Poor Molly Huddle. Heading towards the finish of the 10,000 meter finals at the World Championships in Beijing last month, Huddle thought she had the Bronze medal in the bag. This was turning out to be her best finish ever in an international race. Huddle led the entire field as the bell rang to signal the last of … Read more
Why are these kids smiling? I should know–they’re my kids. Alexander and Miranda posed for this photo last Wednesday, right before they got on their bikes to ride off to the first day of school.They were really excited. Usually a request for their picture provokes eye rolls and mad faces. Not on Wednesday. … Read more
I’ll admit it: I like to be right. When I’m right, my ego glows with satisfaction. I love the feeling of closure when the two sides of my hypothesis turn out to match. Growing up, I thrived on being a good student and achieving high grades. Being right: what’s not to like?It turns out that … Read more
Last Wednesday, I spent the day teaching and coaching a small group of insurance salespeople on their presentation skills. Like you and me, these salespeople want to be better at informing and influencing the people they work with. The best presenters and communicators make things look so easy. It’s as if they are just getting … 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
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
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
