Category Archive

Did you know that your attitude is contagious? So is everyone else’s. A client noticed that when one of his consistently negative and cranky co-workers went on vacation, the whole office lightened up … until the co-worker came back. And it wasn’t even anyone he worked with directly. Everyone has days when they’re less than bright and bubbly. We’re human, after …

Is it gossiping when you vent to your spouse or a friend about a frustrating co-worker? How about when you discuss that co-worker with another co-worker? Or when you tear your hair out about the situation with an advisor? Pretty fine lines, aren’t they? And it’s easy to think it’s all harmless when … maybe it isn’t. Let’s look at …

I once worked with someone who was, let’s say, an extreme health enthusiast. He ran marathons for fun, and ate raw garlic for his immune system and cholesterol. He was smart and good at his job … and we all thought he was probably an interesting person, but no one wanted to get close enough to find out. A colleague …

Every now and then, Amazon puts a really good book on their Amazon Kindle sales. I would never have come across Time to Think: listening to ignite the human mind, by Nancy Kline, if it hadn’t showed up as a 99-cent special one day. (Sorry, everyone, it’s back up to its regular digital price of $5.99, $12.99 for the paperback, and still …

There’s a lot of standard, cliché-ridden instruction out there on how to be a better listener. Most of it hovers around the tried-and-true “don’t listen to answer” directive – meaning, of course, don’t do what we all do: listen with half an ear whilst formulating our response (rebuttal, argument, disagreement…). Or, put in more positive terms, “listen to hear.” Listen …

Whoa – did I really ask that? Here’s the thing: we teach people, including our teams, colleagues, and family and friends, to lie to us all the time. Here are three examples. “I don’t like it when you say / tell me {whatever it is}.” Think about times when you’ve heard this. Does it make you reluctant to tell them …

According to a Harris Poll / Interact survey, 69% of managers are “often uncomfortable” communicating with their employees. I think that number is probably a lot higher. I would be willing to bet ALL managers and leaders are uncomfortable in at least some interactions with their teams. Communication is an essential leadership skill. It’s also a skill where there’s seldom …

Personality style assessments are everywhere. Myers-Briggs, DiSC (or DISC, depending on which version you take), Keirsey, the Enneagram, the Five Languages of Appreciation – the list goes on and on. Organizations love these assessments, and with good reason. Using a reputable, validated assessment can help people understand in a felt way, rather than just intellectually, that people really are different from …

This is a guest post from Will Bontrager, the software wizard and writer par excellence behind Will Bontrager Software, LLC. His website and his newsletters are treasure troves of straightforward, reliable software tools, tips, tricks, and techniques. As someone who uses several of his software tools, I’m delighted to include links to his site in this article, and highly recommend …

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote a post about giving feedback (you can read it here). A reader wisely observed, “This is helpful not only for giving, but also for being open to receiving feedback.” Absolutely true, and since I hadn’t thought of that, I was especially grateful she took the time to email me. (I hope it’s no surprise that I …