Index to Blog Posts:
Dear Blog Followers:
If you are relatively new to my blog, this index shows the currently-posted professional and personal blog posts for your reference. For some reason, I felt it useful to provide a short description of the professional topics, but not the personal ones. Each entry indicates how many minutes it takes to read the post.
​
Every now and then someone says “Why don’t you make a book of your blog?” Since I’m not currently inclined to do that, perhaps you could consider this list the "table of contents" of that hypothetical book. As of the end of April 2021, I have stopped adding to the professional topic posts. I think most of what I may have to say is already here.
​
Thank you for reading; let me know if you want to be taken off the list at any time, and please send any feedback that you think might guide my future posts.
Best regards,
Marisa Guerin, Ph.D.
​
Blog Posts - Personal Reflections
Posts about my activities, reading, and interests.
Contents as of 04-10-24
​
April 10, 2024
3 min read
King - A New Book, A Complex Life
Feb 5, 2024
7 min read
Dec 15, 2023
12 min read
Oct 18, 2023
10 min read
Sept 8 - 16: A Week of Posts on the Wisdom of St. Therese of Lisieux
​
July 7, 2023
5 min read
Is Black History an Endangered Species?
February 2, 2023
4 min read
​
The Evolution of a Wife
October 17, 2022
5 min read
​
On Being a Catholic Who is Both Pro-Life and Pro-Choice
June 26, 2022
6 min read
​
April 25, 2022
4 min read including the recipe
April 19, 2022
3 min read
New Year 2022 and Cranberry Walnut Bread
Jan 1, 2022
5 min read
The Centenary of My Mother's Birth
Nov 23, 2021
6 min read
Can I Have a Nonviolent Relationship with Cancer?
Oct 26, 2021
9 min read
Oct 12, 2021
3 min read
Oct 5, 2021
5 min read
Sept 28, 2021
4 min read
​
Sept 7, 2021
5 min read
Aug 26, 2021
3 min read
Aug 18, 2021
4 min read
​
Aug 9, 2021
4 min read
​
July 23, 2021
4 min read
​
Handle with Care: Virtual Fragility
July 20, 2021
5 min read
​
July 12, 2021
8 min read
June 29, 2021
4 min read
​
June 22, 2021
3 min read
​
Is it time for Briar Rose to Awaken?
June 16, 2021
5 min read
​
June 8, 2021
4 min read
​
Women, Vulnerability, Intimacy
June 1, 2021
5 min read
May 24, 2021
7 min read
May 18, 2021
3 min read
On Whose Terms Do We Love Others?
May 11, 2021
6 min read
May 3, 2021
4 min read
April 27, 2021
4 min read
April 14, 2021
5 min read
​
March 21, 2021
6 min read
Time to Bake Irish Brown Bread
March 10, 2021
3 min read
The Damage Done: Perfectionism
March 2, 2021
5 min read
February 9, 2021
4 min read
Spiritual Blindness in White Privilege
January 26, 2021
3 min read
Champagne and the Depressive Position
January 19, 2021
4 min read
​
January 12, 2021
3 min read
January 5, 2021
3 min read
​
Trying Not to Take Things Personally
October 29, 2020
5 min read
​
September 15, 2020
2 min read
​
Three Gold Rings: "Yes, I Do, I Will"
April 30, 2020
4 min read
My Kitchen, My Laptop, My Rosary
March 31, 2020
3 min read
January 20, 2020
7 min read
​
December 11, 2019
2 min read
​
October 21, 2019
3 min read
​
September 16, 2019
6 min read
Love is Hidden in the Ordinary
May 1, 2019
3 min read
​
March 25, 2019
3 min read
​
Thoughts about Mystical Experience
March 19, 2019
7 min read
March 2, 2019
6 min read
December 17, 2018
3 min read
The Mark of Maturity: Autonomy or Relatedness?
