Recently, some friends and I were talking about our relationships with our wives or girlfriends. One friend mentioned that he’d just gotten feedback that he doesn’t communicate well. “Did you get defensive?” I asked. “No, not at all,” he said. “I am meeting with a therapist to work on this. It’s my issue, not hers.
“In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin affirmed the reality of human limits when he wrote those words. And I affirmed this reality when I recently reviewed a six-week time analysis of my schedule. I had been letting people down. The time analysis revealed why. I
You can’t see it, but I get performance anxiety. My stomach knots, my palms sweat, my nerves fray, my breath is uneven and my thoughts are scattered. In the past week, I got it to some degree or another for: a meeting with our company, a big lunch meeting with a client and a networking
In the corporate world, I was someone who was driven. And I was rewarded for that drive. But the more I achieved, the more demands were placed on me and the more stress I experienced. While I had a clear identity—I was a business executive—I felt myself slipping away. You see, my pure self is
Recently, my friend and colleague Matt Norman wrote about mid-organization leaders and the critical importance to the success of a company. Matt’s insight regarding the need to free these leaders from being task doers so they can focus on leading and developing their people is spot on. After reading that post, I was reminded of lessons learned
Have you ever felt inadequate to respond when someone has opened up to you about their feelings? I know I have. But after I get past the awkwardness, I always find the profound connection makes the discomfort worth it. I had been working with Elizabeth (not her real name) for about six months. She joined
More and more organizations are acknowledging that they have underestimated the value of middle managers. Research suggests that mid-level leaders might be the greatest determinant of the success of your organization. While top management sets the overall direction for an organization, according to Wharton management professor Ethan Mollick, middle managers play the most significant role “in
My biggest anxiety entering this past weekend was coach-pitch little league baseball. I am the head coach for my son’s team because no other parent volunteered. It’s not that I was reluctant to help out. I’m not terrible on the mound. I just know that pitching baseballs to nine year olds with dozens of parents
At a recent company meeting, one of the people on my team announced that she was “the most engaged at work” that she’s ever been. She’s worked on our team for several years, and this hasn’t been the easiest of them. Yet she is on fire. Imagine the impact her enthusiasm for work has on our
What are you obligated to do? Comply with policies or regulations? Complete a report for your job? Perform mandatory tasks? Take care of people who depend on you? How does it feel to be obligated when those activities seem boring, unnecessary or overwhelming? For me, it feels stressful, irritating and draining. For instance, I remember
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE