Ask Anna Banana™

Topics

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• Need to get unstuck? Try the technique of Smile, Laugh, Breathe™

  • Pretty upset about a recent interaction where the person who has power over me was saying things that were so ridiculous and mean. I was so stunned in the moment that I didn’t say too much...What do I do now?

    • Here is my salve for the awful times: start with the technique of Smile, Laugh, Breathe™.

• Did your oven stop working on a big cooking day? Time to tap into your inner Resilient Leader

  • I’m cooking a big meal for the family and I need everything to be just right. How do I manage it?

    • You are reminding me of the time a few years ago, mid-November, that a few things in our kitchen stopped working. The oven didn’t work at all. Three of the four stovetop burners stopped working. And I had been planning to prepare a Big Meal for the family. What to do? So, over the course of two days…

    • Assess what assets you have available to you | Leverage timing to your advantage | Have a backup plan

• Strategic play as a pathway to leadership: P.L.A.Y. Now™

  • What do kids have that adults forget along the way? A sense of wonder, curiosity, and play. Here are five things to try as a leader – they are the key steps behind what I call the P.L.A.Y. Now™ Pathway to Leadership – to help you to improve your workplace culture.

    • Practical | Lively | Active | Yes! | Now

• The emperor’s new clothing, or lack thereof. What are you not saying that needs to be said?

  • In the children’s story of The Emperor’s New Clothes, a child spoke up about noticing that the emperor effectively didn’t have any clothes on, after the (lack of) clothing had been vetted and lauded by many others who were too afraid to speak up and say that they couldn’t actually see the clothes. The adults overrode their own common sense, sensibilities, and perspective. What are you not saying that needs to be said?

    • Asking for clarification | Starting with where you do agree | Frame your perspective

• Artificial Intelligence: How to stay human in an A.I.-driven world?

  • I’m feeling a lot of pressure to do all-things-A.I. How do I balance being myself amidst all of this Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) stuff?

    • Art | Music | Laughter

• Artificial Intelligence: Let Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) enhance you, not replace you

  • I’m stressed about the future. I’m hearing a lot about Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) replacing people’s jobs. What does that mean for me?

    • Identify what you like and don’t like | Hold your own intelligence

• Anticipating truncated time spots with time cushions…and more!

  • You are at a professional conference, prepared to give a 15-minute talk. However, your assigned session is running 20 minutes late. Your talk is sandwiched between many other speakers. What do you do?

    • Big picture | Unique takes | Accordion-style timing

• Where to find your work people…

  • I am ready for something new. I currently work at a nonprofit that is geographically located away from where I live, and so I don’t know the people around me. I’m interested in finding something closer to home. Where do I start?

    • Connecting with…

• When to move on?

  • The grass isn’t always greener, but how will I know when to move on from my current organization?

    • A happiness tip | What are you good at | Visualization

• Feeling caught in the middle

  • Person A shared some information with me. They asked me to keep it private for now. Person B asked me very directly what was going on with Person A. Person B knows that I have information, and is trying to pressure me to divulge. What do I do now?

    • A default response | What to focus on | Getting curious

• Energy management as a form of leadership

  • Do you operate amongst a stressed, overwhelmed, tired workforce? Are you looking to run an event and you don’t want people to fall asleep on you? Do multitaskers distract you? Here are three unusual things to try to help you optimize people’s comfort and energy at a meeting.

    • Leveraging time of day | Being Outside | More meeting tips

• Deconstructed salad as a form of leadership

  • As a keynote speaker, meeting facilitator, and leadership coach, people often ask me about when, where, and what to plan regarding food for a partial or full-day in-person event…

  • Knowing | Offering | Un-parching

• Footwear as a foundation of your leadership style

  • I’m starting a new position. My mentor suggested that I not wear my favorite (bright and colorful) socks. What do you think?

    • Being yourself | Finding… | Harmony

• Showcasing your uniqueness [former title: What’s so special about you, anyway?]

  • I’m working on a grant submission and I need to describe the project, but it’s hard to explain. Where do I start?

    • Signals | Highlights | Notice what feels…

• The problem of the Shoulds (as in, the word “should”)

  • My colleague showed me some work that they did. I think they did a terrible job. They should do better. How do I tell them they should do things differently?

    • Appreciations | What vs. Why | Shoulds

• What to say when you feel underestimated: Get clear on your Yes’s, Murky Middles, and No’s

  • …How do I regain footing in a social situation when I am the least senior person there?

    • What to imagine | Boundaries | Notice the behavior of…

• Artificial Intelligence: Naming when you use Artificial Intelligence (A.I.)

  • Do I label it as assisted by A.I.?

    • Identify… | When… | Name it

• Design your best work with phased sharing and big-picture communication

  • …We all have information that we can’t share with each other…

    • Communicate incrementally | Communicate your rationale | Big picture

• Navigating the workplace

  • Flowers and weeds | Gift | Future

• Managing office dynamics: Can we agree to disagree? [audio] [written]

  • I’m the Executive Director of an organization where some board Trustees disagree with each other. You can see, hear, and feel the tensions across people! How can the board come to consensus? How do we communicate with each other?

    • Brainstorm versus editing | Naming the challenge | “Fist-to-five”

People Mentions

• Bill Carmody

• Shirzad Chamine

• Cristi Cooke

• Charlotte Greedy

• Gay Hendricks

• Vicki Hoefle

• Madan Kataria

• Dacher Keltner

• L. David Marquet

• Gabor Maté

• Tara Mohr: mentioned here and here

• Kerry Ann Rockquemore

• Emiliana Simon-Thomas

• Nedra Glover Tawwab

Organization Mentions

• Common Good Vermont

• Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

• LinkedIn

• New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility (NHBSR)

• The New Hampshire Center for Nonprofits

• The Moth Radio Hour

• One Percent (1%) for the Planet

• Positive Street Art

• Vermont Businesses for Social Responsibility (VBSR)