One of the most interesting and provocative leadership training exercises I have facilitated over the years is one I call The Mousetrap Maze. You set it up pretty much exactly the way it sounds, loaded mousetraps are set randomly on the floor in a large defined space. On one side of the line are several pairs of teammates who will …
Who’s Your Ronaldo?
You’ve heard it before. One rotten apple spoils the whole bushel. Intellectually ,we get the wisdom in that idiom. Then, why is it so hard to effectively manage disruptive, disgruntled, or underproducing team members? I believe it boils down to fear or, better said, the lack of courage. I recently coached a leader who was struggling with a tough decision …
Just Ask
Have you ever answered someone’s question and heard them respond, “Oh, that’s not exactly what I meant…”? We aren’t typically great listeners so we often think we know exactly what someone is asking, jump to a conclusion, and begin to formulate our answer before the person has even put the question mark on their sentence. Additionally, as personal leaders we …
Sour Milk and Leadership
I know. It’s completely unladylike to drink milk straight from the container. However, occasionally when I’ve needed an ibuprofen for a headache to get to sleep and to put a little something in my stomach, I’ve reached straight for the container so I don’t need to turn lights on or make much noise. The last time I succumbed to this …
11 Ways to Sound More Confident and Positive
According to behavioral scientists, researchers, and psychologists, there are 11 phrases that we should ditch from our vocabulary if we want to sound, feel, and be experienced as more confident and positive. Here they are in no particular order: Don’t say: I can’t do that. Do say: I can try to do that. We might not do it but trying …
Ditch the “Sandwich”!
My first experience leading a team was at my only job outside of the dental and healthcare industries. In the mid-1980s, I took the role as the marketing manager for Callaway Winery in Temecula, CA. I had a small team of 5 people, and we were tasked with retail marketing in grocery stores and wine shops, restaurant marketing, label design …
Impact
Recently, I settled into what felt like a perfect flight—it left on time, I had a good seat, and the Wi-Fi was working splendidly. It was a perfect flight except for the flight attendant. She seemed rushed (where did she have to go?) and smiled in a way which made me feel she was doing it despite a bad case …
The Triangle Trap
Do you sometimes feel you’re spinning in a never-ending destructive communication cycle with certain people? We all have, and we all will, until we understand how to recognize where we’re stuck and how to respond in a way that breaks us and the other person out of the cycle. In 1968, San Francisco psychiatrist, Stephen B. Karpman developed a social …
Endorsing Excellence
What we don’t address, we endorse. Many leaders have lately commented to me that they are afraid to have a “courageous conversation” with someone on their team because they fear that if the conversation does not go well, they may lose the person and not be able to replace them for many months. Some feel their businesses could not afford …
Me TOO!
We all talk, but I talk for a living. I’m a speaker, trainer, and coach, and that’s what I do. I talk. Good thing that I love to talk. I always have—just ask my parents, teachers, kids, and spouse. Lucky me, they are really good listeners. I was the kid with my hand up in class. I was always the …
