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About Michael Merrill

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So far Michael Merrill has created 22 blog entries.

Shannon Loftis of Xbox Studios

On the eve of her announced retirement from Xbox Game Studios, longtime Microsoft veteran Shannon Loftis met with Kenning Partner Daryl Ogden to discuss her storied career.  Shannon talks about the early days of gaming at Microsoft, and what it was like to be a woman in that hard-driving environment.  She explains how Microsoft’s culture has changed in the intervening years, and how she has as well.  A timely talk by Melinda French Gates provided some rules to live by for Shannon, guidelines she still shares with the women she supports today.

Shannon Loftis of Xbox Studios2022-12-15T18:55:44-05:00

Best Practices for Facilitating Meetings

Kenning Associates Partner Jen LaChance says that facilitating a meeting means “creating space for group level sense-making”.  With that benchmark in mind, she and fellow Kenning Partner (and facilitation veteran) Thom Shaw discuss some of the best ways to prepare for a meeting, conduct it, and what you should do once it's done.

Best Practices for Facilitating Meetings2022-12-15T18:59:57-05:00

Leadership Versatility & The Birkman Method

Kenning Partner Laurie Burkland Waller speaks with Mike Merrill about leadership versatility, a trait she has found to be especially important for collaboration and effectiveness. Leaders with versatility have a kind of multilingual fluency: they are better able to adapt to stakeholders both inside and outside the organization and meet the needs of a particular person in a specific context. 

Leadership Versatility & The Birkman Method2022-11-29T13:10:29-05:00

4 Steps for Changing Problematic Behavior

Kenning Associates Partner Mark Ledden has worked with many coaching clients on problematic behaviors. Speaking with Michael Merrill, he focuses specifically on behaviors where you know you have a problem, but cannot seem to fix it. You may even exhibit the “ideal” behavior in other–typically less pressured–situations.

4 Steps for Changing Problematic Behavior2023-01-06T20:59:59-05:00

Getting the Most from Your Year-End Review

Kenning Partners Jennifer Lachance and Cathy Boeckmann discuss how you can get the most out of your end of year review.  They first look at two common but not ideal reflex reactions to feedback in reviews:  “Not Me” and “All Me”. Since neither of these stances engage much with what you are hearing, Jen suggests a different one:  “Let’s Talk”.  Here you approach the feedback with curiosity: you try to truly understand what your reviewer is telling you, and you work to integrate it into your understanding.  Jen delineates the power of this approach before, during, and after the review.  And she explains how using it at review time can have positive after effects throughout the coming year.

Getting the Most from Your Year-End Review2022-12-15T19:14:19-05:00

Best Practices for Virtual Training

Mike Merrill talks with Kenning Partner Jerry Stauduhar about what Kenning has learned over the past year or so about best practices for virtual training.  Jerry talks about how Kenning adapted to the new Zoom realities, and some of the major lessons they learned in the process: Deliver your content in small bites; mix up the modalities you work in; and lean into the performance, especially with your voice.  Jerry finishes up by explaining some of the benefits to virtual training, and explores the future of the virtual and hybrid training models.

Best Practices for Virtual Training2022-12-15T19:17:02-05:00

Taking a Learning Approach to DEI

This past year has caused tectonic cultural shifts. The same is certainly true within organizations. With the pandemic, many organizations have jumped feet first into remote working, flexible work schedules, and new ways of engaging their teams. At the same time, virtually every organization we’re aware of is seeking to respond to the calls for justice and equity across racial, gender, and sexual identity, both in the U.S. and globally. This reckoning has profoundly impacted organizational thinking about culture – especially as it relates to how healthy organizational cultures can achieve optimal diversity, equity, and inclusion within the workplace.Through our client collaborations, especially our work on culture diagnostics and development , we at Kenning have also been expanding our thinking.

Taking a Learning Approach to DEI2022-12-15T19:33:56-05:00

Grace Yao Turkis

Grace brings more than 20 years of experience in leadership development in both education and health care settings. A certified Co-Active coach, she is passionate about helping people integrate their unique experiences, interests, and talents to reach their full professional potential. In addition to her work as a leadership coach and facilitator, she is the Director of Leadership & Professional Development for the RISE Office of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, where she designs and facilitates leadership courses and workshops for graduate students.

Grace Yao Turkis2023-05-25T18:49:06-04:00
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