I Walk the Line, or How to Ask Provocative, Disruptive Questions
Have you ever looked at something so long that you stop seeing it? You know what I’m talking about—that pile of unread books on the shelf, the bags in your garage that need to go to donation, those items in your backlog that are good ideas but remain stuck in the good idea phase. We all have them in one form or another, and generally, whatever “it” is has been there so long that we stop seeing it. How do we get from “Everything is fine” to “housecleaning of the soul” to examining the unexamined?
Answer? Disruptive questions, questions so brazen that they are a shock to the system. They are that just-above-freezing, open-water winter swim. They are the thing that pulls you up short and suddenly, you can’t stop seeing what has been right there all along.
Five Organizational Languages of Appreciation
As humans, we often teeter between connection and estrangement. When we don’t feel appreciated, seen, or valued, it’s all too easy to tip over into estrangement. By paying attention to how we appreciate one another in an organization, we stay out of estrangement and in connection. So, look around and pay exquisite attention to what you see happening around you. What do you see? What do you not see? What effect do organizational choices have on individuals?