The ostrich burying his head in the sand. The chameleon changing her colors to fit in. The zebra who can’t change his stripes. The deer in headlights. The bull in the china shop, bucking around and breaking stuff. The seagull, overseeing from a distance before diving down just in time to be disruptive. Isn't it funny how we use these animal metaphors to capture our very human struggles with change? Especially because we have so much to learn from the natural world about how to navigate the...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
What does it mean to be creative? My mind (perhaps like yours?) conjures artists, writers and makers of things. It is also quick (perhaps like yours?) to inform me that this is something other people do—that I myself am not a creative person. Fortunately, I’ve learned not to listen to my mind all the time. But because this notion of creativity being exclusive to a talented few is so persistent in my brain, I suspect it’s rattling around other brains too. So let’s talk about the kind of...
2 months ago • 9 min read
This one goes out to anybody currently looking at a calendar stacked with back-to-back meetings, an inbox with 47 unread messages, and multiple team members waiting for your direction on urgent decisions. I want to tell you that it doesn’t have to be this way, but I doubt you’ll believe me. So instead, let me tell you about the most challenging (and most rewarding) thing I've done in my career. It wasn’t leading a complex organizational transformation or building organizational culture during...
3 months ago • 6 min read
When you think of a toxic work culture, what comes to mind? Screaming bosses? Fierce competition? Endless arguments? Not me. In my experience, if there’s one telltale sign that a culture is in decline, it’s not shouting. It’s silence. “We’re polite to death,” a client recently told me. “Nobody says what they actually think. We smirk and nod in meetings, then spend the next week in sidebar conversations complaining about what we just agreed to.” Sound familiar? We've been conditioned to see...
4 months ago • 5 min read
We adopted a puppy last week. His name is Axl. When Axl sits, he gets a treat. When he stays, he gets a treat. When he comes when called, another treat. The simple system of training a dog works beautifully—desired behavior, immediate reward, quick results. It’s easy to see why we’ve designed our organizations with this strategy of rewarding specific behaviors with external prizes—it works. Axl is learning to sit because I am teaching him what I value and giving him something he values in...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Have you noticed that there are bad words in business? I mean words that are innocuous in daily life, but when you dare utter them in a work context they’re practically scandalous? I’ve written before about the f-word, and today we’re going to talk about the b-word: Boundaries. The notion of saying no, drawing a line or setting a limit strikes fear in the hearts of many leaders I know. But I believe boundaries are scary because we misunderstand them. We think of them as barriers, brick walls...
6 months ago • 5 min read
till our April Mini-Retreat: Beyond Balance Want to know if this Mini-Retreat is for you? Check out my latest post on why work/life balance isn't working: click to watch on LinkedIn Ready for more purposeful work and a more aligned life? This Friday's 90-minute Zoom Mini-Retreat will offer you deep practices—not for work/life balance, but for work/life integration. You’ll learn how to live your many roles with purpose, how to set and maintain boundaries, and why it's important to manage not...
7 months ago • 1 min read
We watch a lot of TV in House Lisanti, and it probably won’t surprise you that my favorite shows are about work, with people doing what they love (or what they tolerate), navigating complex office cultures and negotiating the role their work plays in their lives. I relish the chaos of The Bear and the competence of The Pitt. I cackle at the audacity of Succession, the hilarity of Parks & Rec, and the insanity of Severance, which gives new meaning to work/life balance. In Severance, seemingly...
7 months ago • 6 min read
Ok, I know that subject line seems a bit grandiose. But I'm not exaggerating. The other morning, I woke up with that now-familiar heaviness—you know the one—after a night of dreams filled with news headlines, social media arguments, and the desperate sense that we're coming apart at the seams. As I sat with my morning tea, trying to ground myself for my day, I reflected on the spectrum of perspectives and beliefs across my family, my community, my clients… and it dawned on me: We have so much...
8 months ago • 6 min read