Fixing work design requires we give up the myth that hospitals must inevitably operate this way and begin to question why approaches that are readily available in other industries remain out of reach for the hospital world.

Last week, I wrote about the ways in which toxic leadership behaviors generate toxic work cultures. This week, I wanted to tackle the subtle ways in which toxic social norms may show up in our work environments.

Toxic leadership sets in motion a cycle that is amplified the more people it reaches and thus becomes very hard to break downstream, which makes it a particularly powerful driver of toxic work cultures.

There are at least two ways that we can get stuck when it comes to identity. Either we take such a rigid view of our identity that it keeps us small, cutting us off from the fullness of our present selves. Or we chain ourselves to an identity we’ve outgrown, leading us away from the manifold possible future versions of ourselves.

How can we as parents balance our children’s need for safety with their need for autonomy? How do we know when it’s time to step away from the proverbial bottom of the slide and let them find their own footing?

At work, we so often wear our challenges close to the chest, fearing that revealing them may result in being viewed as weak or less equipped to perform the job at hand.

Skiing is more than just an opportunity to wear unreasonable shades of neon. It actually provides valuable insights into navigating our professional lives.

I used to think of communication as a tool, a means to an end, a way of moving towards a specific outcome with the person I was interacting with. My NVC experience made me realize that communication is not a tool. The outcome is not the point, the connection is.

Creating order out of chaos is what makes me feel calm and in control. I control my surroundings; I control my time; I control the outcome of my life. I’ve invested a lot of time and energy in perpetuating this illusion of control and I really don’t appreciate when it is undermined.