Welcome to Misti's Insights
#1 Practice for Increasing Psychological Safety on Your Team
This is the first practice in a 3-part series, offering you practical tools for increasing satisfaction, and reducing frustration and stress on your team... all through increasing psychological safety. If you haven't seen the first video, 2 minute video, CLICK HERE...
Increase Satisfaction on Your Team by Increasing Psychological Safety
Do you want your employees to be satisfied with their professional experience, and sense that they are not? Have you noticed that they are stressed and frustrated, and often quiet in meetings? When your team is more satisfied, your stress will be lower. When your...
5 Tips for Successfully Navigating Work From Anywhere With Your Partner
After nearly four hours in the car, we arrived at our rental home, nestled in the trees just outside of Williamsburg, Virginia. The three of us—my niece, Ellei, my wife, Yvette, and I—were there to enjoy some time together and participate in the Patriot triathlon over...
Can You See Your Privileges, Cause I Couldn’t Until…
Every Tuesday morning, Jeff, a local farmer, drops off nearly thirty dozen eggs on our front porch. Carefully situated orders of anywhere between two and eight dozen eggs line the sides of the porch in plastic bags, each with a name taped to the side. Throughout the...
Get Your Employees To Listen Better; A Powerful Strategy
Are you frustrated with having to repeat yourself constantly? Do your employees seem to be not listening to you? If so, try this practical technique for ensuring that what you’re saying is heard. This technique is also helpful for getting others to stop repeating...
Develop Employees Who Think for Themselves
Do you have folks on your team who show up and do a good-enough job, but lack the enthusiasm and added accountability for bringing Their best? Have you tired to get them to see that there's more they can bring to the table, and way more they can get out of their...
How To Handle Your Stress Better, Listen To Your Tension
Rolling over onto my left side in the early morning on May 20, 2021, I felt awkwardness around my left ear. Turns out, it was numb. But why? I knew I was dealing with some tension, but who isn’t? I called an acupuncturist and my doctor in search of solutions. Bracing...
Enjoy What You’re Failing At, And You Can’t Fail: My TEDx Talk
It was 9am on August 18, 2021, when Lisa, the curator of TEDx LehighRiver, suggested that I might fill in for a speaker who had to back out last minute. The TEDx event was scheduled for September 13th, with rehearsals on the 12th. Aside from the fact that three weeks...
A Key Practice For Decreasing Stress Brought On By Transitions at Work
Recent research indicates a 42% decrease in mental health, globally. The stress level is impacting teams, employees, and companies in nearly every industry and country. Many of us are a struggling to figure out how to adapt to this new normal… again… at work and at...
The Truth About Strengthening Belonging At Work
Your Life Is Your Lab Yesterday, I co-facilitated a conversation on belonging. The idea was born out of hearing myself reply to a friends message on June 1, 2021—“Happy Pride month!” Here’s what I said… “I spend most of my life trying to forget that I’m gay… that I’m...
The Most Important Word in Your Leadership
There's one word that distinguishes good leadership from excellent leadership, especially as many teams begin the journey to re-uniting in person... Here -- see if you can detect the one word that's different in these two statements, recently made by two different...
Three Fears That Stop You From Achieving What Matters Most
Back in 2016, I stayed at The Plaza Hotel in New York City the night before delivering a presentation. Have you heard of it? It’s the fanciest hotel I have ever stayed in. The room came equipped with a beautiful chandelier above the bed, an iPad with temperature...
My Coming Out Story
June is National LGBTQ Pride Month. In recognition, I'd like to share a little bit about my own journey. “Mark your calendar,” my psychology 101 professor said on the first day of class in January 1997, “There will be a gay panel here on April 15th. Your attendance...
What 17-Year Cicadas Have to Teach Us About Challenge
This pandemic has been tough for most of us. Re-emerging together is likely to add its own level of complication and challenges. While it's remarkably easy to get sucked into the difficulty of the journey, the zillions of destinations are worth the challenge... take...
Three Helpful Actions You Can Take When Dealing With Mental Health in the Workplace
I was clenching my jaw, and I wasn’t sleeping well. So, I signed up for a psilocybin study. Psilocybin is a mushroom that has been used for hundreds of years to help people with numerous mind and body challenges. It’s worth a try, I convinced myself, as I walked to...
How Getting Covid19 Served as a Catalyst for Growth
"Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict." -- William Ellery Channing I’m not the type to get fevers. Ever. As I looked at the thermometer reading, 101.4ºF, I knew it was Covid19. It was a Saturday afternoon in...
5 Simple Steps Handing off Responsibility, and Why We (Sometimes) Don’t
Here I was in my bathroom minding my own business when Bells (my niece) pops in and hit me with: “I want to thank you for allowing me to do the dishes and the laundry.” Wait, what? I thought, She’s thanking me for allowing her to do the dishes? The look on my face...
Coaching Your Team Through Fear And Uncertainty
Complacency is costly. It gives the brain too much time to think about how the world (or their job) might be imploding. Keeping team members focused and progressing, seeing and experiencing momentum, is the key to keeping them engaged and productive. Use the...