Category: Children, family, and relationships

  • When to ask why

    A past post discussed the power of why, suggesting that a well-placed “why?” can surface a wealth of information from the people who disagree with us—toddlers and workmates alike. Like almost everything in life, however, the power of why has limits. Why? To find out, let’s consider an age group somewhere between toddlers and colleagues—teenagers.…

  • The power of distraction: Another lesson intransigent toddlers can teach us about intransigent colleagues

    Last week’s post discussed an important work lesson we can learn from toddlers: the power of why. Briefly, we often learn a lot by asking “why” of those who oppose us. This week, I’ll discuss another critical work lesson from toddlers: the power of distraction. Briefly, we often have to deal with colleagues who don’t…

  • The power of why: What intransigent toddlers can teach us about intransigent colleagues

    Our organizational colleagues and toddlers often have one thing in common: they seem opposed to whatever we support. Whether they “won’t back that idea” or “won’t eat that macaroni,” their intransigence is one in the same. By learning to deal with stubborn toddlers, then, we can also learn to deal with stubborn colleagues. In a…