Help Reduce Stress and Ignite Well-Being With Our Weekly Newsletter, Create Your Values-Driven Life
6 Benefits from Being Unplugged
While there is a great deal of buzz about living “unplugged,” I’ll admit I’m more plugged in than I should be. Much of my work day is spent at a computer. Much of my time at home is spent continuing work. Some of the rest of my home time is spent watching programs on...
7 Habits to an Effective Conversation on Race
How to Use the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to Navigate Difficult Conversations on Race in the Workplace A recent Pew Research Center survey shows just how divided the views on race are among Americans. The topic of race is a difficult one to navigate...
Taming an Unhealthy Facebook Habit
After a chaotic first weekend with the new presidential administration, my stress and panic-induced Facebooking had reached a critical peak. In what must be 10 years of using Facebook, never before have my emotions, behavior, and well-being been so entwined with my...
Where Baltimore Leaders Go to Retreat
Discover the Best Solo Retreats for Rejuvenation Near Baltimore: Top Locations for Reflection and Relaxation I'm an extrovert and always thought I needed conversation and connection with others to thrive. I never yearned for alone time. And then I went on a solo...
An Introduction to an Introvert
Embracing Introversion: How to Thrive in a World That Favors Extroverts Throughout my childhood, I don't recall having more than one close friend at any given time; I just wasn't very good with people. I rarely found myself in any kind of group setting outside of...
The Power of Dialogue
Growing up I think I had the best of both worlds. I grew up in an environment where my parents and family instilled in me pride about my culture and heritage. Yet, I lived around people from all different backgrounds and faiths. It wasn’t until recently that I looked...
The Hope Generation
At the time of the election of Barack Obama, I was in 5th grade. My priorities included finishing my science project and daydreaming about life in middle school where teachers no longer walked you from class to class. My parents told me on election night in 2008 that...
Recycled Holiday Gifts
Embrace Eco-Friendly Gift-Giving: How to Start a Fun and Meaningful 'Recycled Holidays' Tradition It’s that time of year – holiday parties galore! White Elephants, Secret Santa, and perhaps even the expectation of buying holiday gifts for your whole tribe. Whether you...
10 Things to Avoid Doing to a Pregnant Colleague
Top 10 Things You Should Never Say or Do to a Pregnant Coworker: A Guide to Respectful Workplace Etiquette At some point in our lives almost all of us will work with a pregnant colleague, be a pregnant woman, or simply know a pregnant woman in a professional capacity....
When you Simply Can’t “Keep Politics Out of the Workplace”
Navigating Post-Election Emotions at Work: How to Support Your Colleagues and Foster Empathy Last night was a shock to many. But based on the numbers, was a great victory for more. And now it's November 9th and we all move forward regardless of your politics. People...
Leaning In, But Not Falling Over
Navigating Motherhood and Career: Lessons on Flexibility, Self-Discovery, and Postpartum Challenges I’m excited to join the team at SparkVision. I’m a mother of one, soon to be two, children and have over 10 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector. Like...
SparkVision’s Contributing Writers
Moving into our second year of business, there's specialized "workplace culture" territory we want to cover that we simply aren't - nor do we have the capacity to be - experts in. With incredible visionaries in our personal and professional tribe, we are proud to...
12 Personality Traits that Create Organizational Culture
Understanding Your Company’s Culture: Identifying Culture Keepers vs. Culture Killers I’m often asked, “How do we understand our company’s culture?” It’s a challenging question to answer because organizational culture isn’t completely tangible. It’s something you...
From Bangkok to Baltimore – SV Welcomes another Rockstar!
A few weeks ago I mistook a young woman for someone else and struck up a conversation with her at an event. Within minutes I was impressed by her ability to connect, curious nature and enthusiasm for life. I knew I wanted her involved in our work as soon as I saw the...
Mice to Millennials – Neuroscientist Joins SparkVision!
Cameron Pollock is the first full-time SparkVision employee and is joining us as the Director of Research. He came to us through the Baltimore Corps fellowship program and will be leading our "High Achieving Millennial Research Project" which is looking at the...
Future White House Staffer Joins SparkVision Team!
