Did you ever look around in amazement at people around you that don’t appear to be all that extraordinary yet have achieved extraordinary things? These are people who have greatly succeeded in business, in politics, in the arts, in sports, or in some other space, but in many respects seem pretty much on par with you (or even inferior to you) in terms of their core abilities and talents. How is it, you wonder, that they “made it” in such a robust manner while you continue to middle along in relative obscurity, earning a pedestrian income and feeling somewhat unfulfilled?

The Right Software Can Increase Collaboration

Recent years have witnessed a rise in software tools specifically designed to aid collaboration through video meetings, real-time messaging, and content sharing. Collaboration software, also known as groupware, can help any team, from the smallest startup to the largest enterprise, to share content quickly and easily, in the form of documents, messages, videos, and other formats. Collaboration tools offer, among other things:

Organize discussions into channels, making them easier to maintain and follow
Support voice and video calls, streamlining communication
Integrate with various popular apps (Google Drive, Trello, Dropbox, etc.)
Provide easy navigation through documents and other content

Plan Regular 1:1 Meetings

To unleash the potential of the people you manage, you must engage and bond with each person individually. There simply is no hack or shortcut for building real connections. That’s why it is critical that, in addition to morning huddles, you need to plan regular one-to-one meeting time (1:1s) with individual team members to check in on a more personal manner.

As a manager, you can use 1:1s to ask your team members about their wellbeing, their experience working with the team, and their career goals, as well as get updates on their progress and any challenges they may be experiencing with current projects, so that you can course correct as needed.

How to disaster-proof your business and your life, part II

In my last post, I shared insights from a group of leaders about how to position ourselves and our businesses for coronavirus and “disaster-proof” our lives moving forward. This post follows along the same theme and highlights the insights of some powerful coaches.

How to Disaster-Proof Your Communication with Lila Smith, communication expert

As Smith sees it, COVID has confronted us with our core values. We have been forced to “check in” with ourselves and reassess our past behaviors as we consider life moving forward. What is it that is most important to us and should be performed and engaged with more in the future? And what have we been doing that hasn’t served us and should be scaled back as we begin to emerge from quarantine?

You say it, but do they understand it?

Yesterday, as I was getting my skis 🎿 on, an instructor tells me "TGIF!"

But he didn't mean THAT #tgif.

He was telling me, "Toes Go In First." 💡

But that wasn't what I heard.

And for a Sunday, his #fridaytalk sounded strange.

Choose Empathy Over Efficiency

When you speak with clients, customers, or prospects, do you focus more on empathy or efficiency?

Empathy: the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

Efficiency: the ability to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort.

When you focus on empathy, you can’t be as efficient.

When you seek efficiency, empathy must be kept to a minimum.

Learn to Tell a Great Story

In my work as a professional speaker, I seek to weave in stories whenever possible. The reason is simple. Unlike dry, technical information, stories deliver messages direct to the heart. They deliver immediate understanding and are remembered much longer than other information.

When I use words like, “Let me tell you a story,” the audience always becomes more alert and attentive. It’s like they’re thinking, “Okay, here comes the really good stuff.”

Good stories have a power all their own. They can make complex issues understandable. They can give people a sense of community. They can call people to action in ways they never imagined.

Storytelling is not just an important skill for speakers. Now more than ever, great leaders are great storytellers. Storytelling helps executives weave rich narratives that inspire their organizations, set a vision, teach important lessons, and define the culture and values. Perhaps most importantly, stories explain who you are, how you got here, and what you believe most deeply about your work and about each other.

How to Receive Feedback Like a Boss, Part II

The next time that someone approaches you with some unwanted feedback consider the following:

Listen to understand – Hear them out without interruption. Mirror back what you heard and ask questions for clarification. Also ask for examples so you know more clearly when and in what way this is happening. If there is something that you disagree with, hold it until the end. This way you validate them and open further lines of communication. It’s always best for the concern to come directly to you rather than to others.
Respond carefully – Try to avoid sounding defensive. Leave your ego to the side and accept warranted concerns as well as viable advice. If you are unsure about the validity of feedback or what to do with it, ask for time to respond. Make sure to get back to the other party in a timely fashion and with a real game plan (see below). And then ask for feedback about the plan.

How to Receive Feedback Like a Boss, Part I

We all need feedback if we are to grow and perform at our very best. And if our people don’t have a way to express their fears and concerns, what will that do to their morale, engagement, and desire to remain at your company?

So, before discussing strategies for receiving feedback, we must first tackle the challenge (and it’s a big one!) of getting our people to open up to us in the first place.

Part of the challenge here could be our mindset. In her bestselling book Mindset: The New Psychology Of Success, Stanford Professor Carol Dweck talks about people’s mindsets with regards to their ability to perform new tasks. She talks about people who stay squarely in their comfort zones and others that venture well beyond them. Dweck labeled these mindsets as “fixed” and “growth,” respectively.

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How to Disaster-Proof Your Communication with Lila Smith, communication expert