Welcome, 2015
Time is a fantastic mystery. It might just be the mystery. Beginnings, on the other hand, are not as mysterious. More fun. And liberating.
And here we are in 2015! Did you make resolutions? Last year I resolved to make more emotionally intelligent New Year’s resolutions. Honestly, I’m not entirely sure that I have. But these resolutions are important to me nonetheless. Here they are:
- Don’t use the word ‘guy’, or ‘guys’, to refer to mixed gender groups,
- Don’t use the word ‘girl’ to refer to women,
- Don’t let myself fall into the conceptual trap that humans fall neatly into the gender binary.
Yes, yes, I’m admitting to having done these things in 2014. The impact of doing so, on friends, family and colleagues was real.
Number two is easy (easier) to succeed at (for me). However, both #1 and #3 are remarkably challenging. And I’m surprised how often I hear other people doing this too.
It’s not surprising to me that research has shown mixed-gender groups excel when caution, sometimes called “political correctness”, is exercised. To be clear, the teams excelled measurably in creativity, productivity, and profit-making.
And so I’m recommitting myself. Caring communication is an important way that we can signal to the people in our lives that we care about them. Here’s to being more precise, and less impactful, in 2015.
Happy New Year!
Don’t forget to check out Kim and David’s live Year in Review broadcast on Friday, January 16th, 9:30am (Pacific Standard Time).
Goodbye 2014.
