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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 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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February 24, 2014
Dealing with People Not Like Us-It’s Difficult!
3 things to do differently to make progress with “difficult” people.
It seems to happen in a lot of workplaces. Someone is difficult. It can be a client, peer or (gulp) your boss. Or it could be that incommunicative guy in the mailroom, the gossipy sales person, the surly receptionist or the aggressive fill-in-the-blank that puts a crimp in your day.
Might be that new Gen Y that asks too many questions, texts too much and talks too little. ENTITLEMENT! Could be the very direct Gen X who leaves the desk at 5 PM with work still to be done. UNCOMMITTED! ...Continue reading
By Sherri PetroPosted in Communication Skills on February 24, 2014
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February 14, 2014
Five Leadership Capabilities of Abraham Lincoln
How do you and your leadership team measure up in these capabilities?
As February annually asks us to reflect on our Presidents, it too allows us to reflect on our own leadership and leaders in our organizations. I cannot help but reflect on the leadership capabilities of our 16th President. As we lament the divisiveness of our current national political dialogue and the uncertainty and ambiguity it creates geopolitically for business, political, military and global leaders, I am reminded that our nation has suffered greater challenges and pulled through them. ...Continue reading
By Karen KuhlaPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on February 14, 2014
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February 3, 2014
3 Communication Practices That Will Enrich Your Life
These few skills are the ones that we should practice everyday.
Just as high quality ingredients make every recipe more nutritious and delicious, a specific set of healthy communication practices can make every relationship more nourishing and life affirming. Read on to learn more about foundational communication practices that will enrich your life.
“Assertiveness for Women.” “Powerful Speech.” “Being Charismatic!” The list of self-help communication titles is endless. And it is true that to be a very competent...Continue reading
By Claire LaughlinPosted in Communication Skills on February 3, 2014
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January 19, 2014
Hey, Hot Head, Don't Say It!
5 Steps to Better Emotional Intelligence
You know you want to. In fact you're dying to pop off some expletives that would make Mom turn ten shades of red. Whether you receive news about a coming reorganization, unrealistic client deadline or one of your peers being absent AGAIN, you've been triggered. Whatever you're thinking at this exact moment, don't say it. And, please, please, please don't e-mail it or text it either. Easy up on that trigger finger, pard’ner.
The news you received is out of your...Continue reading
By Sherri PetroPosted in Communication Skills on January 19, 2014
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December 10, 2013
Three Steps to Resolving Conflict On Your Team
There’s a conflict, now what
As a new manager or supervisor, I think the most dreaded day is the first time it’s YOUR job to resolve a conflict on your team. Now you have people coming to you for the answer and guidance. You may have had that a little bit before and have some experience giving out advice, if so, great! However, it is different as the leader of the team.
How you handle the conflict on your team sets the tone for how things will go moving forward.
Recently, I had a client reach...Continue reading
By Emilie ShoopPosted in Management on December 10, 2013
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October 20, 2013
Mentor Me?
Asking, Answering and Amplifying When The Question is Popped
Not to be confused with the great Bruno Mars’ song Marry Me, we do have an engagement of sorts when we ask for someone’s hand in helping to develop our career. Whether it be an informal or formal relationship, there are great ways of asking for -- and making the most of -- a mentor’s assistance.
For the mentee, how do you approach a potential mentor? How do you maximize the value of this burgeoning relationship? How do you best communicate your challenges without sounding...Continue reading
By Sherri PetroPosted in Professional Development on October 20, 2013
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October 8, 2013
“Why wouldn’t you buy our product?”
Learn to counter-balance a customer’s concerns. Don’t confront them.
It was an unusual sales approach. At a county fair, a lady on a solar energy booth grabbed me as I walked past, and without introduction, popped the question:
“Why wouldn’t you invest in solar to reduce your home energy bills?”
My mind then promptly produced several excellent reasons for precisely why I wouldn’t buy solar to reduce my energy bills, and these reasons all came to me despite my notorious passion for inflicting all sort of green gizmos on our...Continue reading
By Peter PaskalePosted in Communication Skills on October 8, 2013
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September 29, 2013
5 Questions Change Agents Use to Move People Forward
A Guide to Overcoming Resistance to Change
As leaders and managers we are often in the position of instigating or shepherding change efforts. Whether you are leading a process improvement team, implementing a new policy or system, or even driving cultural changes, you are, in effect, a change agent. You are introducing a new way of doing things, which means adopting new behaviors and letting go of old habits and patterns.
As leaders we have likely cultivated our own change hardiness, which may be one of the reasons we have risen...Continue reading
By Claire LaughlinPosted in Communication Skills on September 29, 2013
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