You think you are a good listener. You mostly are not. All kinds of human things get in the way of listening in a whole-hearted way. They could be perceptions of time, your need to reply, a desire to fix the situation, disinterest, or any other array of human conditions that thwart your willingness and even your…
What you tolerate, you permit. What you judge, gets repeated. Humans tend to show up in extremes – either you are turning a blind eye, or you are super critical to the nth degree. With this in mind, you are constantly in a ping pong game of permitting things that you don’t really want or…
Is there anything you need to clear up with anyone in your business or life? Let’s do it. Clearing up with another person is about owning your side of the street for whatever drama or story you have been carrying around for however long that has been. It’s about taking responsibility for your own life…
Until very recently, the business world has considered emotion to be something to be left outside of work. Unless you were trying to pluck someone’s heartstrings to accomplish a business goal (think marketers and sales professionals trying to hit a pain point or induce a sense of “gotta have it” urgency), you were expected to…
The greatest gift you can give. The greatest gift we can give to those we lead – ESPECIALLY right now – is to listen to them. When we listen, we create connection and meaning. At the same time, we receive knowledge, feedback, and guidance that we wouldn’t have gained elsewhere. Meanwhile, the one being listened…
I liked Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. It was exciting, surprising and nerve-wracking to witness who would roll the dice, what they knew and when they needed help. One of my favorite concepts was the “lifeline”. When stuck, the player could cast a lifeline to someone in their life who they felt could offer the BEST…
While moving into a new office recently, I stumbled upon four boxes of unused staples that were more than 30 years old. Flash back to my first business. I certainly knew my craft, but I hardly knew how to manage a business, yet alone how to manage a team. The details. I had a business –…
You are a bridge. As an emotionally intelligent leader, able to navigate emotions and needs, you provide a bridge to those who have diverse styles of communicating. You know how to meet people where they are. You are at one end of the bridge and at the other end of this very long bridge somebody needs to receive…
I’ve long been a fan of alliteration, and often think about leadership and Emotional Intelligence (otherwise known as emotional quotient or EQ) in terms of the alphabet. When I contemplate leadership, many “C” words came crashing into my consciousness. Commitment. Connection. Critical-thinking. Command. Control. Conversation. All great words. As these Cs began to take shape, three…
Special Note to Readers of this Post: This was originally published in 2017, as an excerpt from the anthology, Humans At Work. So much is different right now and the kinds of conversations we must have with our teams are heart-breaking. This was written for terminating people for performance issues. Much of it still applies to…