One of the most common culture challenges we hear from leaders is lack of cross-department collaboration. The dreaded silo effect.  Silos are one example of “relational waste,”  or causes of workplace waste or friction that stem from interpersonal dynamics. When colleagues don’t - or won’t - communicate and share information across departments you get missed deadlines, incomplete (or even inaccurate) deliverables, duplication of effort, turf battles, and sometimes pure animos

Employee engagement is a huge problem that has received a lot of attention in recent years. In their most recent report on the State of the Global Workplace, Gallup found that only 21% of employees are fully engaged at work. That means nearly 80% of employees are NOT fully engaged! Not only that, the year over year drop in engagement was most pronounced for managers, who set the tone for culture and morale across teams. Yikes! The consequences of continued low engagement are

In August, I delivered a keynote speech and workshop for the Michigan Lean Consortium  about using play as a tool for continuous...

One challenging dynamic that just about every team experiences at some point is the tension between introverts and extroverts. This...

If there is one key takeaway from living through the last 10 years, it might be this: Beware the Algorithm. Every day we hear stories...

I have a confession to make: I am SO sick of hearing about AI.  I’m tired of hearing people talk about it like it’s a magic panacea that...

How do you get a room of 85+ people excited to practice collaborative decision making? You task them with inventing a game! This was the...

What if play wasn’t just something we did, but something we shared ? What if the laughter, learning, and human connection sparked in one...

I regularly meet practitioners, from independent facilitators and coaches to in-house HR and L&D leaders, who… are looking for ways to...

This may sound like a weird thing to have a very strong opinion about, but I despise the term “soft skills.” It’s a lazy, reductive, and...

It seems like every time I look at the news there’s an article about one of two huge disturbing  trends:  An obsessive drive for...

In a recent BizSouls podcast episode , I was asked a compelling question: How could opposing political parties, like the RNC and DNC, or...

I recently came across this Slate article  by Alison Green (rightfully) criticizing many of the activities companies select in the name...

If you’ve been following our journey at Barometer XP, you’ve probably seen us promoting our Play Facilitator Certification program. Play...

In today’s dynamic work world, feeling like you belong is a game-changer for both employee happiness and company success. This idea kicks...

As a consultant, facilitator, and speaker who uses Play as her "secret weapon," I'm always amazed at how many people still dismiss its...

What pops into your mind when you think about work? I’m guessing it’s words like project, boss, meetings, or deadlines. Or maybe a mental...

Picture this: You're navigating the digital landscape, armed with your technical prowess and data wizardry, when suddenly, a seismic...

You know how every time you crack open a newspaper or scroll through your news app, you're bombarded with headlines screaming about AI...

Well, it’s official. 2024 is fully underway. And I don’t know about you, but for me, there was no gentle easing into the new year. I went...