The Way We're Working Isn't Working

The reflective lens helps us not to settle on our stories so quickly and instead to remain curious, even to give the benefit of the doubt so long as there is any doubt.

When we settle for the gist, we sacrifice the essence—complexity, subtlety, and depth.

“Many leadership theories emphasize the need for the leader to articulate an inspiring vision,” writes Laura Reave, the author of the review of leadership studies. “But what is important is not so much words but rather actions: the level of ethics demonstrated, the respect and compassion shown to others.”

From an energy perspective, one of our core spiritual challenges is accepting that our highest and lowest selves—the best and worst of us—coexist inside us and forever compete for our favor.

Having a purpose larger than our immediate self-interest serves others and makes us feel better about ourselves, but it’s also increasingly crucial to our survival. That’s because we live in a world of increasing population and accelerating demand for the earth’s finite resources.

If you want those in your charge to be effective at delaying gratification and focusing their attention effectively, it goes a long way to make them feel cared for and secure. It

We’re far less likely to feel inspired by someone who says “Here’s what’s wrong with what you did” than we are by a more forward-looking “Here’s what works so far, and here’s what I think you need to do to take this to the next level.”

The safer and more valued people feel, the more resilient they are in the face of high demand and uncertainty.

The third key to building rituals is to focus on something we do rather than something we continually try to resist doing.

The first key to building rituals is undertaking no more than one or two at a time. Given