December 14, 2018
4 min read
​
November 5, 2018
3 min read
​
October 15, 2018
4 min read
Politics, Power, Gender...and Compassion
September 29, 2018
5 min read
​
Books, and the Search for Perspective
August 28, 2018
7 min read
​
My Discovery: Loneliness ≠ Alone
August 8, 2018
3 min read
The White Gaze and Unconscious Privilege
July 19, 2018
6 min read
​
The Sheltering Embrace of Community
July 1, 2018
2 min rea
I Guess Every Day Can't Be Saturday
May 29, 2018
4 min read
May 15, 2018
4 min read
April 26, 2018
3 min read
What's the Opposite of a Romantic?
April 9, 2018
4 min read
March 25, 2018
2 min read
Irish Brown Bread and the Alchemy of Time
March 15, 2018
3 min read
Every 50 years? Mourning and Activism
February 26, 2018
5 min read
February 12, 2018
3 min read
February 7, 2018
1 min read
Let's Listen for "The Second Music"
January 19, 2018
2 min read
From Office to Hearth...This Woman's Retirement
January 19, 2018
3 min read
These times call for resilience
January 16, 2018
1 min read
What I'm Reading on the Kindle
January 11, 2018
2 min read
​
Blog Posts - Professional Topics
Posts related to consultation practice, leadership skills, and organization dynamics.
Contents as of 10-17-22 ;
​
The Blue Tent: When Medicine Must be Violent
Feb 15, 2022
5 min read
How Organization Design Impacts Patient Experience
Jan 7, 2022
13 min read
When History Changes Organizations
Apr. 7, 2021 - Organizational roles have their own histories, changing over time. The pandemic has accelerated this process, driving shifts in the structures, capabilities, and priorities of many institutions and their key roles
7 min read
Mar. 30, 2021 - Loss puts organizational ordinariness into perspective; and it also reminds us of the healing power in the daily and normal activities of life.
4 min read
​
The Power of Organization Design
Mar. 16, 2021 - Organizations are mysterious to some, but the impact of an organizational system on behavior is very powerful, and worth understanding.
5 min read
Types of Consulting: A Short Glossary
Feb. 23, 2021 -- Finding the right help can be confusing. One helpful model distinguishes three consulting roles; another describes three levels of intervention.
5 min read
Feb. 16, 2021 -- Sometimes our roles require us to speak truth to power. Are we properly prepared to take that risk? The paradox is that it is well worth it.
5 min read
Accountability and Office Tools
Feb. 2, 2021 -- Agendas, calendars, and budgets are not just workhorse tools of any organization, but also indicators of our values and accountabilities.
3 min read
Between A Rock and A Hard Place
Nov. 11, 2020 -- When leaders are stuck between two difficult realities, sometimes the choice for courage and honesty dissolves the paralysis.
6 min read
​
Oct. 5, 2020 -- It may seem that meetings are usually a waste of time, but in fact they are the essence of human collaboration, the way that individuals, collectively, make the world.
5 min read
​
Time for a No Fault Divorce from Your Strategic Plan?
Sept. 22, 2020 -- Pandemic crises must be survived first, but then it is time to re-think the fundamentals of the organization's strategy and value proposition.
5 min read
​
Hidden Motives for Strategic Plans
Nov. 7, 2019 -- Strategic planning often carries the weight of unspoken concerns about the organization or the leadership. There can be more to the initial statement “We need a strategic plan” than meets the eye.
4 min read
Is That Issue Too Hot to Handle?
Sept 6, 2019 -- In society, we learn from our cultural surroundings how to handle controversial topics. But in the workplace, leaders must have a toolkit for enabling their teams to take on tough issues that may feel too hot to handle -- or maybe not hot enough.
6 min read
Feb 16, 2019 -- Whether it's designing just the right way to have people introduce themselves in a working group, or facilitating an exercise to reveal the depth of network connection your Board has, this post emphasizes the importance of making good use of the resource represented by the people in the room.
6 min read
Joy and Pain - Good Bosses, Mentors, and Leaders
Jan 2, 2019 -- Mentoring is a tremendous gift and important to pass along when one is seasoned. The leader-follower bond is more complex and carries the potential for disappointment and betrayal. Whether that is tolerable or not may depend on the larger mission that holds - or fails to hold - the leader and follower together.
