As organizational hierarchy has flattened and cross-functional teams are increasingly responsible for getting the work done, everyone needs to be able to influence. In fact, last week a human resources manager told me that influencing makes up almost his entire job. “Every now and then I have to tell people they can’t or have to
I am advising a leader right now who has high expectations of others. Someone on her team can’t seem to meet those expectations on a project, and there isn’t much flexibility to upskill, move, or replace them. It is creating tension. The leader has three choices in the face of this tension: absorb it, avoid
“How’s your week going?” Can I be real with you for a moment? Because if I’m being honest, I’ll tell you it was a sad week for me. Coronavirus economic realities took their toll. I’ve wondered what more I can do. It’s all weighed heavily, and I’ve had a hard time sleeping. Thank you for
The following guest post comes from my friend and client Sean Wenham, Vice President at U.S. Bank Private Wealth Management. I hope you find it to be as insightful as I did… Welcome to my third edition newsletter based on a recent Dale Carnegie program I took, presented by Matt Norman. If your current profession,
Are you experiencing any interpersonal tension with your new co-workers? Many of us are having to work with and around kids, partners, roommates, pets, and neighbors. Sometimes people can get really frustrating. For instance, a friend of mine said to me that she is super frustrated with her roommates who have disregarded social distancing. “They
With the release of “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” this past November, I have fully jumped on the Mister Rogers bandwagon. Or shall we say, “neighborhood trolley.” Even though “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” was on air for all of my childhood, my puppets of choice at the time went by names like “Cookie Monster” and
Recently, I watched a colleague present at a conference, and something about the presentation moved me. The passion, the mastery of the material, the risk this person took to be on stage — it all just hit me. Suddenly, my chest felt full and tears started streaming out of the corner of my eyes. And
Several weeks ago, I sat at my desk literally propping my head up, willing my eyes to stay open and completely drained of energy. All I wanted to do was fall asleep, which surprised me because I wasn’t getting less sleep than normal. So what was different? I realized my mind had been heavily processing more
Once upon a time…in a galaxy far, far away…the best stories begin somewhere, in a time and a place. That time and place present tension. The story explains how the tension gets resolved. But the events of the story are much less compelling than the inner change that people experience as the story resolves. Good
It was the most upset I’ve ever been at work. Years ago, a part of my job was to negotiate contracts with vendors. One negotiation reached an impasse. The vendor raised his voice slightly and accused me of personally derailing the process. My reaction was intense. I shouted something back at him in my defense,
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