Using data storytelling to disrupt white supremacy culture

To say that when I first saw the 13 characteristics of white supremacy culture it was a major lightbulb moment for me is putting it too lightly. Sure, it made me uncomfortable to look at where white supremacy runs rampant in my life, and it made me even more anxious to think about talking about that more publicly. But, as always, my values won out. I realized all the potential good that might come of sharing about how data storytelling in particular is arrested by these cultural norms and simultaneously is equipped to disrupt them . . .

DataCommunicationLydia HooperJanuary 21, 2019Comment

Choosing a Liberating Hope

As I think back on this year, one of the things that comes to mind is how many times I’ve heard people say “I’m finding it hard to stay hopeful.” Hearing this so much has led me to give some considerable thought to what keeps me hopeful. I feel like when I hear others talk about hope, they think of it as a result of external circumstance, like the news or something is supposed to make them hopeful or is the reason they are not. However, I think it’s strictly an internal attitude and experience…

CreativityLydia HooperDecember 16, 2018Comment

Transforming Conflict into Connection

I have observed over the years that there are three things that groups struggle with as they seek to work together: confusion, lack of contribution, and conflict. I have also observed that of these three, conflict seems to be the least understood and the least addressed. Since it also often plays a role in the other two, it definitely warrants deeper reflection and practice. In many ways, I’ve been a student of conflict my whole life and my relationship to it has been sorted to say the least…

CollaborationLydia HooperNovember 18, 2018Comment

Redesign: What it really means

Our world is changing so fast, yet we seem to be stuck in old habits. Unfortunately our communication “defaults” often create more confusion. I use the process of design thinking, a cyclical process that is anchored in connecting with audiences and making clear decisions, to pivot quickly, both for myself and for those I serve. I’ve found communication and clarity are both processes that run in tandem with one another and have no end.

CreativityLydia HooperOctober 21, 2018Comment

3 ways to motivate and serve others

Living in America today most of us are blessed with both the remarkable ability to meet our many needs and the incredible gift of being able to choose how we do so. Yet with a plethora of sources of information, products, and services to choose from, it’s also never been more confusing. How do we choose to get our needs met? Study and experience have taught me that there are three basic motivations we have, three reasons we make the choices we do.

DataCommunication, CreativityLydia HooperSeptember 15, 2018Comment

Inspiring wise action: Practices for storytellers of all kinds

I feel so blessed to have received both an appetite for learning and a compulsion to share, and in this spirit of gratitude, I want not only to share this story, my story, with you, but also some useful ideas for how you might practice raising your hand and saying something important. I've broken my tips down in a simple way that speaks to both the scientifically and the creatively inclined.

DataCommunication, CreativityLydia HooperAugust 20, 2018 Comment

6 ways to collaborate with so-called "competitors"

As a consultant with a passion for collaboration, I’d like to think I’m somewhat cured of the antiquated notion of competition. We are not playing a “zero sum” game as we often unconsciously believe. Individual identity doesn’t matter nearly so much as the connections we create with one another. I believe that when we ally with those who are our most unlikely allies, it can fuel our creativity in unimaginable ways. Here are some ways I have partnered with those whom I choose not to think of as competitors but rather more like “co-players.”

CollaborationLydia HooperJuly 16, 2018Comment

Putting "I" back in "team": What I learned from my transition from entrepreneurship to intrapreneurship

Since grade school we’ve been taught to fit in, to conform AND to be exceptional, to win the competition - and it has become overwhelmingly obvious that these oppositional goals aren’t working for us. So many of us are aching to “abandon ship” because organizations are too demanding and those of us who indeed launch out on our own quickly find ourselves faced with at the very least burnout and at the very worst deep loneliness. In this article, I share with you some of the ups and downs of my own journey of discovering this deeply rooted problem and developing some possible solutions.

Collaboration, CreativityLydia HooperJune 24, 2018 Comments

Telling Stories with Data: Dos and Don'ts for Beginners and Experts

Nowadays, we all seem to be swimming in endless data and information. This can present exciting opportunities to understand our work and its impact more deeply. It also means that if we want to help others understand, we need to be able to share data and information in ways that truly cut through the noise. Here are some dos and don'ts to keep in mind as you create game-changing data stories.

DataCommunicationLydia HooperMay 29, 2018 Comment

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