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What’s the greatest thing in the world? What is that “thing” that everyone is looking for? Is it money, fame, success, or love? If you survey any number of people from any demographic, they will all list one, if not all, of these. But out of all of these good things, what is the highest good?

Happiness.

In Aristotle’s classic of moral theory, Nicomachean Ethics, one section discusses human pursuits. He examines the various fields of science and art and explores what everyone is trying to accomplish - the end goal. The commonality he finds is that the aim of all human pursuits is happiness. He concluded that happiness was the highest good because you don’t pursue happiness for the sake of anything else; it is the ultimate end goal, the good that all good things view as their destiny. 

The founders of the United States immortalized “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” in the Declaration of Independence. But even the concept of...

Since March 2020, I have had hundreds of managers ask me the same question, "How can I nurture a genuine connection with my team in a virtual environment?" Even if some people are physically coming to work, in many cases entire teams are not. Or at least they aren’t all in the same space, at the same time, like during pre-Covid times. 

My answer: You nurture a connection with a lot of intentional choices. Intention is about where you put your attention. Think about it, people are logging on from their homes. In the background, (your background and their immediate surroundings) are pets, children, contractors, laundry to be folded, plants to be watered, leftovers in the fridge. The distractions are endless. Nurturing a cohesive and engaged team, which is absolutely the role of managers, is more challenging than ever. 

Your intentional practice begins with paying attention to how you are showing up. Are you intentionally setting aside other work, like open documents or...