Michael Bungay Stanier is my guest on this week’s episode of my podcast. He is the author of many books including Do More Great Work and, his latest, The Coaching Habit. Michael’s company, Box of Crayons, help organizations to do less good work and more great work.

 

What does Bring Your Whole Self to Work Mean to Michael?

Michael references the insights in the book The Dark Side of the Light Chasers by Debbie Ford and how the ‘I Am That’ process allows a person to acknowledge all that they are and show up as their whole person. He says there is something about understanding how you are different in this world and doubling down on what makes you unique. 

 

Embracing Discomfort

Balancing tension is hard. There is a fine line between strategy and guessing. Michael says to experiment in a way that limits risks is the way forward. He observes that most people don’t wrestle long enough with questions and they will generally default to safety.

 

An Inspiring Project

In Michael’s book, Do More Great Work, he advocates having a great work project. A project a person can pour all of their creativity, energy and resources into. He knew he had to have a project of his own. He wanted to have a bold impact and considered what was the cheapest unit of change at a global level. He brought thought leaders and other intriguing people together to write articles on how to access great work. And, then along with The Domino Project and Seth Godin, he published End Malaria a book which, when purchased, sends a donation to Malaria No More to purchase mosquito nets for families in need.

 

Keeping Things in Perspective

Michael believes that we sometimes take ourselves a bit too seriously, which ends up stressing us out and burdening us with unnecessary pressure.  He thinks we should embrace all of who we are, even and especially the stuff that’s weird about us.  This frees us up to do more great work and to not be so attached to the outcome.

 

Quotes

“I’d rather be whole than be good.”- Carl Jung

“When you argue with reality, you lose, but only 100% of the time.” - Byron Katie

“Take my advice. I’m not using it.” - David J. Henderhan

 

Resources:

Mike Robbins Website

Mike Robbins on Facebook

Mike Robbins on Twitter

Mike Robbins Speaker Page

Box of Crayons

Michael Bungay Stanier Books