Category Influence and Leading Change

Every day, we are inundated with ideas on how to reframe our perspectives around different issues. A new diet to help reframe our relationship with food, a digital course on how to change the way we manage finances, a self-help book on how to better understand where your spouse is coming from during an argument. All of these are great solutions for certain people in certain situations. But what about an actionable way to reframe something that affects all of us?

We’re talking about stress.

No matter how much or little, we all experience stress on a daily basis. For some of us, it can be debilitating. For others, only a mild annoyance. Whichever camp you fall into, stress is an unavoidable part of our lives. We all experience it in different ways, shapes, and forms...

People-Whispering Tip

“Warmth is the conduit of influence.” 
~ Cuddy, Kohut, and Nefinger, HBR July/August 2103 issue

“One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.”
~  Carl Jung

“If your emotional abilities aren’t in hand, if you don’t have self-awareness, if you are not able to manage your distressing emotions, if you can’t have empathy and have effective relationships, then no matter how smart you are, you are not going to get very far.” 
~ Daniel Goleman

“Politeness is to human nature what warmth is to wax.” 
~ Arthur Schopenhauer

“I like to combine the dra...

People-Whispering Tip

“One must not be afraid of a little silence. Some find silence awkward or oppressive. But a relaxed approach to dialogue will include the welcoming of some silence. It is often a devastating question to ask oneself, but it is sometimes important to ask it – “In saying what I have in mind will I really improve the silence?”
~ Robert K. Greenleaf, Servant as Leader

“The void created by the failure to communicate is soon filled with poison, drivel, and misrepresentation.”
~ C. Northcote Parkinson

“A basic tenet of a healthy democracy is open dialogue and transparency.”
~ Peter Fenn

“A conversation is a dialogue not a monologue. That’s why there are so few good conversations: due to scarcity, two intelligent talkers seldom meet.”

~Truman Capote

“The secret to...

People-Whispering Tip:

“No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.”  ~ Mohandas Gandhi

“I want to appreciate you without judging. Join you without invading. Invite you without demanding.  Leave you without guilt.”  ~ Virginia Satir

“To say ‘we’ and mean ‘I’ is one of the most recondite insults.” ~ Theodor Adorno

What We Can Learn About Inclusion From “The Planet of the Apes”

I suspect you may be wondering what apes have to do with corporate culture.

Well, during the filming of the movie “The Planet of the Apes” in 1967, Charlton Heston (remember Moses?) noticed that “an instinctive segregation” seemed to occur with actors on the set...

People-Whispering Tip:

“When you reframe problems as projects or opportunities, they will cease to bother you and will begin to stimulate you.”  ~ Alan Cohen

“How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.” ~ Anonymous

“If you wish to drown, don’t torture yourself with shallow water.” ~ Bulgarian Proverb

3 Keys to Getting Things Done

There is a common cry I hear from almost all of my clients these days. That refrain is, there are just not enough hours in the day. I feel their pain and sincerely empathize. Another common complaint I hear is something akin to “I just can’t seem to get myself going on this project.” I feel unmotivated as well as overwhelmed.” Does any of this sound familiar?

Yet when we really observe human behavior, most of us find the time to do ...

People-Whispering Tip: Not All Trust is Created Equal

DiSC Assessment Application:  The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Complimentary Discovery Conversations, Everything DiSC Virtual Certification, and The Work of Leaders Book

Transformational Coaching Tip: Tips for Championing Execution Through Momentum

People-Whispering Tip:

“Trusting your individual uniqueness challenges you to lay yourself open.” James Broughton

“Trust is a great force multiplier.” Tom Ridge

Not All Trust is Created Equal

Most people would agree that trust and teamwork are essential elements for a successful organization.  When trust and teamwork are present, people are happier, more productive and tend to give their best personally and professionally...

People-Whispering Tip: The Positive Power of Assessments in the Workplace

DiSC Assessment Application:  The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team , Complimentary Strategy Sessions, Everything DiSC Virtual Certification and The Work of Leaders Book

Transformational Coaching Tip: Tips for Being Inspirational

People-Whispering Tip:

“Know Thyself” Socrates (469-399 BC)

It Starts With Self-Awareness:

There is an ancient saying inscribed on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi attributed to the great Greek philosopher Socrates. That saying is “Know Thyself.”  Socrates knew that we must first understand ourselves in order to be truly wise.

In today’s language, we call this self-knowledge self-awareness...

People-Whispering Tip: We’re All in this Together: Letting Go of the Lone Ranger Syndrome

DiSC Assessment Application: The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team, Everything DiSC Virtual Certification, Complimentary Strategy Sessions and Everything DiSC Comparison Reports, and The Work of Leaders Book

Transformational Coaching Tip: Tips for Generating Dialogue

People-Whispering Tip:

“The guy who invented the wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius.” Sid Caesar

As I work with organizations today, I see a common misdirection of focus and energy.  I call this misguided approach “the Lone Ranger Syndrome.”  Sure, there is a lot of lip service for becoming a high-performing team...

Nelson Mandela

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.”

It was 1990 and Nelson Mandela, prisoner 46664, had just been released from prison on Robbin Island after 27 years.  I recall going to see him speak in Piedmont Park with throngs of my fellow Atlantans.

I remember the organizers requested no flash photography be used around him as the retinas of his eyes had been damaged from exposure for so many years to blinding sun reflecting off the white stone in the rock quarries where he was sentenced to hard labor.

He impressed me with his presence so much that I want to honor his passing last week by highlighting just a few of the leadership lessons we can learn from him...

People-Whispering Tip: Learn to Be Bold and Make a Dent in the Universe

DiSC Assessment Application: Videos for You on the Website re the Work of Leaders Profile (DiSC and Leadership), Emotional Intelligence, and your Primary Leadership Dimension, FREE Strategy Sessions, Free Everything DiSC Comparison Reports, The Work of Leaders Book

Transformational Coaching Tip: How to be Bold

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People-Whispering Tip:

In many organizations, people are sometimes hesitant to speak their minds and to express bold thoughts and ideas. We’ve been taught that we need to be innovative while still being on time and within budget! We’ve been taught (consciously or not) that being too “out there” could be potentially career-limiting.
But consider this quo...