People Skills Training & Development
12 Ways We Interrupt Others Without Knowing It
Ever feel this way when you’ve been interrupted? If only all interruptions were so obvious. Most of the ways we interrupt others aren’t, especially when it’s us doing the interrupting. I define an interruption as inserting my frame of reference into a conversation before the speaker has finished saying all they want to say. If it’s a low-stakes conversation, casual
The Problem With Solutions
Problems get a bad rap in business. They’re so negative! So much so that in some organizations there are no problems, only euphemistic “opportunities.” Another common refrain employees sometimes hear from their managers is, “don’t bring me a problem without also bringing me a solution.” The intention behind these sentiments is understandable. Problems are easy to call out without taking
What Is Bailing and Bruising Costing Your Organization?
If there’s been a theme to the conversations I’ve had with clients this year, it’s the growing cost they’re experiencing related to this bail-bruise dynamic. For one client, it undermines their inclusion and engagement efforts, effecting their ability to retain and compete for talent. With another, it undermines their innovation efforts. For a third privately-held company, it is complicating an
Developing Strengths BETWEEN People
If there’s one quote that sums up what my life’s work has been about thus far, it’s this one from incomparable Peter Drucker: “Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.”There’s so much in those few words. As leaders and L&D professionals, how do
Level Up Your Candor
“If you want to see someone in real pain, watch someone who knows who they are and defaults on it on a regular basis.” – Pat Murray, management consultant Candor is the way in which we express who we really are. But as Murray notes we often default on it. When we do, the consequences can create discord within
Learning to Love Feedback You Don’t Like
Feedback about our behavior is all around us. We step on the scale and we get feedback about how much we weigh and, indirectly, about behaviors that cause our weight to go up or down. We don’t always like the feedback we get but we don’t argue with it. Even if the scale is off by a couple of pounds,
Can We Be Candid?
Business literature (particularly in the US) is filled with calls for workforce candor. Jack Welch devoted an entire chapter to it in his best seller, Winning. Jim Collins encourages business leaders to “confront the brutal facts” to get from Good to Great. Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan talk about the importance of “robust dialogue” in Execution. And for good reason:
Do You Undermanage Your Underperformers?
Are You An MbA? What kind of problems keep you awake at night? We’ve asked this question of thousands of managers who have participated in our workshops. After giving them a minute to make their list, we ask them to put a “P” by the problem if it’s a people problem and a “T” by the problem if it’s a
Four Rules For Better Results With and Through People
When it comes to organizational success, every interaction between people is for better or worse. The effects are cumulative. If they aren’t getting better they probably are getting worse. Ridge’s training is built on the four following principles or “rules” to make sure interactions and important relationships are consistently and intentionally getting better so they yield better results. Rule One: