When we think about performance feedback, what may come to mind is the dreaded annual review, or in best cases, regular performance conversations throughout the year. But…

But despite everything that's going on, meanwhile, human neurophysiology has not changed. The human reaction to toxic stress has not changed. It is still harmful to people and to results both short and long term.

In the places we work and in our communities, now is the time to embody love. In the face of dehumanization, destruction, and cruelty, in this time of uncertainty and chaos, your Loving Leadership practices matter.

Sometimes, everything changes in an instant, and we don't know what to do.

I keep remembering a day in 1992. One moment, I am making dinner for my two young sons. The next moment a police officer is at my door telling me my husband’s airplane crashed.

Valentine's Day is one day in the year when more people feel safe naming love as a human value, not just a romantic experience. 

Then, too often it's back to business as usual, tucking Love away as an unmentionable. But business is anything but usual right now…

They respected their leader but didn’t know how she’d respond. She was compassionate—kind, supportive, and appreciative. By many standards, a Loving Leader. Yet, their workplace felt unloving.

I find myself riding the roller coaster these days, dipping down into the trough on news of the latest harms and offenses, and rising back up with a persistent focus on love and hope.

“The message was always: you could have done more—not 'thank you for what you've done,'” Joan recalled. Continue reading this blog to learn more about two distinct real-life workplace experiences that defined a research participant’s life.

When our hearts are breaking, when we are grieving, worrying and uncertain, which way do we turn? Literally which way - to our phones or to each other IRL?

In our family, “heritage gifts” started out as everyday possessions mom or dad would wrap up and bestow on a younger family member as a beloved treasure. Think worn slippers, old art, household objects, books, favorite pieces of clothing, jewelry. Lucky us! 😉 But the real heritage gifts we treasure most can’t be wrapped with a bow.

Loving Yourself is the one that most people struggle with. And so with that in mind, my nudge to you Loving Leader is this…

I've been doing a lot of Loving Leader Assessments recently. I'm seeing an important pattern I want to share with you because it probably applies to you too! One crucial component consistently ranks the lower than the other three when leaders take our Loving Leader Assessment: loving yourself!

If ever there was a time to turn to the wisdom of those who have gone before through their own trials and fires, who sought guidance from those who went before them, and then left us their example and insights, this is the time. 

I grew to appreciate that this incident happened to remind me of the opportunity we have as Loving Leaders to make a difference for people trying to find their way. 

Acknowledge that you all may be having different experiences and that you can support each other in whatever is true for each one. This openness doesn’t in any way diminish joy or gloss over sorrow.

Enough with “inciting violence” and “inciting hatred.” Let's take it back from “inciting riots” or “inciting lawbreaking.” No!  Let us instead lay claim to this word and “incite Love.” 

My observation here is really about the difference tenderness can make across society. Words matter. And how we speak to each other as adults matters and has ripples into lives.

Every single human just wants to be seen, to matter, to belong. It is traumatizing to be invisible. And as I ponder this, I remember there IS a change that I can bring, that you can bring too, Loving Leader. 

We have a saying in the South Puget Sound, “Live like the Mountain is out.” This means that even if the Mountain is covered in clouds, and we can't see it, we know it’s there. We can live with the same vigor as we would on a clear day. We need that in our work too! 

'Tis the season to plan for love in the face of fear. With rising uncertainties, with holiday stress mounting, with anxiety from anticipated changes and threats, many people we work with or see each day are moving through the world in fear.