Effective listening is a key leadership skill. My experience is that we can all improve in this area. A recent article in Harvard Business Review gives us some suggested techniques for improving how well we listen: #1 – Listen Until the End. Our minds so often race along with reactions to what we are hearing that we can’t wait to jump in to say something. This … [Read more...] about Improve Your Listening Skills
leadership
Keep Your Team “Trust Loop” Strong
The importance of building trust on a team has been well documented. The integrity of the leader is vitally important to the trust-building process. Leaders need to be honest with their team members and treat them with respect at all times. Once the leader has established and role modeled a positive, trustworthy relationship with the team, then many experts suggest … [Read more...] about Keep Your Team “Trust Loop” Strong
Focus Your Anger Mindfully
A lot of times when we get angry, we tell ourselves that we just need to “chill out” and move on. We push the anger away. But anger can actually be a good thing. We can channel our Anger into a force for Good. Consider this quote by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “We should all be angry. Anger has a long history of bringing about positive change; but, in addition to being … [Read more...] about Focus Your Anger Mindfully
Use Productive Failure for Team Growth
Every leader loves it when their team performance is humming along nicely. But, if this is always the case, you may be losing out on a great learning opportunity through “productive failure.” There are many goals that you really do not want a person or team to fail at – such as processing payroll on time or submitting a required report to a government agency. And many … [Read more...] about Use Productive Failure for Team Growth
5 Questions Before You Decide
Life is fast paced and leaders make lots of decisions. In this hectic environment we live in, sometimes we can move a little too fast. Following is a quick checklist to give yourself – based on a recent Harvard Business Review article – as you go through the decision-making process: 1. Are There Any Alternatives We Have Overlooked? My rule of thumb is to always … [Read more...] about 5 Questions Before You Decide