collaboration

6 Phrases for Kinder, More Productive Conversations

It’s no secret that civil discourse in our modern American society is, at best, eroded.

6 Characteristics Leaders Look for In Their Employees

We’ve heard it before, and we will hear it again: soft skills really are important. Emotional intelligence and communication skills are paramount in the decisions hiring managers make to engage a given candidate, or not. But once you’ve got the job, what kinds of things can you do to cause a boss to look on you with more favor?

Deep down, through and through, I am a lover of people. I delight in the presence of others, I love to energize other people and to be energized by them. I love to inspire them and to be inspired by them. I love to encounter the way they look at the world and learn from it. I love to be able to share the workload. Yup, I’m a "people-ist". I love people.

I happily find myself in a job that...

You’ve heard me say it before, and I’ll say it again… “We shouldn’t put people in boxes (not physically and not metaphorically).” It’s totally unfair to assume that just because someone demonstrates several of the tendencies common to a person who fits in “Box A” that means they permanently and in all other ways belong in “Box A”.

A good friend and fellow leader told me a story today of the rush that he felt as he watched his team come together to work towards a common good.

I am struck with how many times we seem to demand perfection of ourselves or of those around us. It’s as if in our haste to make things excellent, we forget that perfection is a direction not a destination. And then we, as fallen human beings, will continue to make mistakes day after day. When we demand perfection of someone else, we are setting an expectation that is unachievable. When we...

So recently, while driving, I passed a billboard sign for a nearby university that had a picture of a keyboard with a chat bubble coming out of it. The words in the chat bubble were “be a leader.” While the ad is eye-catching, and perhaps pithy, I take issue with the concept it conveys and the potential misrepresentation of leadership.

One. Does. Not. Lead. From. A. Computer.

Looking around at media, social media, workplace conversations, dinner table talk, and the arts and entertainment industry, I fear it’s getting dark.  We have become so very judgmental, it’s almost terrifying.

I started reading relationship books when I was in middle school. I know it’s not your typical middle schooler reading, but I wanted to learn about how to cultivate positive relationships. Since that time, I have had many a conversation with friends about defining the relationship (DTR). Defining the relationship is a process that the people in a relationship undergo to ensure that all parties...

Spoiler alert: yes.

There have been a number of things going on in our society and in our various workplaces recently that are challenging some pretty foundational assumptions we have about ourselves and other people.