Two months ago a hard-working, curious, young woman reached out to me. "I'm interested to know how I can best prepare myself for the future " with regards to becoming a millennial specialist. My antenna shot straight up. I was immediately impressed by her initiative...
10 Ways to Find Inspiration – All Damn Day
10 Simple Ways to Find Inspiration in Everyday Life: Unlock Creativity with Daily Habits It’s easy to get into a routine where inspiration does not feel like it’s a part of your daily mix. I am certainly guilty of getting caught in the hamster wheel. It wasn’t until...
SparkVision’s Legit Year In Review
Being an entrepreneur is one of the sexiest things to be these days. People immediately associate you with characteristics like: innovative, driven and successful. All of these things are a nice image that I’m not trying to shake but that picture isn’t always so...
Collecting, Sharing and Connecting the Dots
How to Effectively Connect the Dots: A 3-Step Guide for Nonprofits to Engage Donors and Stakeholders “Connecting the dots” can be one of the biggest challenges for nonprofits and their external stakeholders. Without a clear connection between the organization’s work...
3 Steps to Develop a Following: Create a Crumb Trail
How to Create a Powerful Breadcrumb Trail: Engaging Your Audience Step by Step Remember the story of Hanzel and Gretel and the Gingerbread house? As a kid, I had a very strong association with the crumb trail they had created to help them find their way back home. I’d...
My Year of Yes
How Saying 'Yes' to Myself Transformed My Life: A Journey of Self-Discovery, Creativity, and Balance Exactly one year ago, I left my highly visible job at a large nonprofit to do something completely outside of my comfort zone. I decided to invest in myself and start...
If We Were All Olympians in our Workplace
The Emotional Connection That Binds All Olympians: Lessons for the Workplace I’ve never been a sports person, but the Olympics and all Olympians have always enamored me. It’s something about the superhuman people who dedicate their lives to being the best in the world...
Team Huddle – 10 Reasons to Have One at Your Next Event
Why Team Huddles Are Essential for Event Success: Building Connection, Collaboration, and Energy At some point in our lives, we’ve probably been asked to have a team huddle, listen to our coach’s best pep talk, and then “all hands in,” “GO TEAM!” Right? I wasn’t much...
Elevating the Voluntourism Experience
A new vacationing fad is sweeping over the lives of American millennials: VOLUNTOURISM. Voluntourism is defined as “a form of tourism in which travelers participate in some sort of voluntary work, typically for charity.” This brand of vacationing is highly appealing...
Baltimore’s Water Ballet: The Ultimate Culture Keepers
How Fluid Movement’s Synchronized Swimming Team Creates a Thriving Organizational Culture Through Connection, Humor, Feedback, and Enthusiasm This summer, on a bit of a whim, I freestyled my way into synchronized swimming with Fluid Movement – Baltimore City’s Water...
Listen for the Wind or It Will Knock You Over
Leadership Lessons from Nature: How Listening to Your Team Can Prevent Organizational Turbulence It’s a powerful experience to hear the wind coming up on you before it hits your body. My family’s ranch is on a gulch where the mountains create a ravine. Our cabin is at...
4 Classic Sayings that Kill Innovation
4 Common Sayings That Stifle Innovation and How to Replace Them for a More Creative Workplace Our language is filled with classic sayings that most of us are probably unaware of their origin or what they were originally intended to mean. Some have been around for so...
Best thing to Happen to us this Summer
SPARKVISION HAS OUR FIRST-EVER INTERN! And she's been crushing it here since May. Julia Brown reached out with the desire to soak up some on-the-job learning while she was home for the summer. We have an extra special relationship as I just so happened to babysit...
Event Experiences: 10 Questions to Elevate your Event
Transform Your Events into Unforgettable Experiences: Elevate Engagement and Impact Experiences shape our lives and develop our sense of self and community. When an organization truly understands the difference between typical events and meaningful experiences, it is...
Groups vs. Tribes
Transforming Groups into Purpose-Driven Tribes: A Proven Model for Engaging Young Professionals A few years ago, I designed and implemented a national best practice model for young professional engagement with the largest nonprofit in the world. At the time, it was...
Articles by Category
Our Weekly Newsletter Create Your Values-Driven Life
Create Your Values Driven Life, features unique ideas, common-sense reminders + inspiration to help you know and live your values.