Communication
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11.24.2015
Giving Thanks, Expressing Gratitude
This week we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, traditionally a day of giving thanks for the harvest (that provides our food) and for the preceding year. History and tradition suggest that this celebration goes back in the United States at least to a 1621 feast in the Plymouth Colony celebrating a good harvest in the Colony’s first […]
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09.22.2015
If You Want People to Listen, Stop Talking
Today’s Tuesday Reading, “If You Want People to Listen, Stop Talking,” comes from the pen of Peter Bregman and appeared in the Harvard Business Review blog on May 25, 2015. Bergman is CEO of Bergman Partners, a company that strengthens leadership in people and organizations through programs, consulting, and coaching. He is also author of […]
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08.25.2015
When Your Whisper Is Heard As A Shout
Adam Galinsky, a faculty member at the Columbia Business School, and author of the New York Times article “When You’re in Charge, Your Whisper May Feel Like a Shout,” recalls casually saying to one of his doctoral students, “I need to see you this afternoon. Can you come by my office at 3 pm?” He didn’t […]
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08.19.2015
Engage Your Staff
In a recent Interact/Harris Poll of some 1000 U.S. workers, 91% of the respondents said communication issues prevent leaders from being as effective as they might be. The most frequent issues noted in the survey were: 1 Not recognizing employee achievements2 Not giving clear directions3 Not having time to meet with employees4 Refusing to talk […]
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08.04.2015
G–I–V–E Feedback: A Path to Improvement
Today’s Tuesday Reading, G–I–V–E Feedback: A Path to Improvement, is an essay by Mary Therese Durr, Director of Computing Support and Information Technology Service Management at Boston College an ad MOR Leaders Program alumnus. Her essay provides an additional tool, beyond those in the Tuesday Readings of last June, for formulating and giving feedback. There […]
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07.14.2015
Emotional Intelligence in Tough Conversations
Today’s Tuesday Reading is a short video Emotional Intelligence in Tough Conversations from the Harvard Business School’s “The Management Tip” series. The presenter is Susan David, CEO, Evidence Based Psychology and Codirector, Institute of Coaching, McLean Hospital. David is also co-author of Emotional Agility, which appeared in the November 2013 issue of the Harvard Business Review. […]
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06.16.2015
Feedback 101 – What Is It?
“We all live in the world with only the vaguest notion of our impact, and sometimes that matters. Clearly, when we’re effective or helpful, we ought to know it. And when our actions are working against us or others, we ought to know that too. Given how most of us put our heads down and […]
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06.09.2015
Leadership Happens Through Action and Behavior
Today’s Tuesday Reading “Leadership Happens Through Action and Behavior” first appeared as a Weekly Reflection for the University of Minnesota Advanced Leaders Program. It’s author, Chris Grantham is Chief of Staff to the Vice President and CIO at the University. Many of you know I have a 19-month-old daughter, Iris, whom I adore absolutely and […]
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06.02.2015
Managing Up
In addition to all of the things you have to do in your job is the important responsibility of managing the relationship with your boss. It takes time and energy. And, managing it is as important as any of your work, and doing it well can simplify your job by eliminating future problems. Stop for a […]
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05.12.2015
Managing Difficult Conversations
Today’s Tuesday Reading focuses on managing difficult conversations. Most likely each of us will have at least one difficult conversation today. We’ve all had difficult conversations that have gone badly and we instinctly fear that the one on the horizon will do so as well. Today’s reading is actually a video produced by Fred Kofman. […]
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04.28.2015
More About Questions
Today’s Tuesday Reading, More About Questions, continues our discussion from the past two weeks. As we’ve noted there, being able to ask good, well-formed questions is as important to a leader as being able to listen well. Today, we’ll focus on crafting our questions, on asking questions, and finally on those terrible questions we should […]
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04.21.2015
Asking Good Questions
Today’s Tuesday Reading, Asking Good Questions, continues the series begun last week. There we noted that asking good questions is as important as listening well. After all, a major part of a leader’s job is initiating and building relationships, collaborating to craft a vision and strategies, developing an understanding of the work and desired results, […]
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04.14.2015
Asking Questions
Today’s Tuesday Reading begins a short series of readings on the subject of asking questions. It was Voltaire who said, “It is easier to judge the mind of a man by his questions rather than his answers.” Mark Suster, entrepreneur turned venture capitalist said it this way: “The ability to ask questions effectively is one of […]
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03.24.2015
Leadership Lessons from Secretary Clinton’s Email Decisions
I suspect that we all have heard enough about Secretary Clinton’s decisions, first to use a non-government email server for both her government-related email as well as her personal email, and subsequently about the processes followed to preserve or delete emails. And, that you like me want to be done with it. Even with that as […]
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03.17.2015
Additional Thoughts on Networking
Last week I was attracted to a short piece [1] on networking by Marc Thompson. Thompson is an author, leadership coach, and investor. The article’s title, “Why Jeff Bezos, Tony Hsieh and Al Gore Told Me to Stop Networking,” was what caught my eye. Thompson notes at the beginning of the piece that the typical advice […]
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03.10.2015
How Shall I Listen
“Humble listening” is among the top four characteristics of leaders. – Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO, GE “If there is any one secret of success, it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.” – Henry Ford “To be able […]
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03.03.2015
Employee Morale
For the past three weeks, the Tuesday Readings have focused on one or another facet of employee engagement. Today, we shift the focus a bit and turn our attention to “Employee Morale.” Our author is Vi Bergquist, CIO at St Cloud Technical & community college. Vi’s essay was a recent weekly reflection in one of […]
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02.24.2015
Employee Engagement – What's a Manager to Do? (Part 2)
The past two Tuesday Readings have focused on employee engagement, first, on February 10, 2015, focusing on what employee engagement is and then on February 17, turning to a set of five expectations that employees have of their supervisors. The data shows that if these expectations are met, engagement will increase. And, that’s a good thing. […]
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02.17.2015
Employee Engagement – What's a Manager to Do?
Last week’s Tuesday Reading, “Employee Engagement – What?” focused on what employee engagement is. According to Kevin Kruse in Employee Engagement 2.0, “Employee engagement is the emotional commitment the employee has to the organization and its goals. This emotional commitment means engaged employees actually care about their work and their company. They don’t work just for a […]
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11.25.2014
Thanks Giving, Gratitude
This week, at least in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, traditionally a day of giving thanks for the harvest (that provides our food) and for the preceding year. History suggests that this celebration goes back in the United States at least to a 1621 feast in the Plymouth Colony celebrating a good harvest […]