Blog entries

What’s a body to do?

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0100

“My body exists to carry my head around.” I used to think this. Moreover, I acted on it. I prized what I could do mentally but didn’t give much thought to my physical self. Sadly, too many people believe the same and act accordingly. I see people who prize their strategic thinking, their people skills, their caring for others, and their activism on behalf of issues big and small with little time or attention paid to the body doing all the work. Little do they know they are f...

Lessons from the Circus

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 06:00:00 +0100

I recently took in a performance of Cirque du Soleil, that superb and beautiful troupe of acrobats, jugglers, and other physical feats. Beyond a fabulous show and evening with friends, I wondered about the lessons for my work and that of my clients. First, the show is impeccable. I’ve seen several of their productions and each one is a gem, a complete experience of being transported to another world where people do amazing things with their bodies, sound, light, and costume. No part of ...

Name Your Success

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 06:00:00 +0100

A group I’m in starts its meetings with each person naming an accomplishment—personal or professional—since the last meeting. Sometimes there’s a big and obvious item to share. At other times, group members struggle to identify a victory. There’s no rule about how “big” a success must be. There is a rule about reporting with gusto. No diminishment of self is allowed. No “well, it’s not much but…” or “I wish I had somethi...

Giving Thanks

Heather Berthoud — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 22:19:12 +0100

Each morning I have my cup of tea on my back porch and give thanks—for the porch, the tea, the house, the life I’ve lived and the prospects before me. Sometimes I see a souvenir and remember a special trip. When I hike I’m thankful for nature in all its glory and for the people who save sections of wilderness so I and others can enjoy it. I’m deeply appreciative of the support I got—and get—from family and friends. I’m thankful that people with talent...

Crisis and Scarcity

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:47:03 +0100

My clients take on big issues—homelessness, genocide, poverty, liberty, workers rights, workplace democracy, environmental and economic sustainability, and justice. In all cases, the need is great. The forces for the status quo are well-entrenched and well-heeled. The sense of enormity and urgency can be overwhelming. At the same time, these organizations typically work with budgets that are tiny relative to the challenges. There is just not enough—money, people, time, attention, ...

Deal with Big Things When they are Small

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 18:43:30 +0100

If you’re like many leaders and managers you fear correcting errant behaviors. It’s likely that you don’t like dealing with difficult people or situations. How did the cases get to be difficult? Chances are you chose to ignore the early warning signs. Perhaps you saw someone working at the last minute when there had been ample time to accomplish the task and involve the appropriate people without creating a traffic jam. Perhaps you saw ineffective approaches to meeting pa...

Summer Reading, 2011

Heather Berthoud — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 22:46:23 +0100

This summer has so far been chock full of great fiction and nonfiction, about crossing and/or understanding cultures. Here are some fun, provocative, informative, and inspiring books.

Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok (2010, Riverhead Books) tells the fictional but real story of Kimberly and her mother, newly arrived in New York City from Hong Kong. We learn of the dual life of Kimberly who excels at school (after being humiliated by a teacher because of her limited English) and joins ...

Starved for Appreciation

Heather Berthoud — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 05:00:00 +0100

I showed appreciation for someone and he cried. As I told him about the qualities that make him a valued part of the team, he welled up. As I moved on to discuss acts and products that he contributed to our program, the tears spilled out. He didn’t ask me to stop but sat for more as the tears continued.

He had been trying to hide his frustration with work under the guise of being a &ld...

2011 Ahead

Heather Berthoud — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 06:00:00 +0100

Another year has ended and the new one is hurrying along. It’s barely three weeks old and we’ve had a new Congress, the shooting in Arizona, snow across the entire country, and the iphone on Verizon. With that as an opening, there’s no telling where 2011 might go.

2010 in review

Berthoud Consulting highlights include AF...

