Power Intelligence:

In the early days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a video of Putin meeting with his security council was widely circulated. In it, Putin is sitting behind a large desk at the far end of the room, and way at the other end, are his advisors, sitting in a circle of...

Someone asked me recently, on a podcast, a question I often get: How do I empower others? How do I get people with less rank to take ownership? How can I make space for others? Empowering others. Holding back. Making space. This seems like the right thing to do to...

I started my career as a psychotherapist. The problem was, I was in my early twenties and looked about 12.  I not only looked young, but I was young. While I had training and insight, I lacked lived experience.  And that meant I was constantly fielding challenging...

It’s hard to accurately tell the sex of a baby chick. That’s how we keep ending up with roosters. We order female chicks, and while they say about 10% of every order might be roosters, those statistics, at least for us, never seem to hold true. Once, we got 5 roosters...

The Case for Flat Organizations It’s hard to fathom just how dramatically the pace of change has increased in the last two decades. This infographic gives you an idea.  While it took 50 years for airlines to reach 50 million users, Pokemon Go hit 50 million users in...

DEI Data Introduction Conventional wisdom states that every successful DEI strategy starts with data. Because using data makes the difference between an effective diversity and inclusion initiative and a tick-the-box exercise.  Data helps you establish benchmarks,...

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power. –Abraham Lincoln   What is the Psychology of Power?  Power is a game changer. Rising higher in rank changes you and changes how others relate to you.  Even with just a...

For many people, one of the most difficult (and unnerving) parts of day-to-day work life is speaking to authority. I jokingly refer to this as a feudal hangover—the knee jerk reaction we have, to rank (see for example Monty Python’s Class System sketch from 1966)....

Giving and receiving feedback is enough to make anyone sweat. And that's understandable. It’s uncomfortable to have to tell someone something they may not want to hear. And, of course, no one likes to hear that they are not making the impact they thought they were....

Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it. –Maya Angelou Most of the time, we’re our own worst critics. And it’s not easy to silence the critical voice inside our heads. We compare ourselves to others, doubt our own abilities, and make...