Posts by Meredith Nieuwsma
Meet Elizabeth!
We are very excited to introduce our newest team member, Elizabeth Rolinski! Rodger recently recorded a zoomcast with Elizabeth so you can get to know her a bit. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth to the Leading by DESIGN team.
Read MoreStampeding Elephants
(A version of this post was originally published here on February 12, 2018.) Imagine that you’re walking along a path outside. As you round a bend, you see an elephant. Before you have a chance to think, his ears go up, his head drops, and he starts to charge straight at you. Your response in…
Read MoreHow I Stopped Multitasking and Started Getting Stuff Done
(A version of this post was first published here on March 13, 2016.) Have you seen the Pixar film Up? You know, the one about the old man (Carl) who inflates thousands of balloons to fly his house to the jungle, and accidentally gives a ride to an eager young Wilderness Explorer (Russell) who is trying…
Read MorePandemic Projection
Dave and I were teaching a cohort in person a few weeks ago, after months of teaching LEAD 24/7 over webinars. We were both happy to be back with people. I was overly excited to be face-to-face again, and I knew I’d have to work to stay focused on our material and not get distracted…
Read MoreLeadership in the Time of Quarantine
The last few weeks have certainly been interesting. The pandemic has disrupted our lives in ways many of us have never experienced before, and there is a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety in our world. How do you lead well in a time of quarantine? How do you rally a team where everyone is…
Read MoreSink or Swim
(A version of this post was originally published here on January 8, 2017) I was a kid when The NeverEnding Story came out. There is a scene in the movie where the hero, Atreyu, and his horse are making their way through the Swamp of Sorrows. The swamp can only be passed through safely if you…
Read MoreThe Key to Controlling the Elephant
Do you remember the analogy of the rider and the elephant in the book Switch? Each of us has a rider—our rational, logical self—and each of us has an elephant—our emotional, reactionary self. When things are going just fine in our lives, our rider is usually in control; we make decisions based on healthy beliefs and…
Read MoreThe Station
How busy are you right now? According to the radio, it’s the most wonderful time of the year. I’m not so sure that I agree. December, for me, is one to-do list after another, both personally and professionally. I can’t wait for the fresh start of the new year so I can leave this year…
Read MoreThe Lenses We Wear
The first time I became painfully aware of the lenses through which I see the world was during an anti-racism training the organization I worked for at the time held for staff and other key leaders. I was twenty-seven years old. Most of my memories of the training have faded, but a very important one…
Read MoreA Case for Using Your Vacation Time
In late 2009, I took a twelve-week maternity leave. I was quite sure that it would be a working leave. I was in the middle of so many projects, leading many of them, and I was the expert on our organization’s database. The organization I worked for at the time was small enough that we…
Read More