Silphium Collective
@silphiumcollective.bsky.social
One of my favorite questions to ask a team is: "What does this season actually give you?"
Not what does it prevent you from doing. What does it make possible?
Not what does it prevent you from doing. What does it make possible?
September 16, 2026 at 3:17 PM
One of my favorite questions to ask a team is: "What does this season actually give you?"
Not what does it prevent you from doing. What does it make possible?
Not what does it prevent you from doing. What does it make possible?
A change initiative can be perfectly reasonable and still fail because you launched it at the wrong time.
The problem isn't necessarily the plan. It might be the season your team is in.
The problem isn't necessarily the plan. It might be the season your team is in.
September 15, 2026 at 4:09 PM
A change initiative can be perfectly reasonable and still fail because you launched it at the wrong time.
The problem isn't necessarily the plan. It might be the season your team is in.
The problem isn't necessarily the plan. It might be the season your team is in.
I have been thinking a lot about the stories we tell ourselves. The ones that quietly shape how we interpret criticism, conflict, relationships, and our own behavior.
September 9, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I have been thinking a lot about the stories we tell ourselves. The ones that quietly shape how we interpret criticism, conflict, relationships, and our own behavior.
A lot of the teams we work with are tired right now. Not "I need a long weekend" tired. The kind of tired that starts changing how people communicate, make decisions, and show up for one another.
September 8, 2026 at 3:03 PM
A lot of the teams we work with are tired right now. Not "I need a long weekend" tired. The kind of tired that starts changing how people communicate, make decisions, and show up for one another.
A leadership ritual I have been recommending lately:
Take a walk on Thursday afternoon and record a voice memo for your team.
That's it.
No slides. No template. No meeting.
Take a walk on Thursday afternoon and record a voice memo for your team.
That's it.
No slides. No template. No meeting.
September 2, 2026 at 3:03 PM
A leadership ritual I have been recommending lately:
Take a walk on Thursday afternoon and record a voice memo for your team.
That's it.
No slides. No template. No meeting.
Take a walk on Thursday afternoon and record a voice memo for your team.
That's it.
No slides. No template. No meeting.
I keep noticing the same thing with overwhelmed leadership teams:
Communication starts disappearing.
Not because leaders don't care. Often because they are exhausted and have 47 things competing for their attention.
Communication starts disappearing.
Not because leaders don't care. Often because they are exhausted and have 47 things competing for their attention.
September 1, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I keep noticing the same thing with overwhelmed leadership teams:
Communication starts disappearing.
Not because leaders don't care. Often because they are exhausted and have 47 things competing for their attention.
Communication starts disappearing.
Not because leaders don't care. Often because they are exhausted and have 47 things competing for their attention.
A surprising amount of what gets called “poor performance” in the first few months of a job is actually a management problem.
The task wasn't clear.
The priority changed.
Nobody explained who could make the decision.
The task wasn't clear.
The priority changed.
Nobody explained who could make the decision.
August 26, 2026 at 3:02 PM
A surprising amount of what gets called “poor performance” in the first few months of a job is actually a management problem.
The task wasn't clear.
The priority changed.
Nobody explained who could make the decision.
The task wasn't clear.
The priority changed.
Nobody explained who could make the decision.
I found an old document recently titled “Separation Agreement.”
It brought me right back to the particular dread of helping a leader navigate the decision to let someone go.
There is no fun version of this.
It brought me right back to the particular dread of helping a leader navigate the decision to let someone go.
There is no fun version of this.
August 25, 2026 at 3:03 PM
I found an old document recently titled “Separation Agreement.”
It brought me right back to the particular dread of helping a leader navigate the decision to let someone go.
There is no fun version of this.
It brought me right back to the particular dread of helping a leader navigate the decision to let someone go.
There is no fun version of this.
Here's the AI question I actually care about:
What happens when a small, mission-driven team can access resources that used to require hours of consulting time, staff capacity, or a much bigger budget?
What happens when a small, mission-driven team can access resources that used to require hours of consulting time, staff capacity, or a much bigger budget?
August 19, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Here's the AI question I actually care about:
What happens when a small, mission-driven team can access resources that used to require hours of consulting time, staff capacity, or a much bigger budget?
What happens when a small, mission-driven team can access resources that used to require hours of consulting time, staff capacity, or a much bigger budget?
My feelings about AI are complicated.
