Difficult Conversations: What to Know Before You Go 9 Tips to Improve Conversational Effectiveness
I recently spoke at a large company. Afterwards, two executives asked if I would be willing to coach them in dealing with one of their team members. I agreed.
After visiting about the situation, I discovered that the employee in question had a toxic attitude about work, had not been performing the required tasks for their position, and was harboring ill feelings for the supervisor who was hired rather than them. When I asked how long this had been going on, I was told that it had been two years since this employee had been a committed, passionate, and engaged employee.
What Keeps You from Holding Difficult Conversations?
Sometimes we are our own worst enemy.
The way our brain processes and perceives incoming information can be a major obstacle. There are three distinct parts of our brain that play a big role in every conversation that you want to hold: the unconscious, subconscious, and conscious brains.
Is it Time to Elevate Your Emotional Intelligence?
My first job in corporate America was in a human resources department. We received a call from a hotel in a major city, asking us never to book a certain executive from our company in their hotel again.
14 Tips for Improving Feedback
A few weeks ago, I was watching a college basketball game. At half time, I found myself looking through a variety of articles that popped up on my phone. An article on feedback caught my eye
Six Character Traits to Increase Authenticity
Patty, as the office manager, was tasked with giving feedback to those that were performing poorly. Amber, who had started missing deadlines, been on the phone a lot, and had been coming in late for work, was identified as someone who Patty had decided she needed to talk to.
How Does Your Fear Hold You Back?
I love and hate this picture of a rafting trip through the Grand Canyon.
What do I love about it?
The photographer captured the exact moment that a lateral wave hit the raft at just the right angle and speed to tip it up on the left outside tube, allowing it to balance for just a few seconds before the raft flipped completely over.
How Can You Create a Culture of Candor?
One of the biggest challenges that any leader faces is to ensure that employees feel comfortable speaking up when they have difficult issues to discuss Although such topics that are difficult to talk about, they can have a significant impact on the workplace, such issues as harassment, discrimination, or concerns about the company's culture.
Are You Actively Retaining and Attracting New Talent During the Great Resignation?
12 Questions for Assessing the Employee Experience
Have You Forgotten How to Connect with People?
Angie had been looking to create a foursome for a golf tournament that her company was holding. She had been having difficulty recruiting the final two participants needed to compete in the company tournament.
Have You Forgotten How to Connect with People? 10 Tips for Establishing Rapport with Others
We have become so used to working in isolation that many people are uncomfortable in talking to those whom they may not know. Learning a few tips for establishing rapport will help you make connection with new acquaintances and those you already know.
Who Are the Difficult People and What Can You Do About Them?
Some people are difficult to deal with. However, with a little knowledge and some helpful guidelines, it is possible to turn a difficult interaction into a more positive one.
What to Do When People Don’t Speak Up
Workplace communication can be difficult sometimes, but people who don’t speak up can leave others with an incomplete view.
Jane, a city manager, called me out of the blue to ask for some help. After visiting with her for a few minutes, she mentioned that she has an employee who doesn’t do the work that she assigns him. “What would you do?” she asked.
Can I Trust You? 10 Behaviors that Erode Trust
When I worked in corporate America as an employee, I had a manager who while he was a great person, was just not very deliberate in his approach to dealing with people. I remember a time when he had scheduled a meeting to discuss my career goals
12 Things a Leader Should Never Do
Last fall I had a person reach out to me who was in charge of a huge change initiative in his company. He asked if I would identify a number of behaviors that leaders should avoid at all costs.
Have You Ever Eaten a Bicycle?
When I was in college, I had a roommate who was determined to get into The Guinness Book of World Records for eating a bicycle. Every night when we returned from studying in the library, we would all sit in front of the TV and watch M*A*S*H. He would take a file and grind himself a teaspoon of bicycle. Then he would place his bicycle “grounds” in his hot cereal the next morning.
