People don’t naturally embrace change, and for good reason: Change = Uncertainty = Fear People are used to the familiar. There’s a reason they call it “The Comfort Zone”. When you start forcing people away from the familiar, they can have a range of potential responses. Their reactions are influenced by your skill in leading … Read more
Do you have a blank wall somewhere at your office? Consider trying out this idea: Transform the blank wall into a Wall of Appreciation. It’s fairly common knowledge that being appreciated at work impacts a host of factors: retention, engagement, productivity and customer satisfaction. A few research examples: “The number-one reason most Americans leave their jobs is that … Read more
Do you have a blank wall somewhere at your office? Consider trying out this idea: Transform the blank wall into a Wall of Appreciation. It’s fairly common knowledge that being appreciated at work impacts a host of factors: retention, engagement, productivity and customer satisfaction. A few research examples: “The number-one reason most Americans leave their jobs is that … Read more
When’s the last time you were on your way to work and thought, “Today I want someone else’s life miserable!” Not likely. But maybe there’s someone at work (a boss, employee, vendor or customer) whose sole purpose on earth seems to be to make your life miserable.Just thinking about them can prompt a strong emotional … Read more
To lead and influence others, you need to communicate effectively. We explored this issue by first looking at Why Is Effective Communication So Difficult? The answer boils down to a lack of alignment between the three critical elements of communication: The earlier post shared the giant mistake communicators make: assuming that what you mean is what gets heard. Or, as … Read more
Let’s face it: as a leader and a communicator, you want to influence others.It’s hard to influence others if they don’t listen to you. Last week’s post asked Why Is Effective Communication So Difficult? The answer boils down to a lack of alignment between the three critical elements of communication:The post shared the giant mistake … Read more
Communication is critical to the success of any enterprise. Like the circulatory system of the body, it’s the connection between all the different parts of an organization. It the link between leaders and constituents, suppliers and distributors, employees and customers. In the same way that the circulatory system can become diseased (arteriosclerosis) and threaten the … Read more
Money is not dangerous, unless you buy power. Philosopher Karl Popper FIFA, the world governing body for International Football (Soccer), has had (to put it mildly) a bad week. Bribery Racketeering Graft Corruption Conspiracy Words more often associated with organized crime than with a major league sport. FIFA is embroiled in a massive scandal. The … Read more
The research firm Universum recently queried over 2,000 business leaders and professionals, asking: What’s the most important quality that you expect future leaders to possess? The #1 response (41%): They empower their employees. Empowerment. It became a business buzzword twenty years ago, and has been in and out of vogue ever since.At it’s core, it’s about … Read more
Working with others means that you’ll eventually face conflict and disagreement. Conflict isn’t bad: we need work cultures that support differing perspectives, multiple opinions, and divergent thinking. However, how we communicate our disagreements can either help or hinder our workplace relationships and results.A new paper in the Academy of Management Review identifies four distinct categories of conflict expression: how … Read more
