Ataraxy Friday Messages

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Make rules like you weren’t the boss

New Rule! [specific words or gestures] are now a criminal offence. New Rule! I’m removing that guardrail and bending that rule — it’s slowing us down. New Rule! The Board won’t agree to this — too conservative — so I’ll just not mention it. Forgiveness, not permission. New Rule! That process is frustrating, so I’m going around it to get an important outcome.  Hollywood loves a rogue cop. The good guy who bends the rules to get the bad guy. The outlaw with the good heart. His unique approach makes the breakthrough that tired old “procedure” couldn’t. “We know he’s guilty, but stupid court rules won’t let us bring him in.” Where’s Batman, or Deadpool, when you need him?  Social justice (social conservative) advocates love a ‘new rule’ or

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Recent Articles

Assume Better Intent

A client of mine, a Senior Manager in a national corporate role, often comes away from meetings with the sense that some participants are almost deliberately undermining the outcome. You know the feeling – someone keeps raising objections, poking holes,

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Be Interesting Without Saying Anything

We get the urge to fill conversational gaps with something—anything—and often resort to asking for, or worse, offering our own facts. Facts usually kill conversations. Feelings, enquiries, and stories sustain them. The fix? Shift from facts to their experience. You

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Get It Done

We’ve all got important projects that drift. The exercise program that starts “next week.” The business strategy that needs “just a bit more thinking.” The difficult conversation we’ll have “when the time is right.” Your brain isn’t sabotaging you—it’s doing

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Once Is Enough

Want less stress? Try these on for size. Two related concepts that work together to help improve your days – even the bad ones. Both attributed to Seneca and the Stoic tradition. The First: “We suffer more often in imagination

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The workplace strategy hiding in plain sight 

The best leaders, colleagues, and most trusted friends tend to share one trait: they’re genuinely happy in themselves. When people are emotionally self-aware, coherent, and resilient, everything improves. Workplace engagement rises. Psychosocial safety risks drop. Leadership divisions heal. Teams solve

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Voice Matters

Courage requires fear. One of the activities I get my one-one coaching clients to do is to nudge them just a little out of their comfort zone. For example, what could happen “If I bring five percent more awareness to

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Stoic Weekends

I’m feeling a little brain dead after a big couple of weeks. I’m busy with my clients and having fun – just hectic. As a result, this week I’m keeping it simple and brining you a couple of my favourite

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“Why Should I?” Part 2

 The Biology of “Us vs. Them” or “How to become a lonely cynic.” This is part 2 of exploring the “Why should I?” mentality. [Read part 1 here.] What happens in your brain when someone frustrates you? More than you

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“Why Should I?” Part 1

The Hidden Trap in “Why Should I?” This is part 1 of exploring the “Why should I?” mentality. [Read part 2 here.] “Why should I be the one to reach out? Why should I carry their workload? Why should I

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Just Show Up FFS

Many leaders I work with share the same frustration: “Just show up and get on with it!” They’re working long hours under intense pressure, hitting difficult targets and solving complex problems. They simply cannot afford to have people not showing

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New articles on leadership and neuroscience, weekly.

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