ConceptsNest

   Close your eyes and imagine yourself standing in front of a towering wall with small, colourful pegs scattered along the structure. Around your waist is a snug harness, and you begin to scale the wall, one step at a time, climbing higher and higher. Every move you make is methodical, forcing you to think with your body as much as your brain. There are mental health benefits of rock climbing that exceed the physical ones, and we don’t necessarily have to be a master of the sport to reap them. Leadership can be learned anywhere. Reflecting back on rock-climbing sessions, we realized how much this experience can be a metaphor for leadership experiences. Rock climbing offers many opportunities for personal and professional development.   1. Collaboration and Differing Perspectives: . . . -> Climbing is solitary, yet highly collaborative in nature. To climb safely, you must have someone to belay and/or spot you, meaning you are always part of a team. Active encouragement and coa

  Do we like someone more if they stand closer to us? Imagine we are the only person in an elevator when the door opens and someone walks in and stands right next to us.  Uncomfortable is likely an understatement to describe how we would feel.  But are there other circumstances in which a stranger can get that close to us and elicit not alarm bells of warning, but feelings of warmth?  According to research, the answer is yes. In today’s world, we are mindful of social distance expectations , whether cultural, social, or preventive post-pandemic.  We are also aware of personal boundaries , and the reality that different people have different comfort zones, and do not appreciate “space invaders.”  Yet in some situations, it appears that proximity can have a positive effect on first impressions, quality of interaction, and even generosity .  Research demonstrates that closer physical distance increases compliance with a request from a stranger on the street.  Many of us are familiar