“Far more learning comes from failure than success.” Nobody wants to fail but learning from those who do may be the fastest and easiest way to achieve success. During my career leading mountaineering and backpacking expeditions around the world, one of my favourite...

Surprise Constructive Feedback - You may not believe it but it is important! You know the kind of feedback, the type that comes totally unexpected and catches you off guard. It usually sends you in a tailspin of emotions. Once I received surprise written feedback from...

I will never forget the time a client on a month long mountaineering expedition I was leading looked at me on the first day and said, “Aren’t you a little young to be leading us?” A little caught off guard, I replied, “How old should I be?” He was clearly skeptical of...

Hi folks, I am back after my extended summer break of blogging. I hope you enjoyed the “best of” blogs that I posted during the summer and are eager for more valuable leadership and team building (and a few parenting) insights and information. Many new people have...

(Note – this is a 2016 summer addition ‘best of the best’ blog from the past.) The other day, I was getting some banana chocolate (see recipe below), for my kids 2 & 4 y/o. It was a treat. We just got home from a cold evening of soccer games and I thought I would...

(Note – this is a 2016 summer addition ‘best of the best’ blog from the past.) A few years ago Google set up a research team to find out the elements that create high performing teams. What they found and the length of time it took to find it surprised them. For...

(Note – this is a 2016 summer addition ‘best of the best’ blog from the past.) As a leader, you are doing things with groups of people, meetings, meals, events, travel, etc. The one thing these all have in common is that you are all gathering at a specific time and...

(Note – this is a 2016 summer addition ‘best of the best’ blog from the past.) In 1965, psychologist Bruce Tuckman developed his now popular theory on the stages of group development. The original phases were Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing. Around 1975, he...