Leadership occurs in communication, both verbal and nonverbal. Verbal communication, however, does not mean just talking. Talking is not the same as communicating and not all talking is equally effective. If it were, all of us would have a much easier time doing the things with other people. One aspect of leadership communication is creating […]
Do you use deadlines when you make requests? Deadlines are one of the most powerful tools for accomplishment you can use. They give people information that allows them to organize and prioritize the work they have. Without due dates, people aren’t sure when they should work on things. As a result, work gets postponed, no […]
Have you ever wanted to reduce, if not end, unproductive complaints? One way to do that is to implement a policy that people only complain to those who can do something about the complaint. Complaints are prevalent in organizations. People complain about the weather, about their work, about their coworkers, and about their boss(es). Although […]
How do you get credibility when you don’t already have it, particularly when you are new to a group? One way is to use a closure conversation. One function of a closure conversation is to acknowledge the facts of a situation. In this case, it is used to let other people know that you know […]
How often have you heard (or made) one of the following complaints (or some variation thereof): We have a real communication problem here. They don’t tell us anything, and when they do tell us, it’s not much. They never give us enough information. The absence or inadequacy of communication is one of the most frequently […]
Tiger Wood’s recently addressed the world to apologize for his marital infidelity. If you watched the apology, you could tell that it was not easy for him. He was clearly ill at ease, unsure of himself, nervous, and at times, upset. For someone who values his privacy, this was difficult. In terms of The Four […]
Credibility is essential to being an effective leader. One of the most powerful ways to build credibility is to own up to something that didn’t work and apologize for it. When Ed Koch was mayor of New York, he was concerned about the number of accidents resulting from bikers darting in and out of traffic. […]
The State of the Union address is an opportunity for the President of the United States to inform the Congress, and the American people, his assessment of the state of the union – good, bad, or ugly. It is an opportunity to acknowledge accomplishments, recognize people for their service and sacrifices, and, where appropriate, make […]
A former student of mine sent me the link to a great blog article posted by Fast Company entitled “2010: The Year of Saying ‘I Got It’ “. The focus of the article, written by Lynette Chiang, is how companies, as well as individuals, have gotten into the habit of not responding to inquiries – […]
I have been doing some research in preparation for a workshop on personal accountability a colleague and I are doing for MBA’s at the Fisher College. As I have been getting into it, I am beginning to notice more about what the absence of accountability sounds like when people talk. Consider the following example. The […]
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