When work gets broken…

There are at least twenty-three possible symptoms when we fail to build a pyramid of engagement within our organization. 1.     There is a lack of clarity of results or even a lack of results2.     Too many results are attempted without enough capacity3.     Results are clear but lack any meaning or significance for employees4.     Performance is reduced to a management system […]

Hey Shrink #5: Safety Extinguishes Anxiety

“Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” — Swedish proverb Welcome to the fifth issue of Hey Shrink. The first series of issues of this new newsletter is devoted to understanding, reducing, managing, and transforming anxiety. “Safety IS the treatment. — Stephen Porges Sit in safety. Dr. David Martin, a psychologist who taught and wrote about counselling […]

Hey Shrink #4: Does Anxiety Have Your Number?

“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” — Arthur Somers Roche Welcome to the fourth issue of ‘Hey Shrink.’ This first series of 6 to 8 issues of this newsletter is devoted to understanding, reducing, managing, and transforming anxiety. […]

Hey Shrink #3: Extinguish Anxiety with Oxygen

Issue #3 of Hey Shrink: Breathing into Anxiety “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.” ― Amit Ray Welcome to the third issue of ‘Hey Shrink.’ The first series of posts for this newsletter is devoted to understanding, reducing, managing, and transforming anxiety. Takeaway. Don’t let anxiety take […]

Hey Shrink #2: Making Room for Anxiety

Welcome to the second issue of Hey Shrink: Psychological Zingers for Better Living, Working and Wellbeing. This issue continues with anxiety and focuses on expanding awareness of both the consequences and possible benefits of anxiety to provide you with a roomier view of anxiety because sometimes rather than fighting anxiety it can be helpful to […]

Hey Shrink #1 – Lower Anxiety: Stop Taking Mental Selfies

Hey Shrink #1 – Lower Anxiety: Stop Taking Mental Selfies In 2017, according to the World Health Organization, over 264 million adults experienced anxiety. With COVID and the disconcerting levels of uncertainty over the last 5 years that number today is much higher. The Cambridge dictionary defines anxiety as the uncomfortable feeling of nervousness or worry about […]

Snow Falling Up

During a brief spring snowfall yesterday I paused to watch the snow fall. As the snow made its way to the ground I saw how much of the snow was falling upwards, at least temporarily, on its journey to the ground. Many of us have felt like we are falling over the past few years […]

The Simple and Gentle Path to Building Psychological Safety at Work

I first encountered the phrase psychological safety thirty-two years ago in William Kahn’s brilliant article on ‘The Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement.’ I loved the focus on safety but I believe over three decades it has become jargon and management speak which also happened when we went from the term personal engagement to employee engagement. […]

An Interview with David Zinger on Employee Engagement

Patrick: When I was getting my pilot’s license, my flight instructor told me that there would be few pilots in the world that would be able to achieve 20,000 hours of pilot in command time. The idea of doing anything for 20,000 hours seemed daunting to me, and I remember thinking, “Wow, you really need to […]

Burnout: 1000 Paper Cuts

For many, 2020 has been a year of 1000 paper cuts. Rather than one big event resulting in a dramatic case of spontaneous combustion it has been the one thousand paper cuts shredding our optimism, cutting away at our self-efficacy, and dicing our energy into exhaustion. Rather than wallpapering our mind with premature resilience, I […]