Gift giving is essentially about establishing and maintaining relationships. We give gifts to acknowledge someone’s life (birthday), accomplishment (graduation), new beginnings (baby) and many other reasons for celebrations or sometimes even condolences. Even when we give obligatory gifts, such as a holiday present to Aunt Emily whom we rarely see but who expects a gift), […]
A New Year’s Resolution that Benefits Everyone
Some years ago, a student was giving a presentation for a class I was teaching. The idea was to persuade a resistant audience to change their attitudes or behaviors about an issue. In the course of her message, she recalled something one of her mentors had said to her: “If you have a chance to […]
Three Ways to Combat a Chronic Complainer
Your coworker may be dedicated, hard-working, and good at her job. However, her active criticism of any and everything gets on coworker’s nerves and makes us want to insulate ourselves from her rants. Complainers sap energy from an organization because they make sure that every cloud has a lead lining. They make things look worse […]
Getting the Answers You Need: Asking Questions Effectively
Leaders need to be able to discover what’s really going on in their organizations and identify solutions to solve problems facing the company. Whether you are a senior manager, a department head, or a team leader, if you know how to ask good questions and then listen carefully to the answers, you will be ahead […]
Show that you care about people: # 3 of Five Essential Leadership Behaviors
In a world where history happens before our eyes, and cataclysmic change has become the norm, most people are eager for wise, strong, and compassionate leadership—in our work, our organizations, and our governments. Atlanta-based consultant, Dr. Timothy Irwin points out that most leaders have a need for affiliation. In other words, they require association with […]