Leadership and Accountability

Heather Berthoud — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Who holds the top accountable? As a leader, whether of a unit or an organization, it’s easy to get trapped by the illusions of the office. Check the news for accounts of people who used their offices unethically. The leader’s role is fraught with many opportunities to misstep. Leader of cause organizations need to be especially vigilant as effectiveness is often measured obliquely and in the long-term, even as there’s pressure ...

Reader's Review--Fall 2010

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I recently read several books that you might find interesting:

A Nation of Strangers: Prejudice, Politics and the Populating of America by Ellis Cose. Though written in 1992, Cose provides a thorough review of immigration debates and policies from the founding of the US up to the time of publication. In some ways, reading an 18 year-old account helped frame questions for our current debate without having to wade through today’s polem...

What are you for?

Heather Berthoud — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 01:27:42 +0100

People respond to a positive proposition with energy that’s optimistic and sustainable. That is, people will strive for something compelling even, or especially, if it’s challenging. On the other hand, identifying something wrong or objectionable and fighting against what is, gets meager results compared to pursuing a desired outcome. Analysis or critique of the current state can be useful, but a problem focus fills up the available ...

Facilitating for Transformation

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 05:00:00 +0100

The course I taught was, finally, a success. It took a lot to reach people, to get the concepts across, to get them to take ownership of their learning, their class, and their process. My colleague and I didn’t break through until the class was about two thirds complete. The final classroom activity showed that they had learned. I sense that we set their feet on a more fruitful path. They seemed motivated to continue.

I used to study martial arts. I loved it. It was the ballast to my activist life. It was where I discovered my athletic self. Then, after about 18 years, I fell while hiking and hurt my back. There went my martial arts career. No more jumping, kicking, punching hard. After about a year of a modified schedule, I gave it up.

I decided ...

When Private Apologies Don't Work

Heather Berthoud — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:17:45 +0100

The meeting was interrupted by an outburst from the leader to a subordinate. Whatever the person said or did to deserve that tongue lashing was a mystery. Had she broken the leader’s train of thought? Contradicted him? Offered an idea he didn’t like? Spoken one too many times? No one knew, but the effect of the dressing down was immediate. The group was silent, exchanging furtive glances instead of potential solutions for the project...

The Plan Starts NOW!

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:00:00 +0100

Organizations use strategic plans to identify their vision, mission, outcomes, success factors, milestones, resource allocation, short-term objectives and action steps. People get excited by the destination and path they’ve set for themselves but they often postpone their future by continuing the current way they do things even though to achieve the ambitious plan they need to start now. The situation is akin to the person who has a brilli...

Real Conversation: Supporting the Safety of Others

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0100

How can we create the space for real conversation? Not what passes for conversation-crafting the witty comeback while the other person is talking; dismissing what is uncomfortable, disagreed with, or unfamiliar; categorizing those we disagree with as bad; talking louder and/or faster in the hopes of wearing down the opposition. In real conversation people are heard, validated. Their ideas are engaged. Perhaps people want safe space because they know what to expect otherwise.

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Safe Space

Heather Berthoud — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:00:00 +0100

I often get called into facilitate groups where there is tension, sometimes among peers, and sometimes with a manager or leader. People typically ask that there be safe space for the conversation. What do they mean? People generally answer with phrases like, “No repercussions,” “What I say won’t be held against me,” and “There won’t be any negative consequences.” Is this possible?

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Bion Meets Obama

Heather Berthoud — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 06:00:00 +0100

Why the great disappointment with President Obama and his administration’s accomplishments? There are many explanations—he’s been too timid, too bold, unfocused, focused on the wrong things, too conciliatory, too left, too right, on and on. What’s missing from the critique is the rest of us—the citizenry—and our relationship to our elected leaders.

Ah! There is nothing like the feeling after exertion in nature. The day was cool, crisp even, but warm when the sun was out and I was getting myself uphill.

I am thankful for all the people over the years who had the foresight to preserve such great spaces. I benefit greatly whether from a local walk and ride path (Sligo Creek Pa...