Blogs

Psychological safety isn’t a soft concept. It’s a measurable state of the nervous system. When people feel secure, their brains channel energy into thinking, learning, and contributing. When they don’t, that energy shifts toward self-protection.   Psychological safety...

Mention personality assessments and eventually, someone will say, “I don’t like putting people in boxes.” I understand the concern. People are more complex than four letters, four birds, or any other framework. The problem is that organizations are already putting...

Picture an Owl and a Dove at a networking event. The Owl answers a few questions, offers a polite smile, then quietly shifts into listening mode. The Dove enjoys meeting people but isn’t interested in working the room or collecting business cards. Neither is likely to...

When someone says something unexpectedly rude or launches a personal attack, our instinct is to defend ourselves and fire back. That rarely helps. In fact, it often makes it worse. There’s a far more effective response. Simply ask them to repeat what they just said....

Personality has never been determined by a single force. We arrive in the world with natural tendencies influenced by our biology. Then, we spend a lifetime being shaped by the people and experiences around us. Family molds us first. Friends influence us over time....

How to Read Personality Style in a Job Interview Most interviews don’t produce poor hires because candidates give weak answers. They fail because interviewers don’t recognize how those answers are communicated. To truly understand how someone will perform in a role,...

I will never forget the worst advice. “Go get a real job.”  It came from my accountant. I had just earned my MBA and founded a team building company. I made that decision before graduation, but this was the moment it stopped being an idea and became real. No slow...

Most companies know more about a new hire than they ever use. That’s because they run two systems for the same person and hope they somehow meet in the middle. One system decides who gets hired. The other tries to make them successful. They sit side by side, rarely...

One of the most common questions I am asked is, “Does style change over time?” The idea that personality never changes may be comforting. It gives people something solid to hold onto. It’s also wrong. Well, for many people, it’s wrong. There is a core to who we are...

A great keynote can receive a standing ovation and still accomplish almost nothing. That may sound harsh, but I spend a lot of time backstage, wearing a lavalier microphone, watching the speaker before me. I’ve seen audiences laugh and applaud, knowing with complete...