Words to Lead By – Michelle McQuaid

Michelle McQuaid best-selling author, workplace wellbeing teacher and playful change activator and our featured interview in the next issue of People & Purpose. Here sheshares the best piece of advice she received:

“Every action we take is preceded by a question” –Professor David Cooperridersaid. It was my wake-up call to start tuning in to “What are the questions that are actually shaping the actions we take?” The second thing he said is that in particular:

“It’s the questions that look for the true, the good, and the possible that enable us to more consistently flourish.”

A lot of my questions were focused on what wasn’t working and not too often was I looking for the true, the good, and the possible, and learning to ask those kind of questions. The third thing he said: “Behindevery cynic is an unexpressed hope.”Every time somebody argued with new ideas or wanted to pull them apart it was my a-ha moment to go, “Okay. Behind all of this there’s an unexpressed hope and if I can find that hope maybe we’re not that far apart.” That was the case almost every single time, and it meant that my cynics often became my greatest supporters, and it made it much easier to introduce those ideas into workplaces.

Find out more about MichelleMcQuaid, her work and advice for leaders in our next issue.