Sneak Peek
On TIGNUM’s B-LD KITCHEN Hub, our world-class Performance Specialists share their latest insights on human performance and discuss real-life experiences and best practices with industry leaders.
Here is a limited selection for you to explore:
Redefining What it Means to be Human
Discover Deb Bubb's journey from HR leader to founder of The Institute for Moral Imagination, where she uses creativity and neuroscience to enhance professional and personal growth.
Project: The Institute for Moral Imagination
B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member: Deb Bubb
Deb is a trailblazer in the human resources realm, celebrated for infusing genuine humanity back into the corporate world. Respected for her deep experience in leadership development and talent management within the tech industry, she's held influential positions at UnitedHealth Group, Optum, IBM, and Intel—steering the course of leadership, diversity, talent management, and organizational vitality.
Deb's approach is unique. Throughout her career, she's turned to the fascinating insights of neuroscience and evolutionary biology to deepen our understanding of what it truly means to be human – and how that humanity plays a critical role in our professional performance. She's dedicated to the premise that art and creative self-expression are fundamental to our human experience, shaping our understanding of the world and ourselves.
This insight led her to a profound question: How might we leverage our innate creativity to envision and build the future we aspire to?
So, Deb founded The Institute for Moral Imagination. Centered on the idea that every life is a creative act, the Institute is dedicated to nurturing the artist within us and deepening our moral clarity, imagination, and courage to create a world where we can all flourish. The Institute is a generative resource to build a world where our workplaces, communities, and day-to-day lives are a canvas for creative and moral thought—a future shaped by a collective humanity.
“We're being saturated today with messages and experiences that come out of an echo chamber and keep us in a narrower and narrower slice of our brain. Art and creativity invite us to experience and use all of our brains, many different ways that our brains are designed, to sense and experience the world.”
Deb Bubb, B-LD KITCHEN Founding Member and
Co-Founder of the Institute for Moral Imagination
CEO of the kyu collective, Michael Birkin, co-founder of SYPartners, Keith Yamashita, and Deb are undertaking a powerful initiative cut from the same cloth.
The movement is called “20 Summers” and asks: If you had 20 good summers left, how would you live your life? The effort has two major offerings:
1) A group-based, in-person set of experiences where we work with people in “cohorts” to plan for and flourish throughout their next twenty years and
2) An online and digital platform designed to serve millions with tools, experiences, and learning solutions to facilitate their growth and development into elderhood
Through 20 Summers, the team hopes to:
- Help people explore, reckon, and contend with the life they have built so far—taking the best elements of their life and building a new collage
- Forge new mindsets and beliefs that will sustain people through their elderhood—this often means reshaping one’s identity, self-image, self- esteem, and relationships within groups
- Help people define their purpose, direction, and approach
- Unleash people to experiment, practice, and build new rituals to create this preferred future and life
Deb is embracing a new chapter, moving beyond the corporate sphere to wholeheartedly devote herself to The Institute for Moral Imagination and 20 Summers. Her journey and this significant transition were the focal points of her B-LD KITCHEN Roundtable session, which marked the first time she spoke openly about her shift in focus.
The exchange she had with other members wasn’t just informative—it was a galvanizing experience that reinforced her conviction in the Institute’s mission. This kind of exchange is precisely what the B-LD KITCHEN aims to foster: an environment where dialogue ignites innovation and emboldens the kind of thinking that leads to breakthroughs.
“We can only answer questions we have the courage to ask.”
Keith Yamashita, co-founder of 20 Summers
ABOUT TIGNUM’S B-LD KITCHEN
Ever wondered how top performers reach success? It’s not luck; it’s their boldness and constant readiness to face challenges in a complex, uncertain, and volatile world.
We get it—nowadays it’s tough to stay on top of things without the right energy or tools. That’s why our TIGNUM experts have created the B-LD KITCHEN. Packed with constant inspiration, ongoing conversations, and expert-designed human performance tools and strategies, we aim to significantly impact your work and life, no matter the challenges.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact.
Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Leveraging Imposter Syndrome
Imposter syndrome is a universal human experience, yet it's consistently associated with exhaustion, fear, freezing, and even burnout. This TIGNUM Thought teaches you how to reframe imposter syndrome to use it as a catalyst for growth.
Imposter Syndrome. Just the name alone sounds like something to avoid and something that might make you wind up in the hospital or worse. Much of what you may have read or heard paints it in a negative light. It’s been linked to exhaustion, fear, freezing, and, most recently, burnout. It also seems like now, even if someone feels just a tiny bit nervous before doing a big task, they label it “Imposter Syndrome.” The irony is that Imposter Syndrome is probably one of the most universal experiences humans share and one of the most misunderstood.
Perhaps it was showing up to a new school on the first day, your first “real” job, getting a promotion, or even being chosen to lead a critical project. The feelings of Imposter Syndrome are pretty universal. You feel nervous, anxious, apprehensive, and maybe even full of dread. Your thoughts may ruminate around “not being good enough,” “being inadequate,” and even “what if they find out I’m not smart/good enough for this role?” While these thoughts can be a recipe for poor performance, feeling Imposter Syndrome doesn’t guarantee you’ll do poorly, nor does it mean you aren’t ready. In fact, at TIGNUM, we believe that Imposter Syndrome can actually be quite useful, help you learn more, and become even more impactful in your new venture. How do you do this? It’s simple - embrace it.
