When we communicate with others, and especially when coaching, the quality of our questions can have tremendous impact on the outcome.

We can have good intentions, but a question which is leading or directive can shut down a conversation and limit the creativity and resourcefulness of those you work with.

In this episode you'll learn how to know if you are asking leading questions, and what...

Many of us spend a lot of time preparing for meetings and for events on what we're going to say. 

We practice PowerPoint presentations.

We review our agendas.

But a few months from now, what will be remembered - what you said, or how your attendees felt afterwards?

It is rare we remember everything someone said - but we will remember how we FELT during an event or presentation.

And yet, we...

Handling conflict as a humanitarian leader can be scary.

How do we best address conflict so that it is a win-win for us and the other person(s) involved?

My guest today, Jo Rodrigues, has 16 years' experience working with the UN, INGO's and various other organizations on how to overcome conflict in a way that everyone feels understood and valued.

You may be surprised by some of the steps to ...

Today is a bit different from our typical episode.  

After publishing "The Power of Silence",which discusses how we can use silence for more meaningful communication, I received a question from a longtime listener.

She asked "how do we use silence (or should we) during a difficult conversation?"

This is a great question, and so I decided to do a follow up episode to answer it!

How DO we use...

Whether it's due to a pandemic, working in a field office or across continents, remote work is a reality as a humanitarian leader.

But with working remotely comes a sense of distance - not just phsyically but mentally too.

So how do we close the gap and unite our teams given the challenges of remote work?

In this episode Chenai Kadungure and myself provide some ways you can unite your team d...

Hurricane damage.  Flooding.  Civil conflict. 

Whatever the disaster, as humanitarian leaders it is essential we know how to quickly adapt and do the best we can.

And that means being productive while also maintaining our sanity.

My guest today Jenelle Eli is an expert in adapting to extreme environments.  This in part is because her success in her role as Senior Director of Media Relations ...

Office gossip can be very damaging to a team and organization, not to mention the reputation of yourself and others! Gossip can lead to low staff morale, feelings of mistrust, and even problems with staff retention. It is therefore essential that we understand how to recognize gossip, what it is and why it happens. In this episode I share this as well as five ways you can turn the toxicity creat...

In this interview Edna Morris, with forty years' experience in the male dominated restaurant industry, shares some great advice to apply to our field in many of the patriarchal contexts for men and women.  For example when Edna was told by several men that the role she had taken at a new job should be for a man, she shares how she handled this situation in a way which earned her respect. She als...

According to the 2016 UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization survey, 40% of adults in low income countries are illiterate. This does not take into consideration the number of innumerate adults, which can be higher in some situations.

It is important to remember that as you are reading this you have an unintended bias toward communicating and interacting with literate people.  Howe...

In aid work, time is precious.  And although we know that spending time on our team's professional development will pay off in the long run, it often seems like competing priorities get in the way.  In today's episode you'll learn about a very efficient way to use your time during professional development, and three reasons why it's so effective.