For years I’ve asked people, “What’s the good word today?”  My intention always was to get people thinking about something positive, and if they were thinking something positive, to share it with me so I could benefit too. Unfortunately far too often people can’t come up with a good word, or in many cases, a word

Read More

When we give feedback, it is with the hope that the person on the receiving end will take action on that feedback. But giving feedback isn’t a one-and-done action. It’s a journey that has many steps along the way. So before we (or should I say ‘they’) get to action, we must realize the emotions

Read More

We hear all the time that the hardest part of being a connected, engaged member of a remote team is the lack of spontaneous communication. We say it an awful lot ourselves. And it’s true. When you work from home, every communication requires at least a little planning and effort. You don’t just bump into

Read More

Empowerment is a great thing, especially during times of change, upheaval and disruption. Empowered employees show greater commitment, stay more engaged, and create better results. Empowered employees take more initiative and get more done than employees who work in a fear-based, command-and-control environment. As a new supervisor, you hear and read about these organizational performance

Read More

This is the third in a series of videos on feedback. You can watch the previous videos from the links below. In this video, we talk about how to get others to accept the feedback you are giving – leading them to action. Tweet it out: Before people can apply the feedback you give them,

Read More

How often have you leaned across your desk or paused in an office doorway to ask a colleague a question? Or made eye contact with a team member and raised your eyebrows, a show of silent, supportive communication in the face of a tricky client? Along with water cooler conversations, these small confidences and day-to-day

Read More

Forced to work from home? It’s not perfect, but hey, there’s always Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and any number of webcam apps to help you stay in touch with your teammates. Then, just when people start using these tools and getting used to them, we learn about “Zoom Fatigue.” This is a perfect example of why,

Read More

Last week I talked about the first step in giving effective feedback. You can watch that episode here. In this episode, I am talking about the second step. But before I do that, let’s review the four steps again: Feedback must be heard. Feedback must be understood. Feedback must be accepted. Feedback must be applied.

Read More

Emotions are running high, and people seemingly get angry for no reason. If you’re like most of the people, you managing someone’s emotional outburst is the last thing you one to do. While some people seem to have a knack for helping others “back off the edge,” most people feel at least a little bit

Read More

Most companies have held more virtual conference calls this year than ever before. The rise of work-from-home environments has been more significant than ever, and the number of remote employees will likely remain a constant. Conference calling is one of the best ways for teams to keep everyone in the loop about new projects and

Read More