Category: Communication
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Creating New Pathways Through Disappointment
I was invited by a client to walk with her as she processed feelings of great disappointment. Through out our conversation she was able to turn this experience around from “I was a fool to get excited” to “This experience helps me better understand where I want to go next with my work. I am…
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Lay Down The “Should” Shovel
Life. There is so much that we could be doing. My friend, mentor, and co-author Dr. Mary Kay Stenger says that we are human beings, but we turn ourselves into human doings. And much of the doing is driven by the “shoulds” we shovel onto ourselves and accept from others. Most of my work centers around…
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Is Your Team Held Together With Crazy Glue?
For nearly 13 years I had a job that I could not leave. The work was satisfying. I was recognized for my effort. But the pay wasn’t great. In fact, the organization was struggling, and in the last half-dozen or so years of my employment there, my salary decreased each year. Every employee would work…
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I’ve Had A Realization
I’ve had a realization, a palm to forehead kind of thing. I’ve been referring to myself as a coach for so stinking long that I actually believe it. But when I stop and look at the facts (the clients I work with and the work I do with them), I realize that I’m actually a…
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Am I Being Perfectly Clear?
Am I being perfectly clear?The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. ~George Bernard Shaw My daughter was about four years old and playing outside with a friend. They were into a little mischief in an area of the yard that was off limits. In my stern mother voice I clarified…
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Joy at Work – Creating Your Own Culture
I had coffee with an acquaintance who also is a therapist. She was sharing how she sees more and more clients who are stuck in their work and how their inability to leave causes them to go into survival mode, resentfully counting the days until retirement. This stress of feeling stuck professionally wreaks havoc in…
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Bad Hires
Have you ever made a new hire or been a part of the team that made a new hire and after a few weeks, you begin to get that sinking, Oh no—we’ve made a mistake feeling? If so, you are not alone. Bringing on new talent is one of the most challenging tasks that anyone has to…
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Communication Missteps and How to Avoid Them
You are highly motivated and willing to go the extra mile at work. If this is the type of employee you are, good for you! But all of your efforts could go out the window with just one communication misstep. Knowledge is the fastest road to empowerment, so become familiar with the most common communication missteps…
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His response surprised him…
I was reminded again today about how much emotional energy gets entangled with our business decisions. I was speaking about Navigating Emotionally Challenging Dialogue at a conference today. What I love about this particular mini-workshop that I’ve created is that each attendee gets to work on a scenario they are struggling with right now. When I asked…
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On the fly!
Think about all the changes that have occurred in how we work over the past 5 years, 2 years, 6 months, or even since yesterday! Heck, when I started working in offices, “cc” truly meant a piece of carbon paper (nasty stuff) inserted between white paper in the roll of the typewriter so that as…