Poets and moving beyond networking, influence, advocacy, and talking points. Somewhere in the recent archives of my letters to all of you, I have pointed to Ian Williams and What I Mean to Say (2024 CBC Massey Lectures and book). Thank heavens for poets like Williams...

Leadership factories (no thank you), the neutrality of ambition, design thinking, Dr. Gabor Maté , the Buddhist Chef, Doug and the Slugs, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Dame Laura Knight. 1 This McKinsey & Company article, (July 2025) is spot on in regards to what I am...

The Indian Ministry of Railway exams and our complex relationships with certificates, badges, and external validation. The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education. - Albert Einstein “Would You Pass the World’s Toughest Exam” by Harriet Shawcross...

Facilitators, Ice-Breakers, and Not Trusting the Process. Hey Babs, I’m dreading an upcoming team retreat. While we work well as a team, we haven’t had a successful away meeting since before the pandemic. Not sure if the blame lies with the retreat facilitators or if...

Looking for something more than monkey bar antics and blowing smoke rings. We tend to want to hang out with people who make us feel good about our choices, habits, and general world view. This works out fine when we are on a path of positive ethical growth, but it’s...

Using AI to write emails, memos, reports, blog posts or any other communications will undermine your leadership journey. My big question about AI in recent years has been, if I read a poem that speaks to my and your human condition and moves me in some way, does my...

Babs shares a cautionary tale of what happens when you don't. The OECD projects that Canada's economic growth will slow from 1.5 per cent in 2024 to 1.0 per cent in 2025 and 1.1 per cent in 2026 because of trade tensions with the U.S., long its largest export market....

Babs responds with, stop talking. Hey Babs, I’m part of an Executive Leadership Team (the ELT) in a mid-sized public sector organization where I have worked my way up through the ranks. I feel connected with the staff that I work with and consider many of them to be...

Leaving the safe zone of "what am I doing?". “Its hard to ask a question if you’re scared of the answer.” Henry Mallet, Spirited, season 2 episode 5. The question. For many of us, whether it is with our teams, our boards, a review process such as a 360, or alone with...

Election night speeches, an opinion on leadership language, George Clooney and org charts, civility, personality types, self-help, and the ever popular Iceland, Scotland, and BBC Radio 3. 1 Some folks stay up late for New Year’s Eve, or birthdays, or a good movie. Me,...