The Elusive “Right” Conversation in Today’s Workplace
Have you ever been frustrated and confused by recurring conversations that never achieve your intended results?
If so, the answer could be that you are having one of the three “wrong” conversations.
Specifically, it is likely you’re having the “wrong” conversation with the “right” person. (See diagram)
Finding the “right” conversation is trickier than it …
Learning from Successes Trumps Learning from Failure Every Time
Long-term success is contingent on continual improvement.
There are manifold continuous improvement strategies from the Japanese Kaizen to Six Sigma to personal self-reflection and meditation.
Most improvement strategies rely on identifying mistakes and taking action to ensure those mistakes are corrected and not repeated.
Some of the most successful people espouse the “fail fast, fail …
Reliability Trumps Skill and Talent for Workplace Success
It doesn’t matter how smart you are or how much skill and talent you have if co-workers and business leaders cannot count on you to follow through.
Reliability trumps skill and talent every time (this is contingent on the individual having the appropriate skills and talent necessary to fulfill the job requirements).
A lack of …
Workplace Meetings: Hate ‘Em, But Can’t Live Without ‘Em
If you had been at a recent keynote I delivered last week you probably would have agreed with audience members who identified meetings with no assigned accountabilities as a serious workplace communication problem.
It’s one of the biggest complaints I get from audiences when asked for their biggest frustrations with communication in their workplaces.
Millions …
Workplace Meetings: A Magical Strategy for Greater Attendee Participation
The biggest complaint organizational leaders and managers have regarding workplace meetings is that attendees do not participate verbally and sit in silence even after asked for feedback or input.
This would be accepted by the meeting’s leader if the meeting wasn’t followed by individuals commenting between each other, or complaining directly to the meeting’s leader …
How Small Business Leaders Fail Engaging in Candid Communications
Last week you read why it is important for small business leaders to engage in direct, candid communications in their workplaces.
They should also invest some energy in creating a culture of candid communication, where direct, candid conversations between all personnel and all levels is the expectation.
Few do, however.
The reason is, it is …
Leaders Must Master Candid, One-on-One Communication
The most egregious mistake leaders make is failing to be direct and candid with the people they lead.
I know, because as an immature leader early in my career I made that mistake time and again.
Many other leaders carry on my lame tradition to this day and it’s killing organizations.
That’s why candid, one-on-one …
Questions Drive Focus, What is Your Primary Focus Question?
For the last in my series on the “self-communication” context of The 3 Levels of High-Performance Leadership Communication you are going to learn a powerful strategy for your self-talk and internal dialogue that can transform the results you achieve in business and life.
In the previous three blog articles here you’ve read about:
The 3…Traditional Affirmations Don’t Work – Do This Instead
Before Minnesota Senator Al Franken stepped into politics he was a comedian and regular on Saturday Night Live back in the 80s.
Franken had a character named, “Stuart Smalley,” who hosted a regular segment called, “Daily Affirmations.”
Smalley’s foundational affirmation for himself was, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough and doggone it people like me!”…
Self-Communication Is The Foundation of Success
There is only one person with whom we communicate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, every year of our life. Ourselves.
Mastering communication with ourselves determines our quality of life as it determines our ability to experience life as we would like.
Few people truly understand that how we …