May 7th, 2019 by Kelly Kienzle
The Scene The team’s leader frowned as she clicked forward through the coming months of her calendar. She could see the mounting number of changes that her team would soon face. She could feel her temples start to press inward on her brain as she considered…
March 1st, 2019 by Kelly Kienzle
Internal politics, personal drama, and conflicting viewpoints are what most often drain our energy at work. We feel dragged down by the heaviness of trying to keep the peace, find middle ground or push our agenda through the sticky cog wheel of internal decision-making. Finding Common Ground…
January 8th, 2019 by Kelly Kienzle
In January, work teams often discuss new goals for the coming year. This admirable task can have a dark side to it though. Setting new goals can make us view the past year as “not enough” or as a short-lived victory, barely acknowledged. If we are…
November 20th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
How often have you asked, wondered or worried whether you are spending your professional life in your most ideal way. How much do I enjoy my job? Am I really passionate about this field? Is this what I want to do for the next 10 or…
October 11th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
As my faithful readers know, I usually write about a topic on leadership growth and transformation. But last week I went to my 30-year high school reunion and unexpectedly learned something I want to share here. What I learned was this: Our strongest and longest-lasting relationships…
August 17th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
Empathy is one of the 5 elements of emotional intelligence and, in my experience, the one we most struggle to understand and express at work. Empathy is when we understand the emotions and actions of others. But so often we just cannot understand the rationale and…
June 12th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
We all have visions. We have visions of who we want to be, what we want to do, where we want to go and how we want to get there. We love our visions and they comfort us to know that we have “a plan” and a sense…
April 27th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
64 pounds of textiles each year. That’s how much clothing and other textiles like sheets and towels are thrown out each year by the average American. That is a stunning number that made me stop and think about how many pieces of clothing I buy each…
March 19th, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
“If we could all just agree, then we could actually get something done around here.” We often hear this plea at our workplaces as we strive to find meaning in our work by hurrying to get to action. We believe that if we can just…
January 31st, 2018 by Kelly Kienzle
I have long been a believer that any conflict or frustration between colleagues is due to a difference in personality or temperament. I believed that conflict came about because people could not communicate or understand each other well enough to see the other person’s perspective. A…