The Valley is where growth happens. But it’s also where people often give up, frustrated with the feeling of incompetence and the feeling that “this will never work” or “I will never learn this.” The key is to make this incompetence temporary; you have to keep pushing through the valley to get to the other side.

If you want (or need) to have a conversation about diversity, equity and inclusion at work, I highly recommend a new book by Ruchika Tulshyan. It makes a difficult topic actionalable and can help create the kind of culture where everyone can thrive. And stay!

Recently I learned that all the hours of writing, researching, and interviewing that went into my book and all the preparation for a keynote at a conference in St. Louis were ultimately so worth it.

T’wina Nobles doesn’t take anything for granted. As a child, she suffered years of abuse and homelessness, moving from one shelter to the next, at one point completely on her own, without any family.

Kellie Garnett has always been tense. When she was in the first grade, she rarely smiled. She remained focused on doing well in class, following the rules, pleasing the teacher, and getting good grades. She couldn’t relax, even though her parents tried to help her calm down and find some joy.

Developing healthy workplace relationships was hard enough before the pandemic changed the way many of us work. With more remote work, less commuting and less work travel, how will we foster friendships at work?

Early in his career, Paolo Mottola worked for a large advertising and marketing agency in Seattle, and thought he had it made. The work seemed interesting enough and, combined with the flashy offices, free coffee (which was actually good), and downtown location next to cool bars and restaurants, what wasn’t to like?