Stephanie DeSouza

Organizations invest significantly in burnout prevention, leadership development, and culture initiatives. There is one foundational factor quietly shaping the effectiveness of all of them — and it rarely appears in the HR agenda. Burnout. Retention. Productivity. Leadership Effectiveness. Workplace Culture. These topics dominate HR conversations, and rightly so. Organizations pour significant resources into wellness programs, communication training, and management develop

Let me set the scene. There is a cereal box on my kitchen counter. It has been there for six business days. It appears to be thriving. I have begun to suspect it has signed a lease. I see it every single time I walk into the room. My partner — a brilliant, thoughtful, deeply caring person — does not. Not metaphorically. Not emotionally. Literally. His brain has filed that cereal box under "not relevant to current task" and moved on with its life. Here's what makes this intere