From clutter to clarity

Difficult, challenging conversations are the centrepiece of an effective team, an effective relationship, an effective organisation- and yet time after time we avoid having them. Nothing can nor should replace this essential human interaction. Organisationally: behaviour management; team effectiveness; performance review; visioning and forward planning are some of the essential areas where difficult conversations are required.  In our personal relationships: connectedness, boundaries and harmony to identify a few, all require the same internal reflection and challenging conversations. There is a skill in managing those conversations, dealing with emotion, conflict or false perception is not always straight forward, but ... a carried, unresolved issue sits with us and can over a period of time skew our thought process and behaviour. Ask yourself.  1) What part do I play in this, reflect on your involvement and responsibility 2) Express the concern/ issue in a ba...

Ever wish you could spend just a bit more time doing something but don't feel as though you can? Do you dash from place to place, activity to activity in a whirlwind of logistics and planning? We are increasingly running to stand still, grabbing lunch, breakfast, dinner and coffee on the go. Multi-taskers extraordinaire, we squeeze in an extra activity or an extra 'job' seemingly effortlessly and then plan our recreation time so it resembles  a complex military operation (especially if we have children).  There is a rapidly spreading movement calling for us to slow down. The 'Slow Movement' as they are aptly titled are calling for us to engage in our NOW and to do it at a pace we can appreciate.... slowly. However that is easier said than done. We feel compelled to keep up, to keep moving and evolving..... and have become adept at filling in our schedule, some of us may even claim to enjoy being so busy, or not know how to slow down...... But if we do want t...