12

Jul

Use your words

1 comment

liane

anger, communication, conflict management, crying, emotion, frustration, hostility, resentment

Uncategorized

  “Use your words.”  It’s a line you probably heard as a child when you were getting agitated but not articulating what was wrong.  Your parents taught you that expressing your frustration in words gives you a shot at making things better. Fast forward to adulthood and ask yourself how well you’re using your words […]

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14

Jun

Should I get involved?

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liane

Bully, bullying, bystander, communication, conflict, dysfunction, Fighting, interpersonal conflict, intervene

Be a better team member, conflict, Horror Stories, How to fix teams, Right Words to Say

  During the question and answer section of a speech I gave last week, someone posed a question that I think is top of mind for many people: if two of my teammates are fighting, should I get involved?  How would you answer? Do you subscribe to the “none of my business” approach and butt […]

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27

May

How self-aware are you?

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liane

communication, detail orientation, directness, risk taking, self-awareness, Strategic thinking

Be a better team member, Exercises, How to fix teams

  I bet you’re incredibly familiar with the styles and quirks of each of your teammates.  You know what they do that drives you nuts. You know when they go one step to far.  But you’re probably much less aware of your own foibles.  One of the most critical things you can do to contribute […]

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08

Apr

5 busy person mistakes to avoid

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liane

busy, busyness, communication, communication breakdown, listening, multi-tasking, overwhelmed, overwork, priorities

Be a better team member, Communicate, Horror Stories

  I bet you’re a busy person.  Don’t believe me, see for yourself…Does your task list equate to more hours than you have in the day? Do you routinely have to finish work in the evenings or on weekends just to keep your head above water? Are you often wanted in two places at once […]

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25

Mar

Checklist for effective one-way communication

1 comment

liane

communication, disappointed, emails, intent and impact, messages, Offsites, presentations, speeches

Be a better team leader, Communicate, Right Words to Say

  In my previous post, I complained about people who transmit one-way messages and think they’ve communicated.  You can read the full post here. Essentially, the point is that transmitting a message without confirming whether or not it was received and, more importantly, how it was interpreted means you haven’t really communicated at all.  But […]

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22

Mar

How often do you communicate?

4 comments

liane

communication, dialogue, engagement, interaction, meetings, techniques, tips, whole greater than sum of the parts

About teams, Communicate, How to fix teams, Personal Development, Right Words to Say

  There are a lot of activities that look like communication that really shouldn’t count.  Sending an email out into the abyss isn’t communicating. Popping into someone’s office to say something and then moving right along isn’t communicating. Listening to someone talk without saying a word isn’t communicating. If you eliminated all one-way transmission of […]

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04

Mar

Unconventional Wisdom on Constructive Feedback

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liane

anger, communication, constructive criticism, constructive feedback, embarassment, Emotions, feedback, frustration, positive feedback, warning

Be a better team leader, How to fix teams, Right Words to Say

  In my previous post, I talked about emotional reactions to issues at work; specifically, things that make people cry.  In that post, I alluded to the idea that advanced warning of difficult messages gives time to process the issue, reduces the surprise factor, and makes it easier to control the emotional side of the […]

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15

Feb

One trick to turn a useless meeting into effective communication

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liane

authenticity, candor, communication, hearing, issues, listening, meetings, speaking, talking

About teams, Be a better team member, Communicate, Exercises, How to fix teams, Right Words to Say

How often do you meet with your team without actually communicating with them? For one team I worked with recently, that kind of meeting was commonplace. Now they were offsite with an opportunity to dig deeply into some of the most pressing questions facing the team. Three hours into the day, one of the participants […]

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12

Oct

Dealing with trust issues on your team

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liane

communication, competence, confidence, connection, relationships, reliability, Team Dysfunction, trust

Be a better team member, Communicate

  Is there a trust problem on your team? Are you worried that your teammates don’t trust you? It’s a pretty common concern. But what does it mean and what’s the source of the issue? Trust is one of the most nebulous issues facing teams and a proper definition of the nature of the trust […]

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08

Oct

How quickly do you trust?

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liane

communication, competence, confidence, conflict, dysfunction, integrity, mindset, personality, reliability, teamwork, trust

About teams, Be a better team member, conflict, How to fix teams

Trust is one of the most critical factors in building a high performing team. Without trust, things move slowly (often one step forward and two steps back), redundancy and rework increases, and engagement drops while stress goes up.  If there is an absence of trust on your team, take it seriously and address it as […]

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