I’m intrigued by what it can do. I’m wary of what it can do. I’m still trying to figure out what "AIs gone rogue" actually means.
A nuanced position! On the internet! How unusual.
I’m intrigued by what it can do. I’m wary of what it can do. I’m still trying to figure out what "AIs gone rogue" actually means.
A nuanced position! On the internet! How unusual.
August 18, 2026 at 3:06 PM
My feelings about AI are complicated.
I’m intrigued by what it can do. I’m wary of what it can do. I’m still trying to figure out what "AIs gone rogue" actually means.
A nuanced position! On the internet! How unusual.
I’m intrigued by what it can do. I’m wary of what it can do. I’m still trying to figure out what "AIs gone rogue" actually means.
A nuanced position! On the internet! How unusual.
Thinking about doing CliftonStrengths with your team?
We are big fans.
Silphium offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams from 4 to 100, and we can incorporate it into retreats, onboarding, team development, or whatever your organization needs right now.
We are big fans.
Silphium offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams from 4 to 100, and we can incorporate it into retreats, onboarding, team development, or whatever your organization needs right now.
August 12, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Thinking about doing CliftonStrengths with your team?
We are big fans.
Silphium offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams from 4 to 100, and we can incorporate it into retreats, onboarding, team development, or whatever your organization needs right now.
We are big fans.
Silphium offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams from 4 to 100, and we can incorporate it into retreats, onboarding, team development, or whatever your organization needs right now.
Hear ’ye, hear ’ye! 📣
Silphium Collective offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams of 4–100.
It’s one of our favorite tools for retreats, onboarding, and those moments when a team needs to understand itself a little better.
Silphium Collective offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams of 4–100.
It’s one of our favorite tools for retreats, onboarding, and those moments when a team needs to understand itself a little better.
August 11, 2026 at 3:03 PM
Hear ’ye, hear ’ye! 📣
Silphium Collective offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams of 4–100.
It’s one of our favorite tools for retreats, onboarding, and those moments when a team needs to understand itself a little better.
Silphium Collective offers CliftonStrengths administration for teams of 4–100.
It’s one of our favorite tools for retreats, onboarding, and those moments when a team needs to understand itself a little better.
Sometimes a client asks for a new project management system because they want more accountability.
That's usually not where the real work begins.
That's usually not where the real work begins.
August 6, 2026 at 2:03 PM
Sometimes a client asks for a new project management system because they want more accountability.
That's usually not where the real work begins.
That's usually not where the real work begins.
I grew up with two very different ideas about organization.
One parent loved order.
One insisted that mess wasn't a moral failing.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that.
One parent loved order.
One insisted that mess wasn't a moral failing.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that.
August 5, 2026 at 2:04 PM
I grew up with two very different ideas about organization.
One parent loved order.
One insisted that mess wasn't a moral failing.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that.
One parent loved order.
One insisted that mess wasn't a moral failing.
I've spent a lot of time thinking about that.
One question I ask during almost every organizational assessment:
How much uninterrupted time does each person actually have to do their work?
The answers are usually uncomfortable. (1/5)
How much uninterrupted time does each person actually have to do their work?
The answers are usually uncomfortable. (1/5)
July 29, 2026 at 3:02 PM
One question I ask during almost every organizational assessment:
How much uninterrupted time does each person actually have to do their work?
The answers are usually uncomfortable. (1/5)
How much uninterrupted time does each person actually have to do their work?
The answers are usually uncomfortable. (1/5)
One line from a Harvard Business Review article stopped me mid-scroll:
The best teams know when to work alone.
That felt like someone finally put words to what I've been seeing for years. (1/5)
The best teams know when to work alone.
That felt like someone finally put words to what I've been seeing for years. (1/5)
July 28, 2026 at 3:02 PM
One line from a Harvard Business Review article stopped me mid-scroll:
The best teams know when to work alone.
That felt like someone finally put words to what I've been seeing for years. (1/5)
The best teams know when to work alone.
That felt like someone finally put words to what I've been seeing for years. (1/5)
A team member compared organizational growth to tending plants. Some roots take months before you see even half an inch of progress. Quiet doesn't mean nothing is happening. Sometimes the most important work is the part you can't see yet.
July 22, 2026 at 4:03 PM
A team member compared organizational growth to tending plants. Some roots take months before you see even half an inch of progress. Quiet doesn't mean nothing is happening. Sometimes the most important work is the part you can't see yet.
