Archive for the ‘communication’ Category
Three little words for busy leaders…
Sometimes people feel disconnected from us because we come off as “too busy.” There are three words that can reverse this dysfunction.
A piece of equipment went missing, and I wasn’t told about it. I found out Read the rest of this entry »
Two words to turn a negative into a positive…
An earlier post discussed the perils of the use of the word “don’t.”
“Don’t” is negative, and can also be dismissive. It’s also direct (that’s good) and easy (that’s why it’s frequently used). There’s a nice alternative, though, that can quickly Read the rest of this entry »
Leaders tell people “why”
Hannah was a young person volunteering at a community dinner. She sure seemed like she didn’t want to be there. She was listening to her iPod and had earbuds in both ears as she served peas to the public. She was surrounded by about twenty adult volunteers.
At one point, Harold, one of the adult volunteers, finally said something. He scowled, and Read the rest of this entry »
Effective leaders mirror in e-mails
I once had two coworkers, Mark and Sally. In DiSC-speak, Sally was a high I, and used many many many exclamation marks in her e-mails. I am not exaggerating when I say that one of Sally’s e-mails could consist of three sentences and 13 exclamation marks. Mark, on the other hand,
A tip for keeping emails effective
One problem with email is that it is efficient for the writer, but usually ineffective for the reader. One way to minimize this mismatch is to Read the rest of this entry »
Effective Leaders are Specific
“Hey, Tom, if you could get some of those account reviews done by Thursday, that’d be great.”
Sometimes, to sound “nice”, we make requests like the one above. Casual (that’s a good thing), general (bad thing), with a deadline (good thing), but without a specific request (bad thing) or way to measure (very bad thing).
The result can descend into Read the rest of this entry »
Insecurity is Unbecoming of a Leader
Everyone has moments, or even periods, of insecurity.
Situation One:
Once, about 15 years ago, I was struggling to Read the rest of this entry »
Behavior and Feedback – Top Five + One
Several posts have had a focus on behavior and giving frequent specific feedback.
These things are among the wisest a leader can do, and yet Read the rest of this entry »
Communication – Top Five + One
Communication solves problems; lack of communication causes problems.
Communication is arguably the most critical skill we need to survive in the world, and leaders must master it.
Here are five Read the rest of this entry »
What three things make the biggest difference? (part three)
This week, we look at the third concept of “the big three.”
This is not new ground for this blog, and I’d encourage you to check out related posts:
Effective Feedback is About the Future
Leaders Model the Behavior they Expect
Attitude is not everything. Listen to Batman and focus on behavior…
What’s the Magic trick used to control Disney guests?
When addressing anything, be specific. Most importantly, make it be about the behavior, and the outcome.
The outcome is important because Read the rest of this entry »
Effective Leaders Stand Out (part two)
Last week, we covered the first four of nine simple things that an aspiring leader can do in order to stand out. Here are five more – I’m anxious for your opinions!
1) Whenever possible, Read the rest of this entry »
Effective Leaders Stand Out (part one)
In preparation for a breakout session at an upcoming conference, I developed a list of ten things a leader can do to stand out and get noticed. Not in a “look at me!” kind of way, but in a way that will help the leader connect more to others, and to enable others to connect as well.
While all ten pointers are applicable to all potential leaders, there are four that newer, more fast-paced leaders, might relate to more than the experienced. So, those four this week, the rest next week. Here we go: Read the rest of this entry »
