Continuing our focus on ‘The Gift of Giving & Receiving Feedback’ this week, I reflect on some of my more painful growth edges—when I’ve truly taken to heart difficult feedback. Enabling me to sit with and grow from the feedback is my trust in the intentions of those providing me with the feedback, and knowing […]
Do you Need to Raise Your Trust Quotient?
During coaching conversations leaders often wonder: “How can I encourage my people to be more accountable?” You may feel that it’s simply a communication issue – once you learn to communicate better, problem solved. However, as we unravel the concerns around accountability, it becomes abundantly clear that trust – your lack of trust in yourself […]
3 Tips for Finding Your Life Purpose
Identifying, clarifying and living your purpose is a life-long process. Many times I’ve thought, ‘this is it’, believing I’d found my one true purpose only to experience the restlessness that is again calling me to dig deeper, be open minded and pay attention. Through this process I’ve discovered that the core of my purpose or […]
Authentic Leaders Engender Trust
Being self-aware is not enough to be seen as authentic and to engender trust. I’ve learned this the hard way over the years. Through using the Strengths Strategy model and becoming self-aware through my Strengths lens, I’ve been inundated with insights on dimensions of my Strengths that I now recognize I need to monitor and […]
8 Tips to Get Employees to Love the Rules
Different things motivate different people. Some are motivated to enhance their appearance while others are motivated by prestige or money. When it comes to work, many people are not motivated to do much of anything except show up and collect a paycheck. It’s our job as managers to create an environment in which employees are […]
5 Ways to Deal with Difficult People
4 Steps to Better Listening
In my previous post I mentioned that the ability to really listen is the most overlooked and undervalued skill in both business and personal life. We rarely take time to practice doing it better. In Power Listening: Mastering the Most Critical Business Skill of All (Portfolio Hardcover, 2012), Bernard T. Ferrari suggests four steps that form […]
Be a Better Listener (Part 4)
9 Keys to Better Listening Keep the following goals in mind when practicing good listening skills: Just listen. Don’t interrupt. Don’t finish the other person’s sentences. Don’t say “I knew that.” Don’t agree with the other person. Be neutral. Even if he praises you, just say “thank you.” Don’t use the words “no,” “but” or […]
Be a Better Listener (Part 3)
Why Don’t We Listen? When you meet with your boss, an important client, a potential new friend or a love interest, you manage to listen without interrupting. You’re a paragon of attentiveness, asking all the right questions and paying attention to the answers. You make sure you don’t talk too much. Highly successful people do […]
Be a Better Listener (Part 2)
Listening, but Not Hearing Consider this: We retain only 25 percent of what we hear. Why? The average person speaks at about 130 words per minute. Our thinking speed is about 500 words per minute. Consequently, we jump ahead of what is actually being said. This causes our minds to wander, and we think about […]
Diana Gabriel, PPC