Writing

To Become a Better Leader, Change the Way You See People

Zach-Mercurio-How-to-become-a-better-leader

When my second son was born, he didn’t open his eyes. The nurse told us it was normal; some newborns take longer to part their eyelids. Through excited and exhausted anxiety, I believed her. But by the third day, we hadn’t looked into Jaxon’s distinct green eyes. We started making appointments with specialists. Jax is … Read more

How to Ask More Meaningful Questions

Zach-Mercurio-Meaningful-Questions

Every day I picked my preschooler up from school and asked him the same question: “Hey, what did you do today?” Every day I got the same response: Silence. As a researcher, I’ve learned that the quality of the answers we get is usually proportionate to the quality of the questions we ask. I acknowledged … Read more

Filling The ‘Meaning Deficit:’​ Why Meaningful Work Will Be More Vital in a Post-COVID World

Meaningful-Work-Zach-Mercurio

As people “return to work” during the COVID-19 pandemic, employers should be ready to address a hidden issue: a meaning deficit. Historically, every significant disruption of how we work inflicted profound distress flamed by existential crises and the search for meaningfulness. At the height of the second Industrial Revolution, in 1897, sociologist David Émile Durkheim … Read more

The Science of Mattering: Why Feeling Significant Is So Significant

science-of-mattering-zach-mercurio

Think about the first time you realized you mattered. What happened? How did you feel? Chances are your moment of mattering impacted and moved you. Most likely, you felt important because of what someone else said or did. Feeling significant is a basic human desire and a critical factor for mental, emotional, and physical well-being in life, school, and … Read more