Social interactions have been key to human survival for thousands of years. So it’s not surprising that hard feelings like rejection, disapproval or disappointment from others can be nearly intolerable. For example, one executive I know is currently facing the massively difficult task of possibly removing one of his key leaders. Several employees have complained
It was a high-stakes meeting. Others had given their opinions, and I decided I should speak up, too. So I did. As I was speaking, though, I began to have the sense that I wasn’t saying exactly what I wanted to say. I tried to convey confidence through a strong voice and gestures, but I’m
John recently had a high-stakes meeting that did not go well. He became flustered and defensive when the CEO hit him with unanticipated questions and ideas about his team’s status. John admitted that he didn’t have good answers to the questions. But he also insinuated that the CEO’s questions weren’t relevant (after all, John had
Forget titles, authority, or experience. Think of leadership as helping others be and do their best as they work toward a shared objective. With that definition in mind, let’s consider what gets in the way. Everyone reacts differently. I have twin teenage boys who I try to motivate every day to be and do their
After a year of doing all meetings virtually, I have discovered many essentials to making virtual meetings more productive and engaging. Beyond my own meetings, I’ve trained hundreds of leaders in the past year on how to reduce boredom, multi-tasking and burnout in virtual meetings. Of course, some virtual meeting fatigue and frustration is inevitable.
Eugene Peterson wrote in his memoir that he was hurt when his son said to him, “You only preach one sermon!” As an experienced and well-regarded minister who preached on many different texts and applications, the elder Peterson couldn’t believe his son would say such a thing. Then one day, the comment made more sense.
One of my favorite “hacks” is re-typing highlighted portions of non-fiction I’ve read. The process of highlighting once then re-reading and re-typing later tends to lock concepts into memory for later retrieval when it’s most useful. Below are my re-typed notes from David Epstein’s recent book Range, which I found to be extremely interesting and
Credibility: the quality of being trusted and believed in. (Oxford Dictionary) Think for a moment about where in your life you’d like more credibility. Perhaps it’s with people in your company who aren’t on your team or in your department. Maybe you’d like more credibility with potential customers, or with a group or community that’s
(Guest post from my good friend Isaac Vogel) Do you ever find yourself wanting to find personal freedom from the pressures and challenges of life but don’t know where to go? This past fall, our family made the pilgrimage west to South Dakota, aptly dubbed a state of “Great Faces, Great Places” in homage, of
Leaders today have greater access to resources and support than at any other time. Think about it: You no longer have to physically be in the same place as the people, expertise or material that can help you on your journey. Armed with just a wifi connection and a device, you can tap into a
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