I just returned from 2 weeks of family vacation in Italy.
 
For the first time since the advent of mobile phones, I made the conscious decision to unplug 100%.  No Internet, no cell phone, no television, no newspapers, and no business periodicals. I took 3 books: two off-beat Italian books, and one I love called “Right [...]

Does your workplace feel or appear less professional these days? 
Here are six steps to help your team ”polish up” their presence:
1. Join Toastmasters.
Very affordable (about $75 per year) Toastmasters is a great place to practice your speaking and presentation skills in a safe and encouraging environment. It helps with your grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary, you name it. Almost every community [...]

As our calendar year comes to a close, reviewing what you worked on and the big changes we made together, here were the top issues of 2010:

Resolving Conflict Across Generations
Increasing Engagement and Efficiency
Building Trust Throughout the Organization
Better Communication to Increase Productivity
Re-visiting Corporate Vision, Mission and Values and Getting Clarity
Creating Commitment and Improving Accountability
Understanding and Using Workplace Motivators
Improving [...]

Today, as I lay on ice to help aleviate my chronic back pain, I felt just a wee bit sorry for myself.  I was scanning my in box and I had an email from coach Jim Vuocolo, who had received this from a friend, and felt compelled to share it with his friends.  He didn’t [...]

A Primer on Loss and Grief for Leaders
If you are running a company of any size, you hear about some relative or friend of your workforce dying almost every day. In even the smallest company, there is loss all around your employees. Loss you don’t see, and I am about to make you aware of. [...]

“OMG, Here she goes again with the EQ stuff!  I’m focused on the bottom line and don’t have time do deal with all this ’soft stuff’…”
I know, but here’s the deal. It’s all soft stuff.  Yes, that’s what I said.  It’s all soft stuff.  Just imagine, you show up at your office, and find out all [...]

In my last post I talked about disengagement.  Let’s continue the discussion, first, by giving you a “state of the people” address.  Then let’s look at some actions you can take to proactively position yourself for the next battle:
Some things you should know:  

According to a recent study by the Washington-based Corporate Executive Board, the [...]

This seems to be the question of 2009.  Especially when there is a Boomer at the helm and a Generation X/Y workforce. Alright, leaders, this may not be what you want to hear, but it’s time for you to work on something.
What?  Oh GAWWW>>>>here she goes again.  yep.
Engagement is about relationship.  If your team doesn’t feel [...]

Distinction: EQ is not drama. (things becoming more emotional)  It is the opposite.
 
We are all draining some amount of revenue because of a less than perfect score on our emotional intelligence.
 
Oh, man, here she goes again with the fluffy stuff.  Emotional Intelligence?  You’ve got to be kidding.  I have a deadline to meet…no time for touchy-feely talk [...]

All of us need to improve our decision making abilities in this business environment. 
IQ (Intelligence Quotient) measures your overall general intelligence. EQ (Emotional Quotient) measures your emotional intelligence: your ability to sense, understand, and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions to facilitate high levels of collaboration and productivity.  This is how effective leaders [...]