What are the 3 words that managers find hardest to say? They are possibly the 3 words that parents find hardest to say to children. They are 3 words that teachers very rarely say to their students. They are not “You’re the Best”. They are not “I love you”. What might they be? The 3 hardest … Read more
The Words, the Meaning, the Effect As we communicate, there are 3 separate processes at play: what we say, what we mean when we say it, and what we accomplish by saying it A rhetorician would call these 3 separate processes: 1) locution, 2) illocution, and 3) perlocution. In my courses we use the shorthand “Point X” to … Read more
How do I become a better listener? Become aware of what level you are listening at. There are 5 levels of listening: not listening hearing the noise, waiting for silence hearing the words, preparing my response hearing the meaning from my point of view hearing the emotion, meaning and point of view of the other … Read more
When someone tells me that I am wrong, what do I learn? “You are not doing that right!” “How did you let this happen?” Do I learn what is intended? I don’t think so. I don’t often know what is intended – that I should feel bad or guilty; or that I need to see … Read more
Michael asks “What should you do when you don’t know what to do?” In the times when he felt lost, out of his depth, uncertain, unsure whether he was the right person in the role… All the great moments of self-doubt that I know I share… His mentor’s answer? “Do the next right thing.” The … Read more
What is Charisma? In the words of Dr. Nick Morgan “Charisma is focussed emotion.” There are 2 ways to increase your capacity to deliver “Focussed Emotion” when you speak: Remove Distractions: remove all distractions 30 minutes before you speak Care: know how the message of your speech can change people’s quality of life Watch the … Read more
Freedom is dangerous without self discipline. Few people will get anything important done in life without a boss, a parent, a teacher. It is the removal of freedom that allows creation. Completion requires constraints: deadlines, scope, format… We chaff at the chains, but they serve us. My boss is an idiot, but without her insistance … Read more
I come more and more to the conclusion that excellent performance is not about complex innovations, but about small habits. Excellent performance is about small habits I am reading Leading with Emotional Intelligence by Redlan Nadler. He quotes from book The Extraordinary Leader by Zenger and Folkman. They found that doing 5 specific things really well … Read more
Fear of Failure Clinging to one’s comfort zone Arrogance Defensiveness Impatience Rigid mindset Lack of perspective From Pablo Cardona and Helen Wilkinson’s book “Growing as a Leader“. Have a great weekend.
There was a wonderful letter to the editor in this week’s Economist magazine that used a powerful metaphor of an orchestra to highlight the untenable future of state social spending as currently provided. The letter was in response to Taming Leviathon – a special report on the future of the state. “Sir, you twice mentioned … Read more