I’m the only Black person in a group. A fact usually less salient as my Blackness is generally accepted, acknowledged, and integrated into groups I choose. I distinguish genuine interest and awareness from performative or clueless interaction. So, I was discomfited by a group member’s appreciation in the closing … Read More
Coaching
Body of Knowledge
Body of Knowledge Problem solving means THINKING. Brainstorming, generating rational alternatives, and cost/benefit analysis. Cerebral cortex divorced from corpus. Yet the body is more than a carrying case for the big computer between our ears. It is an overlooked valuable … Read More
Tags: Coaching, Self-development
Ode to Doubt
Recently, while avoiding a writing project, I realized doubt was ruling me. You might relate. You have reasons why the daunting presentation, promotion, innovative project, or approach won’t work. The doubting mind seems so reasonable. So, I wrote this letter … Read More
Tags: Coaching, Self-development
How Do I Come Across?
A white colleague is enrolled in a racism awareness course. His program features conversation with other white people about their experience of race and racism. He is frustrated that he is not learning about his whiteness from people of color. … Read More
Leadership and Accountability
Who holds the top accountable? As a leader, whether of a unit or an organization, it’s easy to get trapped by the illusions of the office. Check the news for accounts of people who used their offices unethically. The leader’s … Read More
Tags: Coaching, Leadership
What are you for?
People respond to a positive proposition with energy that’s optimistic and sustainable. That is, people will strive for something compelling even, or especially, if it’s challenging. On the other hand, identifying something wrong or objectionable and fighting against what is, … Read More
Yoga and karate: Recognizing the present
I used to study martial arts. I loved it. It was the ballast to my activist life. It was where I discovered my athletic self. Then, after about 18 years, I fell while hiking and hurt my back. There went … Read More
Tags: Coaching, Self-development