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
Self-development
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
Sabbatical Lessons 2: From Rush to Reset
Spring 2021 is in full force. Redbud, dogwoods, and azaleas vie for attention. I return to a world that is the same and so different from when I began my sabbatical seven months ago. Then my FOMO (fear of missing … Read More
Tags: Leadership, Self-development
Sabbatical Lessons 1: Creating New Eyes
“We shall not cease from explorationAnd the end of all our exploringWill be to arrive where we startedAnd know the place for the first time.”T.S. Eliot After nearly 30 years in practice, I planned a break. The COVID-19 pandemic canceled … Read More
Tags: Leadership, Self-development
Slow Murder
As the country (and countries) take up the call against police and extrajudicial violence in the latest examples—Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Christian Cooper—I have been thinking that it is almost too easy to be shocked and appalled by … Read More