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  Do you ever get satisfaction from being able to proclaim, “I have things under control”? I know I do. I’ve got this. I have a plan. I have a handle on things, and people, I’m telling you, it’s all good! Over the years, countless books, seminars, workshops, training sessions, and the like illuminated my path to comprehensive to-do lists, time management wisdom, and other ways of controlling my life. I told you, I got this! At least that’s what I thought. Until it became clear to me that control is nothing but an illusion. It tricks us because...

Words have an uncanny ability to find you at the perfect time, if you let them. These words from Nietzsche grabbed me recently: “one must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” My recent flow of chaos results from having to say final goodbyes to four loved ones in eighteen months: my nephew, one of my brothers, his wife, and my Dad. It has been a lot to navigate and accept, hence the chaos, and inevitably it got me thinking about my life and what I’m doing with it. In the...

It is Saturday, August 15. It must be around 2:30 p.m. We are standing in the open at Glen Oakes cemetery, and the sun is very strong. The temperature is close to 30 degrees Celsius. We are hot, and since most of us are wearing black, the heat feels even worse. We are gathered around the casket. It is covered with flowers—beautiful, white flowers. In a few minutes we will have to leave, and the only thing left to do will be to lower the casket. My brother says, “I guess that’s it.” “I guess so,” I say. Everyone...

Or, how we create devastating organizational predicaments   Over the past few weeks, I fortuitously became involved in three distinct conversations with friends from very different walks of life. Despite not being related or connected whatsoever, these fine individuals have several things in common: Top-notch skills and competencies in their respective professions Eagerness to see the organizations they work for succeed beyond the stated goals Impeccable work ethics and integrity Education and credentials Strong wills and significant track records and achievements on a variety of projects or roles over a long period of time (several years) Great interpersonal...

Not that long ago, I was having a conversation with some of my colleagues, and we were sharing our excitement about the talent and skills of new team members—a lot of “sharp cookies” with amazing potential pretty much summarized our feelings! Now, several people had noticed something about one of our sharp cookies. Let’s call him John. John was probably unaware of a gap in his supervisory skills that stood out for all of us. There was consensus that this gap could hinder his performance. This is when I asked, “Who shared this feedback with John?” And then the...

In my role as HR executive, I currently have the privilege of supporting multiple teams with deliverables consisting of bringing projects to conclusion on time and on budget. Sound familiar? The nature of their work is such that these teams rely heavily on project management methodology and their contributions impact our organization across the board in many ways. The past few months saw us deal with a few bumps in the road, and I became actively involved in supporting the removal of those bumps while minimizing the risk of their undesired reappearance. Reflecting on the past few months, I...