There's a difference between knowing urgency isn't sustainable and having your body believe it. Many of us still feel guilty when work slows down. That's not failure. It's conditioning that takes time to unlearn.
July 21, 2026 at 4:02 PM
There's a difference between knowing urgency isn't sustainable and having your body believe it. Many of us still feel guilty when work slows down. That's not failure. It's conditioning that takes time to unlearn.
A handwritten list isn't a sign that someone needs a better system.
Sometimes it's evidence that they've already found one that fits how they think.
The real work is building support around it, not replacing it.
Sometimes it's evidence that they've already found one that fits how they think.
The real work is building support around it, not replacing it.
July 15, 2026 at 1:02 PM
A handwritten list isn't a sign that someone needs a better system.
Sometimes it's evidence that they've already found one that fits how they think.
The real work is building support around it, not replacing it.
Sometimes it's evidence that they've already found one that fits how they think.
The real work is building support around it, not replacing it.
One of the first things I tell clients is that we're system agnostic.
The best systems aren't the ones everyone else is using. They're the ones that fit how people actually think and work.
The best systems aren't the ones everyone else is using. They're the ones that fit how people actually think and work.
July 14, 2026 at 1:03 PM
One of the first things I tell clients is that we're system agnostic.
The best systems aren't the ones everyone else is using. They're the ones that fit how people actually think and work.
The best systems aren't the ones everyone else is using. They're the ones that fit how people actually think and work.
I've learned that specificity is one of the healthiest habits a team can
build.
It's easy to label a problem.
It's much harder, and much more useful, to name the thing itself.
That's where real conversations begin.
build.
It's easy to label a problem.
It's much harder, and much more useful, to name the thing itself.
That's where real conversations begin.
July 8, 2026 at 1:04 PM
I've learned that specificity is one of the healthiest habits a team can
build.
It's easy to label a problem.
It's much harder, and much more useful, to name the thing itself.
That's where real conversations begin.
build.
It's easy to label a problem.
It's much harder, and much more useful, to name the thing itself.
That's where real conversations begin.
Two words come up in almost every culture engagement I lead: transparency and accountability.
They're important words. They're also some of the easiest to misunderstand.
The conversation gets better when we're clear about what we actually mean.
They're important words. They're also some of the easiest to misunderstand.
The conversation gets better when we're clear about what we actually mean.
July 7, 2026 at 1:08 PM
Two words come up in almost every culture engagement I lead: transparency and accountability.
They're important words. They're also some of the easiest to misunderstand.
The conversation gets better when we're clear about what we actually mean.
They're important words. They're also some of the easiest to misunderstand.
The conversation gets better when we're clear about what we actually mean.
These days, every client engagement starts with questions, not solutions.
What's working? What keeps breaking? What isn't being said?
The gap between the presenting problem and the real problem is almost always where the work begins.
What's working? What keeps breaking? What isn't being said?
The gap between the presenting problem and the real problem is almost always where the work begins.
July 1, 2026 at 1:02 PM
These days, every client engagement starts with questions, not solutions.
What's working? What keeps breaking? What isn't being said?
The gap between the presenting problem and the real problem is almost always where the work begins.
What's working? What keeps breaking? What isn't being said?
The gap between the presenting problem and the real problem is almost always where the work begins.
One of the biggest mistakes I made as a new consultant was believing the first problem I heard.
It took me years to learn that the problem people describe and the problem they're actually living with are rarely the same.
It took me years to learn that the problem people describe and the problem they're actually living with are rarely the same.
June 30, 2026 at 1:02 PM
One of the biggest mistakes I made as a new consultant was believing the first problem I heard.
It took me years to learn that the problem people describe and the problem they're actually living with are rarely the same.
It took me years to learn that the problem people describe and the problem they're actually living with are rarely the same.
When I started Silphium, I made a simple decision: I would only work with leaders who wanted to change, not leaders looking for someone to absorb the cost of staying the same.
I'm less interested in fixing dysfunction than helping people build something better.
I'm less interested in fixing dysfunction than helping people build something better.
June 24, 2026 at 1:02 PM
When I started Silphium, I made a simple decision: I would only work with leaders who wanted to change, not leaders looking for someone to absorb the cost of staying the same.
I'm less interested in fixing dysfunction than helping people build something better.
I'm less interested in fixing dysfunction than helping people build something better.