This involved inviting the wisdom and life experience into the room and honoring the fact that what we learn and where we go will be shaped by the people in the room.  So I did it.  And it was hard and I was stressed – but after a year of teaching it this way.  I did it for every class and I would never go back.

    The global pandemic created a challenge for leaders.  Some were used to always being in charge, all employees may have been in sight.  We had little knowledge of what happened outside of work hours.  But the pandemic necessarily changed all of this and quickly.  Employees worked from home, people had to accommodate work to manage family and we learned about people in new ways.  And you know what?  We got better!

    As we move beyond the pandemic – perhaps we will learn to lead differently.  Maybe we will embrace the constructivist philosophy and invite the wisdom and life experience of everyone in the room.  Maybe we will learn to ask questions about life outside of work and allow people to accommodate based on their needs so that we can get the most from them and help them stay well.

    It will create angst and it will be important to put mechanisms in place, so we maintain the controls we need.  As humans, we need to feel a sense of control.  When the environment around us does not provide it, we need to ensure we do things to help ourselves understand where our control lies.    But one of the gifts of the pandemic may be that is has forced us to create a space where whole humans are welcome at work.  And the gains will be noticeable as we will be unleashing the power inside of the human heart.  Something we have not been able to capture by any form of artificial intelligence so far.

    These are a few thoughts that I consider as I reflect on the return to life and work after the global pandemic …

    Our brain is wired to notice negative events more often.  Positive emotions can really carry us through the tough times.  Then we hit a global pandemic.  What does that mean for staying mentally well?  Maybe we need to be intentional about being grateful?  And perhaps being forced to do that now will make us better.  Dr. Nicole Garbana helps us to think about gratitude as a mental skill we can develop on this podcast.

    Part of being psychologically safe is having honest conversation.  Bréné Brown and Susan David sit down in this 2-part podcast to discuss the dangers of toxic positivity.

    At Heroes In Our Midst, we continue to have unapologetically human conversations.  We are passionate about the humans behind the performance.  Get to know people from all walks of life.  Interested in how front line workers are doing during the global pandemic, listen to the story of Dr. Chau Pham, Dr. Faisal Sidiqui or Dr. James Bolton.  Wondering about our Olympic athletes and coaches, listen to many of our guests from season one.  Or maybe you want to know what it is like to work with an Olympic team, then perhaps check out Dr. Wade Gibert of Dr. Cristina Fink.

    One thing we know is that if you want to stay resilient during this time, work to stay focused on what you can control, keep coming back to your why and your values, embrace the opportunity to learn and get better from whatever life throws at you, and stay connected to your support team.  Knowing who you are, being curious and compassionate with your emotions, and accepting help will help you thrive during this time.  We are all unique and we are better together.

  • Embrace the Fear in YOUR life …

    Fighting fear? Below are a few resources to consider as you work to manage your humanity and lean into life when you are tempted to back away.

    Maria Popova offers some reflections on how to turn fear into love.

    Michael Gervais interviews Tony Blauer on his Finding Mastery podcast, where you can learn many strategies to change your relationship to fear.

    Ben Fanelli speaks with Eva Holland on the Heroic Minds podcast to help us learn to overcome and not overpower fear.

    This TedTalk with Kelly McGonigal encourages us to change our relationship with fear.

    Finally, this TedTalk helps encourages us to lean into fear, even though our natural tendency may be to lean away.

    As the global pandemic may activate strong emotions, these resources can help you learn to embrace and live with these emotions so that you can continue to thrive.