What Motivates People If you’re a manager, you are called on regularly to motivate others. Being a successful leader relies on your ability to help others perform well.  Traditionally, we use the carrot and stick approach.  We bribe people with money or other incentives.  But, once the incentive goes away, so does the drive to […]

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Celebrating Women’s History Month: Tools and Tactics For Women At Work In her weekly blog, author and organizational development expert Dr. Anne Litwin sites study after study that conclude that women perform better than men in areas of leadership, management and decision-making. Yet women only make up 3 to 4 percent of CEO’s worldwide. For […]

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Science now confirms that you only get one chance to make a first impression, and that impression takes hold more quickly than you might think.  Psychologist and neuroscientist Dr. Bastian Schiller and a team of researchers in Switzerland have discovered that subconsciously, we decide within milliseconds who or what we like or don’t like.  The […]

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What’s your approach to introducing a new initiative? Do you plan alone or with just a select few?  Do you make the decisions and tell others?  Do you push for closure, focused primarily on getting the task done? If you answered, “Yes” to the above questions you may find that your good ideas often fail […]

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Len is a visionary. That’s one of his strengths –one that he sometimes feels is more burden than asset.  Why?  Because to the members of his organization, his ever-evolving aspirations feel like, “Here we go again!  He’s on to something else!  He’s never satisfied!  Before we really get going with his last great idea, he’s […]

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What’s your office environment like these days? Many companies are moving to the new open space concept. Doing so represents a change – and in many cases, a significant one. If your work environment is shifting to the open plan, with fewer to no walls and private offices, utilize change management techniques as you lead […]

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When it comes to behavior change, did you know that asking questions could be more influential than making statements? Did you know that posing questions in a way that invites a “Yes” or “No” response can more effectively encourage the desired behavior than a declarative statement? The results of a 40-year research study conducted by […]

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Using the Implicit Assumption Tests, IATs, as well as, visualization and the loving kindness meditation, a Buddhist practice known to engender feelings of happiness and kindness towards oneself and others, researchers have made an interesting discovery. They’ve found that just seven minutes of the loving-kindness meditation, with the meditator focused on a person of a […]

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Thanksgiving is a one of my favorite holidays! It calls my attention to the bounty of blessings I enjoy every day…and don’t always acknowledge. Whatever our circumstances, no matter how privileged or challenging life may be, too often, we give too much energy and attention to what’s wrong, what’s lacking, what’s worrisome. In so doing, […]

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In her book “Strategize To Win,” Carla Harris writes about performance currency and relationship currency. Performance currency comes from doing your job well, building a strong track record through stellar performance and delivering on time and above expectation. Performance currency is most important to build when you’re starting out. Early on in your career, it […]

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Consider the people around you – those at home and at work. You have a story about each of them. They have one about you. These static stories seldom change, unless we challenge them by intentionally expanding our thinking. Two steps are involved. 1. Acknowledge you don’t have a complete, accurate picture. 2. Consciously open […]

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Buddha said, “Those who have failed to work toward the truth have missed the purpose of living.” This reminds me to look beyond the story of my limited, personal truth about situations and people. Whether in the workplace or in our private lives, we have to look beyond our limited understanding to see truth. For […]

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Think about something you’ve learned. For example, how to manage meetings, make effective presentations, write well, play tennis or golf. How to be a good listener, a great salesperson, teacher, parent or surfer. Whatever you know how to do today, you’ve learned it by degrees. I call it learning in layers. The first layer of […]

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  The group, all senior leaders, was discussing the new business vision and strategy.  Soon, the conversation took a deep dive into the details concerning how certain initiatives would be designed and executed.   As their facilitator, I called their attention to what they were doing and asked if this was the level of conversation […]

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Keen observers of self and others have a competitive edge. But, too often, our willingness to pay attention is dialed down too low. Much that we should see, and could capitalize on, passes us by. We’re blinded by the habit of inattention. We’re no longer fully present, noticing what’s going on within us and around […]

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While facilitating a workshop, the participants, all senior leaders, began talking about how hard it is to get their people to buy-in to important changes. They described their workforce as resistant to change. I asked them to think about themselves and recall the day they received word of their promotion…to remember all they thought and […]

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Jeffery Davis of trackingwonder.com suggests that after a period of intense focus on a task, its helpful to change your rhythm by doing something different; interject something pleasurable and off task. He recommends taking a 5 to 20 minute relaxing, fun-filled break to clear your mind. Consider going for a walk, listening to music, dancing, […]

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Crying can be an indicator of pain, a call for attention, comfort or support, an expression of intense emotion. Crying can also be a way of relieving pressure, letting go of held emotions. Traditionally, crying in the workplace has been taboo, largely due to the long-held belief that tears make you appear weak, vulnerable, emotional, […]

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Where are you right now? Are you driving while your mind is back in your last conversation or thinking about the one you plan to have later? Are you typing an email while your attention is focused on the conversation in the next cubicle? Are you working on a report while imagining how heavy traffic […]

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    If you’re trying to learn new information, or teach it to others, find what in it is familiar and build the teaching around those recognizable chunks. According to new research completed by Carnegie Mellon University psychologists, it’s actually easier to learn new facts if they also contain familiar components. In the workplace, these […]

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