In my various roles – strategy consultant, executive coach, mother of teen-aged boys, Board volunteer – I’ve run into people I don’t understand and with whom I can’t find common ground. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you’re stumped. In talking with colleagues about this phenomenon, we could all describe what happens: there [...]
Communication and Feedback
Feedback. Too much or too little? It depends on who you’re asking: “Everybody tells me what to do; from my mother to my manager. You’d think I didn’t have a brain in my head. Why can’t people just keep their opinions to themselves and let me do my job?” “The only time I get any [...]
Political pundits advise U.S. Presidents to have news conferences early and often. Why? 1. The public wants to know what’s happening and what the President’s doing about it. They want to know his command of the issues; how aware, involved, and decisive he is regarding critical events and breaking news. 2. The more often the [...]
Multi-rater, or 360-degree feedback is a tool used by many coaches when they work with their clients. Especially in Executive Coaching where the idea is to help an individual improve in leadership effectiveness, feedback from peers, bosses, clients, subordinates, vendors, etc. can be a critical part of a developmental plan. Q: Why is 360 feedback [...]
He said that he was impatient, hard driving, focused, bottom-line. That he had trouble with people who wanted to think aloud, taking everyone’s time, noodling about what ought to have been immediately clear to everyone present. That his idea was good, it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. [...]
The answer lies somewhere in the pause. How many situations have you made worse because you stepped in where you weren’t needed, said more when less was enough, and offered opinions when none were requested? How many times do you wish you’d said more, because less wasn’t enough? When you wish you’d offered a kind [...]
Because of its impact on the workplace and workers, diversity is a topic of discussion in boardrooms and breakrooms all over the world. When we think about historical work environments (for example the one represented on the television show Mad Men), there was a presumption that people shared a common culture and set of values [...]
Time Capsules. Why would anyone in 2110 be interested in what we did or thought in 2010 if no one seems to care about what we’re thinking or doing right now? “That? We did that.” “Been there, done that.” “Oh no, not that!” Are they likely to be intrigued by the artifacts of our technology? [...]
If you’re like many hard drivers, you can be more than a little defensive when criticized for something you’ve said or done. “What do you mean, I’m defensive? I’m just explaining what happened and why I did what I did!” “That’s what I mean, you’re acting defensive. Just admit that you were rude this morning. [...]
A manager says he’d like us to conduct team building programs for his employees. “You know, something where you take them outside and teach them how to work together.” “Why?” we ask. “What do you want to accomplish?” Hesitation. “I want them to work together better than they do now. They barely talk to each [...]
Coming Soon!