Articles by Lisa Woods

How Giving Thanks Can Bring Perspective At Work

What Are You Thankful For?

Most people look forward to Thanksgiving as the kickoff to the holiday season, the festivities and the perspective we tend to gain by being thoughtful about the blessings we have in our lives. Family and friendships, the world around us, we absorb it, we appreciate it, we see the good in each and every aspect.  The mental state we create is a choice. We choose to acknowledge the good over the bad during this time of year. Maybe this year we can choose to extend that acknowledgement to our employees,...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on November 24, 2013

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Lacking Good Mentorship? Is the Problem You, Your Boss or Your Employee?

Understand the problem and improve business results.

There is no written rule that Managers or Leaders are good mentors.  Mentorship is an added perk that is shared between two people if the stars align...meaning, it takes a knowledgeable Mentor and a willing Mentee to make the relationship work.  Just because there is a working relationship does not mean the ‘knowledge’ or the ‘willingness’ exist…there needs to be the right balance.   So how do you find this balance?  Is the problem you, your boss or your...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Management on December 3, 2012

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Communication Guidelines for New Graduates and Their Employers

What can you & your manager do to start things off right?

…You are fresh out of college; you made it through the interview process and got your first break into the workforce.  You want to do great things and believe you have a lot to offer. …As an employer you have given this recent graduate their first break, an opportunity to get started in their career, to learn, and grow.    What can you both do to start things off right?  What are some things to consider when getting familiar with one another?   Generational gaps...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in New Employee, Promotion on August 6, 2012

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Accountability In The Workplace: A Self-Help Guide

Building Your Accountability Skillset

Somewhere, in a faraway land, a long, long time ago, accountability was something an individual strove to achieve, quietly, on their own, in an effort to learn, improve their skills, earn more responsibility and be trusted by those around them to work in a way that achieves a defined value to the organization.   That’s right, accountability was something you built, over time, by working hard, proving your skills and building trust. Communicating accountability was a humbling effort, by doing...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on June 19, 2017

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Complacency in the Workplace: Overcome Bad Attitudes With Accountable Leadership

4 Reasons Why Complacency Exists & What Management Can Do to Annihilate It

Those annoying words are like scratches on a chalkboard. “This is the way we always do it.”  Can you image living life with that attitude?  You would never grow, improve or try new things…what a boring life!  In business, boring companies don’t grow their revenue, they don’t make continuous improvements to their products, processes, or services, and they are certainly NOT innovators.  So how do you lead an organization that has an attitude problem, without...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on February 1, 2013

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Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace: How to Develop Yourself & Your Team

Do you believe emotional intelligence is a skill you can develop in others?

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to create a balance between knowing what you don’t know and that what you do know can be improved.  It also means you have the ability to see the same knowledge and balance in others; teaching them how to be aware and create a good balance for themselves.  The ability to learn gives you authority, the ability to teach gives you power.  At the end of the day…and at the end of this article…I would like you to walk away with an...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on March 11, 2013

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Emotional Intelligence In the Workplace: Template

Learn To Develop Emotional Intelligence In Yourself & Your Team

Emotional Intelligence is the ability to create a balance between knowing what you don’t know and that what you do know can be improved.  It also means you have the ability to see the same knowledge and balance in others; teaching them how to be aware and create a good balance for themselves.  In the workplace, Emotional intelligence will help you grow personally and professionally by developing it in yourself and teaching it to those around you. Here is a template you can use develop...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development Tools on August 6, 2013

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Action Item List

How To Drive Your Team With One Simple Tool

Do your team or project meetings sound something like this… “Oh, was I supposed to do that?  I thought someone else had that responsibility.  Was that due already?”  When you ask someone for an update on a task that was issued to him or her during the group’s previous meeting, how do you respond to excuses?  It is frustrating for you and for those who are getting their tasks done.  So how can you ensure your team does not find itself behind schedule or...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on December 15, 2016

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Steve Jobs: Secrets of Life - How Steve Jobs Shaped My Career Without Me Knowing

A Great Motivator to Start Your Year

Wow!  Like everyone else, I’ve always been impressed with his work, but never really spent time studying Steve Jobs.  That was until last night when I went online to see what kind of management videos are out there. What I found were a multitude of Steve Jobs interviews from the 1980’s through his recent death in 2011.  I watched as many of them as I could find.  He was amazing, both impressive and inspirational.  I never realized how much of an impact he had on my...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Professional Development on January 4, 2013

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Three Key Components To Transform Strategy Into Results

How strategic are you?

  When we talk about being strategic we focus more on thinking and planning, than on leading and achieving.  The reality is that “being strategic” requires both; it’s the full transformation from dream to result.  It’s not that we forget to transform our vision, but often our approach to leading that change is not effective enough to generate our desired results.  Here is a model for strategic transformation-how to make your vision...Continue reading

By Lisa WoodsPosted in Leadership & Teambuilding on April 16, 2021

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