dreambridge

Vulnerability: The Courage to Unmask Toward Our Best Self

Experiencing vulnerability is rarely a pleasant journey, but it is honest. And that honesty offers freedom to the person. Freedom to breathe in her own truth and to feel 100% acceptance of herself. It is beautiful. Even if it lasts for but a minute. It’s a doorway to her true self. Once experienced, the courageous can not help but return to venture through this doorway again. When we learn to shut this doorway, we shut down our truth. As we shut this out from ourselves, we shut this out from others in our life. Before you know it, we’ve created a society where everyone dons “the life mask”, dancing in a dance that sometimes is so far from our own. I find this particularly true for the overachievers, the “successes” in our society.

My Daughter's Initiation with Racism

My daughter talks about this older Caucasian man, in a Patriot’s sweatshirt, who came abruptly to the table my mother and daughter were sitting at as they were finishing their lunch and declared, “you guys are finished and you need to leave”. Both stunned, it took my mother a bit of time to respond, in her accented English that they were not yet finished. This gentleman barked back, “in this country people leave when they’re done eating…

McKinsey & Company: "Beyond Corporate Social Responsibility: Integrated External Engagement"

“External engagement cannot be separated from everyday business; it must be part and parcel of everyday business.” The article concentrates on how to “integrate external considerations into decision making across a business?” The four action items to achieve this are “define what you contribute, know your stakeholders, apply world-class management, and engage radically” which is explored further.

Huff Post Business "Engagement and Performance: Old Wine in a New Bottle"

“People’s attitudes are caused by how they perform and they determine their performance. In short, they are both a cause and a consequence of behavior.” The article gives a review about the realtionship between work attitudes and performance; for example, “performance causes satisfaction not because satisfaction causes performance” and speaks to how engagemnt is measured.

CNN Money: "Three Ways to Boost Commitment at Work"

“According to a 2010 employee engagement study by Gallup, disengaged employees erode an organization’s bottom line while breaking the spirits of colleagues in the process. Within the U.S. workforce, Gallup estimates this cost to the bottom line to be more than $300 billion in lost productivity alone.” The article explores ways how to keep employees engaged as for example, just “saying thanks”.

Want Engagement? Show That You Notice and Care.

After my leadership workshops, individuals who approach me tend to ask one fundamental question, “how do I get my boss to notice the work I do?”. A deeper question they’re asking is, “how do I know if I really matter?”. Each one of us who breathes wants to know we matter. We want to know that we are cared for and that our life means something. It is a fundamental human need. We will act in outrageous ways to fulfill this yearning. No one is exempt.