Imagine this is your job description: Must interrupt people, usually unsolicited, and try to get them to change or be interested or, most importantly of all, part with their money. Will need to constantly prove yourself, and the people who hold all the cards will often treat you with arrogance in return. To be successful,
It’s hard to persuade someone to think or do something they are not inclined to do. People often don’t have the need-to, want-to, can-do or will-do attitude to change. Whether or not we’re successful in the attempt usually comes down to a single important decision we make about how we will go about persuading the
A colleague noticed the vibe of a leadership team conference call getting tense. One of the leaders was asking implicating questions to other leaders in an attempt to shift the blame for his issue onto them. He ultimately succeeded in doing so, and those he singled out quickly shut down, feeling frustrated. After the call, one
Gallup research shows that Minnesota has the lowest employee engagement levels of any state in the US. At the same time, according to recent data from CNBC, Minnesota ranks 15th overall in competitiveness for business and third for quality of life, after Hawaii and Vermont (who rank 50th and 32nd for competitiveness, respectively). As a
“Healthy conflict creates joy.” As my business partner and I stood in front of the team and made that statement, our excitement was a bit tempered by the reaction all around us: There were some enthusiastic nods, but more than a few looked at us in confusion and even disbelief about what we’d just said.
Show me a transcript of all of your emails, meetings and conversations this week, and I’ll tell you what you really value. Emails, meetings, deskwork…much of what I do each week feels productive but really isolates me from others. These activities are usually more about getting things done than about connecting with other human beings.
Engagement is a hot topic in organizations today, and with good reason. Recent Gallup research shows that organizations with high levels of engagement outperform all the others in just about every key measure of business. Organizations typically talk about the issue in terms of increasing employee engagement, but perhaps a more relevant way to describe
Does your mind sometimes have a “mind of its own”? Last Thursday night mine thought obsessively about work while I wished it would think of questions to ask my kids about their day. On Valentine’s Day, it wanted to stay up late watching a movie that I knew my wife wouldn’t enjoy. My mind is
Last week, I watched a leader do the tango, cha-cha, two-step, waltz and breakdance in front of his people. No, he wasn’t literally dancing, but seeing how he inspired, motivated and got buy-in from his team, I was struck by how his flexibility and performance were no less extraordinary than an artist’s at peak form.
Leadership, at its core, is about influencing others: It’s about inspiring people to take your cue, get on board and move towards a desired outcome. How do you, personally, get people to buy, agree, support or listen? While there are certain qualities that all great leaders share, the way they go about influencing others can
Matt Norman is president of Norman & Associates, which offers Dale Carnegie Training in the North Central US. Dale Carnegie Training is a global organization ...READ MORE