Author: Rachel Hanson

Habits matter. If you're not getting your productive actions (PAs) done consistently, that's a problem. Perhaps the worst thing you can do is hope you'll get it right the next time and then repeat the pattern. Every time you fail to do what you say you'll do, you are less able to trust yourself. Stop. … Continue reading Build personal trust

The Spartans believed in two (mental) rooms you must not enter in battle - fear and anger. Fear makes you a coward, anger makes you a fool. In stressful situations do you tend toward cowardice (avoid the discussion, soft pedal the truth) or the foolishness that comes from anger (brash, headstrong, unwilling to listen to … Continue reading Fear and Anger

Feedback is the breakfast of champions. No news is NOT good news. Studies show that people interpret no feedback about the same as negative feedback. Not good. Our brain overvalues risk, remember? Stop assuming others know where they stand or how you evaluate their performance. Tell them. Often. Good and bad. Feedback is necessary for … Continue reading Feedback

Rather than “what’s rewarded gets done," operate under “what’s rewarding gets done.” In other words, extrinsic rewards are not the best drivers of performance. Research shows this to be true. Intrinsic rewards on the other hand...gold mine. Challenge with purpose. Connect the work to meaning. If you want people’s best work, tie it to meaning … Continue reading What’s rewarding?

Emotions are not just a reflection of our internal state. In other words they don't just work inside-out. I.e. we smile because we're happy. They can also work outside-in. Smiling can make us happier. Hence why we can influence and change the moods of others. Said simply, moods are catching. What are others catching from … Continue reading Moods

I was wide awake in the middle of the night recently (with our 1 week old baby) and my brain started to yap at me. Tell me that I wasn't doing enough at home, at work, etc. Happens. Especially when sleep deprived! I told my brain to STFU and that I'd inspect it in the … Continue reading Buying it or bullshit?

Stress is inevitable. Stress inoculation is therefore highly valuable. How are you building your ability to handle increased stress loads? Invite more stress in (Eustress) in order to increase your capacity to handle it. Do hard (and increasingly harder) things at the edge of your capacity. Not the panic zone, but the edge of the … Continue reading Stress

Be a story spreader. Stories are the most powerful method I know of for both eliciting and disseminating knowledge. Look for examples of people living out the values, chasing excellence, caring for a teammate. Ideally first person observation, and then share them publicly. Telling stories of those within your organization also creates organizational role models. … Continue reading Stories