April 4, 2014

Managing Workplace Personalities: The Politician Without A Plan

How to work with and manage difficult people.

We don’t always get to choose the people we work with, nor whom we work for, but if you want to succeed, your relationships with everyone in your work environment must be cultivated, especially as a Manager. Managers need to maximize the potential of their team. If you leave people out because of personality clashes, everyone suffers, especially your results. One of the most annoying and common personalities to prepare for is the politician without a plan. Below are some tactics you can use to...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Management on April 4, 2014

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March 31, 2014

Stop Doing It All & Start Leading Your Business

4 Actions to Transition From “Doer” to “Leader”

I don’t have time to do the things I know I should be doing. I can’t expect others to do what I do..the way it needs to be done. My clients like to work with me directly and if I rely on my team, my business is going to suffer.   Do any of these statements sound familiar? What about this one…When I do delegate, my employees either screw up, or come to me for every little thing, in the end, it’s just easier and faster if I do it myself.   Or this...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on March 31, 2014

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March 27, 2014

From Mentors’ and Mentees’ Mouths

Five Lessons Worth Sharing

Do you ever wish you had the Dalai Lama, Warren Buffet or your own personal Gandalf as a mentor or trusted advisor?  Me, too.     I could have used a conversation with one of them recently. Ironically it was because I was asked to participate in a mentoring event for young professionals a few months back.  Mentoring continues to be a hot topic -- and for good reason. Mentees seek ideas, tips and secrets to success. Mentors seek to share words of wisdom and add value.    As...Continue reading

By Sherri PetroPosted in Professional Development on March 27, 2014

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March 25, 2014

Re-imagine Risk, Accelerate Innovation

5 Characteristics of Innovative Organizations

Nothing daring happens around here! Where’s the creativity? Where’s the innovation? Where’s the courage? Fortune favors the bold!    Of course we’ve heard that before. Every organization’s senior leadership longs for something great to happen, for the next great idea to emerge and propel the organization forward into a position as a market leader.    So we stimulate creativity….at least we think we do. We attend creativity sessions. We post our...Continue reading

By Karen KuhlaPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on March 25, 2014

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March 21, 2014

Leader Engagement – 4 Steps to Ensure Your Commitment to Lead Change

Crafting a Successful Business Strategy vs. Committing to One

Whether you are leading a corporation or building your small business, crafting a successful business strategy is bound to be one of your key objectives. But when executives are asked if their strategies will be successful, the results are impressive...in an unimpressive way. According to a 2011 Booz & Company Executive Survey, 53% of executives do not believe their company’s strategy will lead to success, 63% say they have too many conflicting priorities and 54% say their company’s way of...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on March 21, 2014

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March 19, 2014

How to Deliver Bad News That Builds Trust & Confidence

3 Steps to Offer Feedforward vs Feedback

Remember the last time you hit your thumb with a hammer?  You didn’t think twice when you yelled and let the (expletive) words fly.  For a few moments you stopped thinking about the task at hand, caring who was within earshot and instinctively reacted, grabbing your thumb to stop the physical pain.   Your brain went into “survival mode” and reacted.  No thinking required.  If we had your brain hooked up to a fMRI (a technology used by neuroscientists to produce...Continue reading

By Christina HaxtonPosted in Management on March 19, 2014

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March 17, 2014

15 Things Your Boss Wishes You Knew About Being A First Time Manager

A Guide for First Time Managers & a Resource for Those That Lead Them

There is a lot to learn when becoming a manager for the first time.  If you are lucky, you will get ample training to get you up to speed on your company’s policies and procedures.  However, if you are like most first time managers, you will learn as you go.     To help you get ahead faster, here are 15 things your boss wishes you knew about being a first time manager.   15 Things Your Boss Wishes You Knew About Being A First Time Manager   1. Start...Continue reading

By Emilie ShoopPosted in Management on March 17, 2014

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March 13, 2014

To Engage Your Buyer, Sequence Your Questions Properly

15 Questions Sales Professionals Should Be Asking

Are your questions drawing your buyer closer to you or making your buyer back away from you? It may depend on the order in which you are asking questions. Adjusting the sequence of your questions can make a difference in how the buyer responds.    Early in a buyer/seller relationship, questions that seem sales-focused cause mistrust. A buyer recoils when questions seem to be some form of entrapment. By contrast, buyers open up and trust develops when a seller starts with buyer-focused...Continue reading

By Deb CalvertPosted in Sales & Business Development on March 13, 2014

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March 10, 2014

How to Achieve Audience Buy-In: Sell It!

Spend less time discussing the how to, & more time celebrating the what if!

Have you ever tried to pitch an idea? In public speaking we are often times trying to sell something, sell change, sell innovation...    Noteworthy speakers are able to engage the audience, inspire, and have a successful call to action. The challenge is how? When you're proposing a new model or process you don’t want to spend time outlining the steps that will be taken in your new world; for that you could put together a job aide or process map, hand it out, and take a seat. You're giving...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on March 10, 2014

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March 5, 2014

Servant Leadership & The Agile Leadership Transformation

Do you Think Like a Servant Leader or Act Like The Smartest Guy in the Room?

Leaders in countless I.T. organizations see themselves as “the smartest person in the room.”  They solve problems that exceed the grasp of their direct reports.  They position themselves as decision-makers and information traffic cops.   They established their reputations for brilliance early in their careers and were promoted quickly because so many I.T. organizations value subject matter expertise over “soft skills” and promote people accordingly.     So...Continue reading

By Ron MontgomeryPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on March 5, 2014

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