We’ve all been taught to be nice. Especially women, in mission-driven spaces, in roles where harmony is rewarded more than honesty. Nice smiles and nods. Nice avoids conflict. Nice says “you’re doing great” even when the work is off track—because saying otherwise might feel too uncomfortable. But kindness? Kindness is Read more
Let’s talk about toxic workplaces in the nonprofit sector. So many people I talk to have either experienced a toxic workplace, are experiencing one currently, or know someone who is. I know many people (myself included) who have left toxic jobs. And it is hard. People in these roles often Read more
Back in April I wrote a series on the importance of feedback. If you weren’t a subscriber yet or want a refresher, you can access the full series here. In the final part of the series, I referred to a framework for providing behavioral feedback – the SBI framework (Situation Read more
For the final installment of the feedback series, it’s time to address the hardest kind – behavioral feedback. Giving feedback on another person’s actions or behaviors feels SO personal, and can be really difficult to do well. Especially if one generally likes to avoid conflict, it can feel easier to Read more
Feedback is essential when you are doing something risky. Something brave. Something that challenges you. While receiving feedback in those situations can be scary, the absence of feedback in some ways feels much worse. In the first installment of this series, I wrote “anything is better than nothing.” This is Read more
My writing process is something like this: I think of a topic I feel needs to be discussed, and then I write the subject line/title of the piece before I start writing. Weird? Maybe. I was thinking about this one experience I wanted to share with my readers and came Read more
I’ve been thinking a lot about feedback lately. Behavioral feedback in relationships. Feedback on performance in the job search process. Feedback on work products (in all levels of school and at work). Today I’m kicking off a series on the importance of feedback with two (possibly) obvious statements and one Read more