The Muppets were the most high-performing team in the history of pop-culture. The blend of characters created the kind of team we all dream of being part of. So what made them so magical and enduring? We often presume success is predicated on the leader of a team or the culture of the organization. Those are strong elements. But ultimately, it all comes down to the people on the team.

Most of us have a group of people we look to for advice, unconsciously or intentionally, during times of crisis or critical decision making. Some of these people are in your personal circle, privy to your adulting challenges and values, who have offered their advice throughout your life. Some originate from your professional network, influencing your resume, career growth, and professional choices and aspirations. They may not have known it, but these people are your Personal Board of Directors.

You may have found that getting advice from these two different channels in your life served you well. However, you may…

I’m listening to (and reading) Adam Grant’s “Think Again” (yes, it is that good!). I was captivated throughout, but I hit re-wind when he used the phrase “identity foreclosure.”

I’m an un-proud participant of the foreclosure crash of the otherwise non-descript ’90s, and I may or may not have had more than one identity crisis… Do I resemble this remark? I listen carefully.

Grant’s voice continues in my ear, “identity foreclosure covers up an identity crisis but fails to cure it.” …

A team working agreement is essentially a documented set of ground rules that a team creates to hold each other accountable to positive behaviors. It’s a common element of a team startup or launch, and strong teams often revisit their team norms. However, to help a group form quickly as a team or recover from a storm of change or disruption, it takes more than a shared understanding of expected behaviors. Read on to learn some unexpected elements to an effective team launch.

Google studied 180 of their teams to examine the elements of high-performing teams. Project Aristotle’s researchers proved…

Aaron slumped in his airline seat with a long sigh, resigned to a dismal future. He couldn’t help but reflect on the difference in how he currently felt compared to walking into the negotiations just a couple of hours ago. He was so confident! What went wrong? He had a long flight home to think about it — and how to explain to his boss how it all went sideways.

All too often, people rely on typical negotiation approaches, like going in high or using ultimatums, that work well in one set of circumstances but fall short in others. …

Jenny

The first thing Jenny remembers coming out of the fog is being wracked with excruciating abdominal pain, so intense she cannot catch her breath. Anxious faces are hovering, but all she can focus on is trying to breathe. The sharp, burning pain is wrapping and rippling across her upper abdomen and causes her to attempt to curl into a fetal position, but she is being held back. She’s aware of people and noise; she can hear loud voices, but the pain blocks her comprehension of the words. On her left, she sees hands with a syringe coming near an IV…

Rachel is a founder, a bringer of ideas, a bias-toward-action, err on the side of collaboration kind of gal. She’s started communities of practices, meditation groups, mentoring circles, and book clubs. She serves on conference boards. She speaks at conferences. She mentors others. Her philosophy is that opportunity drives opportunity.

But now, she’s tired. The kind of fatigue that sucks the energy out of the (virtual) room, that shows up in destructive self-talk, and that leads to long hours of escapism through novels or binge-watching Netflix. Despite her accomplishments, this was not the life she dreamed of.

Rachel is a…

Find your common purpose in an uncommon career

Lora Soderquist lives outside Bozeman, Montana. Driven to provide community and environmental impact, she is grounded in her connection to the land and people around her. Her choices revolve around the best life she can provide for her son, Jack.

When Lora became a single parent, she stood at a crossroads with which many of us are familiar. Her life had just taken an unexpected turn. She had one critical mission: How could she provide financially for her son and still spend quality time with him?

Lora had a choice — take…