How do we shift from this feeling of getting whipsawed by events into a feeling of being a proactive creator, setting the course rather than reacting?

About 30% of the people I work with have lost touch with what makes them uniquely suited for their work.

Another 30% need steady and gentle reminders about how truly talented they already are.

The cause of some of this is our natural negativity bias – the tendency of our brains to focus on problems, risks, and shortcomings as a survival strategy.

I've been thinking a lot about the ways we tussle for too long with the wrong problem...

I find most of us tackle the content of our challenges: the specific details, information, strategies and tactics associated with an issue.

This is a good place to start, but by bringing in context – elusive and dynamic solutions become accessible.

This week I watched two Ted Talks by this pretty funny guy - Sir Ken Robinson.

You may be thinking..."a guy using the title 'Sir' is funny?" Yes.

He talks about creativity and education.

I’ve been increasingly disenchanted with the basic to-do list strategy for a variety of reasons.

But most importantly it was far too easy to do a lot but not achieve what really matters.

As leaders, one of the greatest skills we can cultivate is helping our teams learn how to learn.

One of the key benefits of asking people questions is that you teach people how to think and learn and then you observe their ability to apply these new skills.

We typically respond to unpleasant situations with a familiar stream of mental acrobatics.

One common theme is – "how do I fix, change, or control this so it doesn’t happen again?"

Another common theme is – "I don’t have control, so how can I get rid of my bad feeling about it? Can I ignore it? Complain about it? Numb out and forget it?"

I was recently catching up with two different friends who shared that a big source of work from home fatigue and frustration was that most of the day was spent in meetings.

This was a familiar frustration for me in executive and leadership roles.

Lots of things drain our energy. Unfinished business, pending tasks, and unmade decisions - to name a few.

I’m a firm believer that we can increase our energy and enthusiasm by cleaning up the energy leaks in our lives.

Do you have a weekly reflection process that you find really supports you?

Or are you interested in help imagining one?

How do you read? One book at a time? Newspapers, magazines, and short stories? Fiction or non-fiction? History or futurism?

Have you ever found yourself sucked into your boss's drama? Starting to really see the core motivations of the people around you - including your boss - is extremely powerful. And once you start to do it, it becomes a "with great power comes great responsibility" kind of situation.