Storytelling in Organizations

On complexity, systems, and storytelling

“What would it be like to grow organizations whose complexity arises from the cross-pollinating visions and imaginations of their constituent members?” — David Whyte

Last week I asked a question on Twitter that generated a surprising amount of conversation. I’m thankful to everyone who contributed to the thread, pointed me to storytellers and resources, and challenged my thinking.

What was I thinking?

Pretty much this: organizations are complex systems but most business processes are built for ordered…

The Art of Receiving Feedback

Receiving feedback can be scary, but it doesn’t have to be

Good feedback, whether you are on the receiving or giving end, requires an attitude of curiosity and openness. Intentionally creating space for feedback can help, but even with the right space, receiving feedback can be really scary. Many organizations have formal systems of feedback in the style of mid-year and…

Creating the Right Space for Feedback

What happens outside the conversation is as important as what happens in it

Remember that time someone gave you a gift and you opened it and were like, “oh wow, this person doesn’t know me at all”? Maybe it wasn’t your style (or size), or too flashy, or just totally not anything you’d be into? …

Coaching, Mentoring, Advising: What’s the Diff?

Whether you’re stuck or looking to grow, support can come in many forms. Which is right for you?

There are times in life where we need some outside support to help us get to where we want to go. Often we turn to friends, family, and community to help us reflect and get unstuck, but sometimes we might also want a more formal set-up in the form of…

Managing Yourself and Managing Relationships: The Key to Management Success

Understanding the differences between management and leadership can help you be more effective as a team, department, or company leader, but when it comes to management there are a few subtleties that have outsized impact: managing yourself and managing relationships. Forget the idea of managing people. …

Both/And: Untangling the Relationship Between Management & Leadership

A closer look at management, leadership, and why it’s important to understand the differences between the two.

If you’re stepping into a leadership role, chances are you’re also going to be doing a lot of managing. …

Priorities, Capacity, and Support: A Dialogue for Teams

The pandemic, for all that’s been written about it, has done a bang-up job of making the invisible visible. The tenuous state of the American health-care system, the brittleness of supply chains, not to mention the irregularity of men’s hand-washing. It’s also brought to the foreground the shifting cadences and…

The Cadence of a Design Team

The design team at Movable Ink is unified across brand, product design, and research. This approach allows us to focus on growing the practice of design within the organization and creating a unified customer experience, but can be challenging because the various design disciplines collaborate with vastly different parts of…

Five Challenges of Design Leadership

This is Part 2 of, “So You’ve Got a Seat at the Table. Now What?” Feel free to read this post independently, or check out Part 1 for the back story.

Challenge #1: Vision

The first challenge once you get to the table is vision — as in what is your vision for…