During my college years, I’m ashamed to admit it, but I was self-centered. It was all about me. For an infant or a small toddler to think this way, you’d probably expect it. But, as a college-aged student, it just looks selfish. Not a great way to meet new friends. Since that time I’ve discovered […]
Everyone looked at him and waited to hear his response. All nine people in the conference room had their attention fixed on one person. After a brief but dramatic pause, he began to speak with a calm voice and a solid solution. The rest of the group seemed transfixed as they listened. It was hard […]
I was listening to two managers in my workshop when he said it. They were doing a role-play exercise and focusing on coaching style questions but it was obvious to me now, this manager didn’t quite get it yet. I heard him ask, “Did you ask Jenna from Marketing to help with this?” The response […]
“Well, that guy’s an idiot.” He said it so matter-of-fact. As if he were pointing out the color of the car we were riding in. It was stated as if “Everyone knows it. It’s common knowledge and everyone agrees with me.” Wow. That’s a strong opinion. I couldn’t help myself. I just had to ask one […]
My concern for the upcoming event increased when I asked the executive how their organization defined leadership. His response was, “Well, you really can’t define leadership because there isn’t just one definition. Everyone has their own definition.” Hmmm…. How do you teach something you can’t explain simply? It’s the job of senior leadership to remove the […]
I flew to Dallas for a meeting with my new boss. As a Business Development Manager I would be negotiating contracts for the company so I asked him about negotiating prices. He glared back at me and gave a direct response, “We don’t sell on price here! We sell on value!” Now, I didn’t disagree […]
Golf has always been a game of both simple and complex. Speaking persuasively to an audience can feel the same way sometimes. For an audience to commit to following a leader, influence will always play a role. Since I know many leaders love to hit the links… I’ll use golf as the metaphor to teach […]
Dan finished his presentation in my workshop and now he’s looking at me for feedback. My first suggestion is to limit his caged-lion pacing back and forth. His immediate response, “Oh, I know I do that. That’s just me. Everybody knows I do that. It helps me think when I’m moving.” For Dan, I could tell, […]
I recently finished Gallup’s Strengths-Based Leadership: Great leaders, teams, and why people follow, by Tom Rather. What I found most interesting in the book was not the 34 strengths applied to leadership, or even how these 34 strengths break down into 4 unique leadership categories. What I found most interesting were the results of the […]
There are two ways to get someone else to do something. You can tell them or you can persuade them. Telling can lead to compliance or conflict. Persuading can lead to commitment. I’ve found that gaining commitment through communication can be done in four steps. I call this method WiFi. It’s not what you think. […]