6 min read
The Leader's "Invisible Mummer's Costume"
Nov 24, 2018 -- Assuming a role of power or influence in an organization changes the perceptions and reactions of others, even if the leader is unaware of or reluctant to recognize this inevitable effect; best to know the difference between self and "costume".
5 min read
​
Oct 24, 2018 -- Organizational boundaries both separate and connect -- and the work of leaders is to define, calibrate, and integrate across the boundaries for which they are responsible.
7 min read
SWOT is More Potent Than You Think
Oct 4, 2018 -- The common strategic planning tool known as SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is often under-powered. This post addresses the most effective use of SWOT for competitive analysis.
5 min read
​
Sept 9, 2018 -- A role biography is the narrative that emerges when we examine how our past experiences of "work roles" in family, schooling, and career have unconsciously shaped our present ways of interacting as leaders and members of systems. It is an invaluable tool for team development and organizational role analysis.
5 min read
​
July 31, 2018 -- When groups that value unity have to make decisions that are complex and emotional, they have various options for how to proceed. This post outlines the benefits and limitations of the most common methods of group decision making.
6 min read
​
Aggressive, Wimpy, or Assertive?
July 11, 2018 -- It turns out to be very difficult to over-correct if you are working on being less accommodating or less domineering in conflict resolution situations. Either effort will land you right in the effective middle: firm assertiveness that is open to and respectful of the other.
5 min read
​
Surviving Your Career: How to Run with the Bulls
July 2, 2018 -- Running with the bulls is a good metaphor for the "extreme jobs" phase of ones' career. The wisdom of the natives of Pamplona offers a lesson in how to survive.
3 min read
​
The Value in 'Plain Vanilla' Methods
May 23, 2018 -- Many group process techniques have brand names and specialized methodologies. But they can be seductive - used to deflect, not engage, with the real work. Use them when they're suitable, but be just as willing to use "plain vanilla" processes that facilitate challenging work without distraction.
7 min read
​
Primary Task: The "North Star" of Teamwork
May 4, 2018 -- "Team-building" is a meaningful activity for nonprofit and business organizations that value collaboration. Tapping a common anchor point -- a shared purpose to which all are committed -- sets a more reliable and fair framework for team-building than starting with personal relationships.
4 min read
​
April 20, 2018 -- Complex decisions require a process of deliberation that has predictable phases - first expanding knowledge and options, then converging to action.
5 min read
​
Paradox: "Negative Capability" is a Very Good Thing
April 3, 2018 -- Negative Capability, a term first coined by the poet Keats, is the capacity to NOT react, to tolerate ambiguity, to bear anxiety without impulsively acting to disperse the tension. It's a key form of emotional intelligence for leaders.
3 min read
​
What Is “Good Enough” Authority?
March 25, 2018 -- “Authorization” is the dynamic of enacted authority. "Good-enough" authorization has three elements: formal role authority, respected authority, and inner authority. Each can be compromised; leaders serve best when all three are present.
5 min read
​
Resisting the Tyranny of Inclusion in Organizations
March 5, 2018 -- It is possible to take inclusion and participation in decision making too far; a well-balanced organization appreciates the diversity of gifts and respects the different levels of responsibility and authority in a group. The posting explores the drivers of the tyranny of inclusion and the alternatives.
5 min read
​
Strategic Planning -- in Turbulent Environments
February 7, 2018 -- Strategic planning methods are not cast in stone - contemporary organizations in dynamic and conflicted environments may need some classical analysis, but they are likely to need creative futuring methods also.
3 min read
​
Understanding the Dynamics of Religious Leadership
February 5, 2018 -- Religious organization leaders often lack exposure to the helpful perspectives from human systems - especially the impact of structures, unconscious dynamics, and professional disciplines related to planning and change. This post describes a seminar that effectively addresses this gap.
4 min read
​
The Conversation Managers Avoid
January 29, 2018 -- There is no escaping the obligation to give performance feedback.
In this brief post, I’d like to suggest the power of personal values like courage, compassion, truth and respect as lifelines to managing this responsibility with integrity.
3 min read
​
January 16, 2018 -- Maintaining correct boundaries between the client and the consultant is a necessary and helpful discipline. This posting identifies how that can be distorted, and why it matters.
3 min read
​
​
​