Improve Your Skills
« Previous EntriesHow to Ensure Your Change Management Efforts won’t Fail
Wednesday, August 11th, 2010Change in business has become a constant, not the exception. While many internal and external forces are causing companies to make organizational changes, research has demonstrated that most organizational change efforts fail. How do you make sure your change efforts won’t fail? The key to successful organizational change is implementing a formal change management strategy [...]
How to Apply John Kotter’s Eight Steps for Leading Organizational Change
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010John Kotter is an expert in the area of leadership and change management who came up with a list of eight steps for leading organizational change. I’ve applied these steps successfully many times throughout my career and have found them to be incredibly helpful.
Negotiating to Win – Tips for Improving Your Negotiating Skills
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010In today’s business world, being a good negotiator can make a big difference in your career. Not only can it help you in your career, such as earning more money (by negotiating a raise), earning a higher title (by negotiating a promotion), or obtaining budget money (to take on a prominent project), but it can [...]
How to Encourage and Exemplify Collaborative Leadership
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009“Someone once observed that a leader is a person who finds out which way the parade is going, jumps in front, and yells ‘Follow me!’” (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2008, Organizational Behavior: key concepts, skills & best practices, Boston: McGraw-Hill Irwin, page 347). While many people would obviously have difficulty supporting that definition of a leader, [...]
The Importance of Listening to Understand, Not Reply
Wednesday, October 28th, 2009Have you ever been speaking with someone, finished talking, and then ask them, “So, what do you think?” only to have them respond with, “Huh? I’m sorry, what did you say?” Have you ever tried holding a conversation with someone who keeps interrupting you to add their thoughts and comments – before you’re even done [...]
Job Seekers – Beware Your Use of Social Networking and Use it Wisely
Wednesday, August 26th, 2009Almost every day there seems to be more discussion in the media and around water coolers at work about social networking sites, blogging, and tools such as Twitter. But, job seekers beware because what you post or “Twitter” about could cost you that much coveted job or promotion if you’re not careful!
How to Manage Conflict within Groups
Wednesday, June 10th, 2009In recent years, conflicts appear to be escalating in companies, in large part due to increased pressure to achieve financial objectives in difficult economic times, having to do more work with fewer resources, greater stress due to heavier workloads, and because more companies are using cross-functional teams (as opposed to individuals) to solve company problems [...]
Brainstorming: What it is and How to Use it
Wednesday, March 18th, 2009In this week’s blog I’d like to chat about the topic of brainstorming, because it’s a terrific way to generate ideas.
How to Make Better Decisions
Wednesday, February 18th, 2009I’m often asked how I go about making difficult decisions and I admit that it’s often not an easy process. But, it’s a process I follow to help ensure my decisions are well-thought out and that I’ve considered all angles of a problem and potential solutions. The process I follow is called a rational decision-making [...]
The Importance of Positive Self-Talk
Wednesday, January 28th, 2009When I think about self-talk I think of that interesting little voice in our heads we hear after certain situations that helps us evaluate and make sense of what has happened. This self-talk can be positive or negative, and, it can turn into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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