I was confidently rolling through my day when I got an email intended for someone else. It was a strongly worded message criticizing my leadership, sent by a colleague who felt they’d been poorly treated. Seeing that felt like a punch in the stomach. And the discussion that followed was really hard. But, like many
Competing priorities are very evident when dealing with a two-year-old. Adults compromise, negotiate, persuade, enforce and request. Two-year-olds demand. Responding to those demands requires great diplomacy. Two-year-olds don’t have patience for unsatisfactory answers. And they don’t take the high road by letting you off the hook. One night last week, my two-year-old told me she
Are you aware of how the tone of your communication impacts others? It might be far more than you think. In a recent study, researchers at the University of Southern California analyzed the acoustic features of couples’ dialogues and, based on that analysis, were able to out-predict marriage therapists on which couples would remain together.
The past week brought communication of conflict and crisis. I read news of human violence, learned about friends in difficult circumstances, and I had hard conversations. My mind was on high alert. As situations arose, I was one part anxious, one part awkward, and one part focused. Have you been there? Where I was directly
My wife Kari and I took our three kids and dog for a weekend away. Just the act of getting everyone in the car is a major milestone. When we arrived at our destination, through tantrums, nagging and barking, Kari mobilized to unload the packed car of kids with focus and purpose. I let the
What if you knew as much about immigration reform as you do about your job? What if you were as comfortable discussing the trade-offs of imposing economic sanctions on other countries as you were discussing your favorite sport? What if you had as much of a well-informed point of view about poverty alleviation as you
“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.
Last week, I offended a colleague. I know this because, in the presence of others, he told me he was personally offended when I disagreed with him. Afterwards, when we were alone, the full story came out: “I’ve heard you don’t trust me — that you think I have a misguided perspective on our business.”
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