Conversation Avoidance Is A Professional Defect

I am regularly surprised by the lack of conversational courage in professional circles these days. Not every conversation ends up with a great outcome. Sometimes you must deliver disappointing information. You may even have to let someone go or fire them. You might have to tell a vendor you’ve decided to work with someone else. […]

Leadership Thought #446 – Focus on The Conversation Not The Distractions

I spend a majority of my work life in meetings or one on one conversations. It never ceases to amaze me the different attitudes people have about basic communication and meeting etiquette. We’ve all read countless article about the importance of “being present” and minimizing distractions, but I’m not sure the message is sticking. Moreover, I haven’t seen one article that supports the premise that multi-tasking makes you more effective as a leader. In fact, it is quite the contrary.

Daily Leadership Thought #148 – A Little Courtesy Goes A Long Way

In the course of a given day the average person has interactions with dozens of people (if not more). Many times these are only brief encounters with very little substance involved in the dialogue. It’s easy to not pay attention to how you’re coming across and/or make the extra efforts of being polite and courteous. However, life is built on these small conversations. You are either gaining allies/ friends or not. And, you never know when you’ll need a helping hand or advocate.