Qwest for Good (Page 1)

Sign in Subscribe

Latest

Tips to grow your leadership impact, through purpose

Tips to grow your leadership impact, through purpose

Something weird happened during the latest leadership retreat I ran. After spending the morning exploring the organization's purpose, we had planned to spend the afternoon helping members of the leadership team each find their own individual purpose. I had designed an exercise where people worked in pairs to

Belonging trumps logic every time

Belonging trumps logic every time

I felt like I was being ripped apart by a pack of ravenous wild animals. For the first couple of hours I was too shocked to do anything. But after six hours of fighting, I finally gave in. And pulled the Facebook post down. Yes, I had just suffered my

Become a more engaging leader with role-play

Become a more engaging leader with role-play

"Wow! I can't believe how horrible that made me feel!" one of my clients confessed. She and her colleagues were on the verge of discovering how to radically improve the way they engage with their own clients. They all worked for a government licensing group, the

Changing your brand story, for good

I've been working with a municipal client who's on a mission to shift their resource-based economy to something more sustainable. But they're struggling to attract new investors, businesses and residents. Why? Among other things, they've been branded with a negative narrative, as

Blueprint for better collaboration

Blueprint for better collaboration

[Jump to the 5 tips] My phone started to blow up at 5 am. Everything we'd worked so hard for over the last few weeks at the Task Force for Climate & Housing was finally paying off. We'd created a good news climate story so compelling

3 questions to make decisions easier

3 questions to make decisions easier

We all have to make incredibly difficult choices in complex situations where there are no right answers. Without a process we trust to guide us, the uncertainty of what to do can paralyze us, leaving us unable to move forward – or eat away at us as we agonize over whether we did the right thing.

Overcoming imposter syndrome

Overcoming imposter syndrome

70 percent of adults get imposter syndrome at least once in their lives. It causes stress and anxiety, crushing people and performance. Here are 8 things you can do to break free and do your best work.

Sustainability

Blueprint for better collaboration

Blueprint for better collaboration

[Jump to the 5 tips] My phone started to blow up at 5 am. Everything we'd worked so hard for over the last few weeks at the Task Force for Climate & Housing was finally paying off. We'd created a good news climate story so compelling

Leadership hacks to get unstuck

Leadership hacks to get unstuck

One of the main reasons clients come to me is that they're stuck. They want different outcomes than they're getting. But haven't been able to make the change required to get those different results. They either don't know what to change or

6 tips for leading large scale climate innovation

6 tips for leading large scale climate innovation

When Sowmya Balendiran set out to get her Ph.D. in India, she had no idea she was taking the first step on a journey to become a top innovator, recognized by the World Economic Forum for her breakthrough work in scaling kelp production as a fossil fuel alternative. Thirteen

Inside the journey to scale the seaweed industry

Inside the journey to scale the seaweed industry

When Mark Smith and his colleagues set out to help strengthen the economy on Vancouver Island, they had no idea that they'd end up trying to commercialize and scale an industry with the potential to address almost all of the crises we face today. Five years later, he

How we engaged millions in climate stories

Despite extreme weather disasters across the world, we still don't see much reference to climate change in TV shows and media. Which is a real problem, because that is many people's reality, and has a huge influence on their beliefs and behaviour. That's why

Improving health by designing services for people, not institutions

Improving health by designing services for people, not institutions

Creating real behaviour change through health promotion is hard, largely because we're doing it wrong – trying to "push" education onto people instead of working with them to build on shared values. Yet, no matter how much money we waste or how many times we fail, we

Engagement tips to lead change from Sweden's Chief Climate Storyteller

Engagement tips to lead change from Sweden's Chief Climate Storyteller

"Storytelling rules the world. If you want to change the world, you need to master storytelling." – Per Grankvist The Viable Cities Project in Sweden focuses on creating climate-neutral cities. It's a massive multi-year initiative with a huge budget that has caught the attention of other countries

Leadership

Tips to grow your leadership impact, through purpose

Tips to grow your leadership impact, through purpose

Something weird happened during the latest leadership retreat I ran. After spending the morning exploring the organization's purpose, we had planned to spend the afternoon helping members of the leadership team each find their own individual purpose. I had designed an exercise where people worked in pairs to

Become a more engaging leader with role-play

Become a more engaging leader with role-play

"Wow! I can't believe how horrible that made me feel!" one of my clients confessed. She and her colleagues were on the verge of discovering how to radically improve the way they engage with their own clients. They all worked for a government licensing group, the

3 questions to make decisions easier

3 questions to make decisions easier

We all have to make incredibly difficult choices in complex situations where there are no right answers. Without a process we trust to guide us, the uncertainty of what to do can paralyze us, leaving us unable to move forward – or eat away at us as we agonize over whether we did the right thing.

Overcoming imposter syndrome

Overcoming imposter syndrome

70 percent of adults get imposter syndrome at least once in their lives. It causes stress and anxiety, crushing people and performance. Here are 8 things you can do to break free and do your best work.

How a small town inspired big climate action

How a small town inspired big climate action

A couple of years ago, I worked with the Climate Action Committee at the District of Sooke on Vancouver Island to help them develop their Climate Action Plan. The project was unique because we spent five months researching and developing a story that would engage people and get buy-in first

The power of saying no

The power of saying no

When I went back to grad school to study how we learn and make decisions, I was lucky to get a brilliant supervisor. Brilliant not just because she knew her stuff, but also because she knew the secret to success in academia and in life: focus. Once I figured out

Start something wonderful this solstice

Start something wonderful this solstice

In the spring of 2018, I decided to take a break from my change management work to find a new way to focus on the two things I loved most - storytelling and ocean conservation. I told a friend I was going to try to volunteer for a new non-profit

Storytelling

Changing your brand story, for good

I've been working with a municipal client who's on a mission to shift their resource-based economy to something more sustainable. But they're struggling to attract new investors, businesses and residents. Why? Among other things, they've been branded with a negative narrative, as

Make your presentation unforgettable with a simple story like this

Make your presentation unforgettable with a simple story like this

We only had 5 minutes left in our presentation coaching session when Qiang had the breakthrough I'd been hoping for. He worked in HR for a big organization and had to give an update on the progress they'd made toward their strategic goals for diversity, equity

Make everyday stories compelling

Make everyday stories compelling

It was the first time I'd ever seen someone bring popcorn to a Zoom presentation. And I have to say, it was kind of brilliant! Almost a dozen of us were gathered online for the penultimate class in the new grad course I designed and taught this summer

Why failures make the best stories

Why failures make the best stories

"I can't think of a good story to tell." Sound familiar? It's a response I get every time I teach storytelling. And my most recent workshop with the Fraser Basin Council was no exception. The young leaders I was working with were doing incredible

An insider's advice for narrative change

An insider's advice for narrative change

We're all in the business of narrative change. Whether we're trying to cut greenhouse gas emissions, build a stronger team at work or just lose five pounds – what we're really trying to do is replace the stories that control our current culture and behaviour

Who should be the hero of my story?

Who should be the hero of my story?

One question that came up in last week's group storytelling workshop was – who should be the hero of my story? It's one of the most important decisions you'll make when designing your story, as it will determine whether your audience chooses to pay attention

How we engaged millions in climate stories

Despite extreme weather disasters across the world, we still don't see much reference to climate change in TV shows and media. Which is a real problem, because that is many people's reality, and has a huge influence on their beliefs and behaviour. That's why

Equity

More

Belonging trumps logic every time