Video: Learning Snacks

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Forget Resilience – Look for Anti-Fragility

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | June 22, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on resilience the image shows a tiny shoot growing up between cracks in the concrete.

Here’s a new take on resilience.  Credit to Stephanie Mehta for this one, who inspired this learning snack with her recent talk at the California Conference for Women.  In the scientific field, resilience means when something gets pushed or changed, the material bounces back to what it was.  In other words, resilience is when something…

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Hybrid Work: Are We Doing It Wrong?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | June 15, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on hybrid work the image shows a business woman alone in her office in front of a large video screen showing a Zoom meeting

I was recently talking with a client about hybrid work initiatives and how to get people back in the office and how companies are really coming down on different sides of this. As the business world embraces hybrid work models, finding the right balance between in-office and remote work becomes crucial. Bringing employees back to…

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Trying Asking for Advice – Not Giving It 

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | June 8, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on giving advice the image shows a business woman using her hands to explain something.

Have you ever found wanted to give advice to someone at work? Well, there’s a way to do it right. I recently came across a fascinating book by Katie Milkman called “How to Change.” In it, she explores the impact of advice-giving on our behavior. I think we all intuitively know this but she has…

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Post-Mother’s Day Tribute

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 24, 2023 |

How can we be present for our employees without micromanaging them? In honor of Mother’s Day this month, I was talking with three clients, all three of them mothers and they were striving to support their almost-adult children, keep track and be helpful, notice when things are going wrong, but not fall into the trap…

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The Hierarchy of Communication

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | May 10, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on the hierarchy of communication the image two people sitting on a log using tin cans with a string attached pretending they are telephones

Communication is not just about conveying information, but also about understanding the message and the intention behind it. Sparked by a recent discussion with a client, I shared with her my hierarchy of communication and the most effective ways to communicate an idea or a disagreement. The top priority in communication is face-to-face communication. Sitting…

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Get Some Sunlight…and Some New Ideas

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 27, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on zoom meetings and getting outside the image shows sunlight shining through the trees.

As an executive leadership coach, I understand the challenges of a Zoom meeting-filled day. It can be draining to sit in front of a screen for hours on end, especially when our space may not look like the beautiful, spacious, and well-lit background you can see on my screen in this video (thank you, Dina…

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Can Your Strengths Have a Dark Side?

By Jo Ilfeld, PhD | April 13, 2023 |
For this article by Jo Ilfeld, Executive Leadership Coach on strengths the image shows two arrows one representing strength, the other weakness.

In all my years of doing 360s, one thing that I often see is how someone’s strengths can have a dark side that can come back to derail them or bite them in the behind. One of the most common things I hear almost every single time is that someone’s growth opportunity is usually an…

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