Imposter Syndrome naturally comes with embarking on a great journey
The interesting thing about Imposter Syndrome is that it often occurs when you go through a significant transition or transformation period. It rarely flares up when things are going easy and when you're facing the mundane daily. It happens when there is change - change in you. You may often read that you need to “avoid Imposter Syndrome” or "use these tips not to feel that way." To be honest, if you never felt Imposter Syndrome, it meant you weren’t growing, challenging yourself, or evolving as a person. For that reason, we think that Imposter Syndrome isn’t a sign of bad things to come; we believe it’s the first sign of great things.
If you’re feeling challenged by a new role, it means that someone believed you were strong enough to do it. Embrace the discomfort of growth. If you feel inadequate in your experience or knowledge, it means you have an opportunity to learn so much more. Embrace the discomfort of not knowing. Try to reframe your original thoughts or feelings toward celebrating the new opportunity you’ve earned or thinking of how much you’ll grow as a result of this new venture.
Turn the discomfort of leaving your comfort zone into curiousity
Another amazing way to leverage Imposter Syndrome is to use it to unlock your curiosity. When you feel surrounded by uncertainty, use it as a trigger to ask more questions. Research has found that when faced with uncertainty, the brain becomes more vigilant in looking for new information. The problem is many of us don’t leverage this because we are too busy distracting ourselves with how nervous or inadequate we feel. But, if we lean into the brain's default solution to find new information, it enhances our situational awareness and helps us process more information, create clarity, and find solutions. Recent research even shows that when you learn something new, there is a dopamine release in the brain, giving you excitement and satisfaction. When you feel the discomfort of Imposter Syndrome, let that be the alarm bell to look around and start asking questions and flex your curiosity.
A universal truth on Imposter Syndrome
Finally, one thing that will, without a doubt, cause your Imposter Syndrome to feel worse and even reoccur is fatigue. There is a reciprocal relationship where Imposter Syndrome can cause emotional fatigue, but feeling fatigued can also amplify the feelings of Imposter Syndrome. The emotions and brain power required to go through a transition, learn new things, and grow as an individual will already be fatiguing. The last thing you want to do is compound it all by not strategically practicing recovery. Going through a transition or starting something new is an excellent opportunity to double down on your recovery strategies or establish new behaviors. Making sleep a priority, moving more, choosing brain-boosting meals, and practicing breathing techniques can give your body the extra energy it needs to navigate through this period of transformation.
So, the next time you feel uneasy with a new challenge, don't fear that you may have Impostor Syndrome. Instead, embrace it and all of the great things it can generate.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Brian Wade // Chief Performance Officer
Brian is the Head of Research and Development and a Senior Performance Specialist for TIGNUM. He is responsible for keeping TIGNUM content and methodology cutting edge and science-based. He is an experienced Sustainable Human Performance coach to many top senior executives, professional athletes, and special operations troops. Brian’s professional past includes supporting the US Army Special Forces cognitive performance program.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.
Growing on the go
Too often we think the limiting factor to our personal growth is time. In reality, the more experiences we encounter, the more opportunities we have to learn.
Time is a precious commodity – and I think we all feel at one point or another that we don’t have enough time. This is especially true in our busy business world, where we’re pulled in many directions every day. We’re asked to put out fires that have sparked overnight, then pulled in many unexpected directions while managing our normal workload, and then we’re working hard to innovate and create the new ideas of tomorrow. This can cause us to feel guilty for not having enough time for our own personal growth. At best, we may try to squeeze in a podcast or read the latest journal article, but often this only adds to an already overwhelmed brain. So, how do we find the time to reflect and grow?
Reflection turns our days into lessons
Recently, a client shared with me a unique way to effortlessly squeeze in some reflection time so he could ‘grow on the go’. Instead of always feeling the compulsion for taking in more information, could he experience growth by simply reflecting on the valuable, yet often overlooked, lessons within his chaotic days? He shared with me a practice that he called ‘Red Light Reflection’. He said, “I use red lights as a trigger to switch my brain into reflection mode. This is where I quickly reflect on the successes and challenges of my day’s events, my newest learnings, and the feelings I am experiencing. During my 50-minute commute, I can get many of these short but helpful reflection moments.”
Is a red light magical? No. But it is a trigger and a consistent, 3-minute break that we get during a commute. Where else can we find such a reminder to simply reflect? Perhaps during our morning coffee, or taking our dog for a walk. Maybe it’s waiting in line for a meal, or sitting while waiting for an appointment. So often we get dragged back to our iPhone, that computer in our pocket that keeps us handcuffed to work, and we overlook these short, yet powerful, moments where we can reflect and grow.
It only takes a moment to grow
Too often we think the limiting factor to our personal growth is time. In reality, the more experiences we encounter, the more opportunities we have to learn. This, of course, requires that we capture that special moment before life’s clutter invades our reflection space.
In a world of volatility, it’s often in these quiet moments of reflection that we most consistently give ourselves the necessary time and space to develop our mindset skills, challenge our biases, refine our character, and reframe the dramas of the day. It’s in these moments that we effectively ‘grow on the go’.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Chris Males // Managing Director, Americas and APAC
As TIGNUM's Managing Director of the Americas and APAC, Chris is an experienced Sustainable Human Performance coach to many CEO’s, C-suite executives, and professional athletes. In 2020, Chris was inducted into the MG100 Coaches program, an organization of some the best executive coaches, leaders and business thinkers from around the world.
ABOUT TIGNUM
TIGNUM is the major performance building block for business professionals, designed around a skill- and data-based approach that respects the individuality, focuses on the brain, evolves constantly, and creates lasting impact. Its international team comes from a wide range of fields, including human behavior, elite athletics, special forces, performance medicine, executive coaching, change consultants, and more.