“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” If you are alive, someone has probably said this to you, and if you have kids or have worked with kids, it is probable that you have said this to one or more of them. As a parent of four kids, I … Read more
Group Dynamic is about to do some restructuring. It will be important to share our plans with our clients, and I will likely write more about lessons learned at a later date. But right now, I want to reflect about values. I wrote a series about the origin story of our company values and how … Read more
He was in his mid-50s. Unkempt hair. Tank top. Flip flops. Ripped jean shorts. No helmet. Riding a bike with a cigar in his mouth. I confess to making a quick judgment about how his cigar—before 8 a.m.—belied any effort on his part to be healthy by biking. And, I confess, I judged him quicker … Read more
I wrote about The Inner Game in last week’s post. Here’s one concept which bears further exploration. The “work triangle” has three components: Performance, Learning, and Enjoyment. Gallwey’s premise is that we achieve our best work when Performance, Enjoyment, and Learning are balanced. But most organizational cultures focus on Performance to a major degree. What … Read more
This final post of our three-part miniseries on emotional intelligence (EQ) concludes with practical ways for you and/or your team to increase EQ. If you missed the first two posts, you can find them here and here. Also, if you are interested in the book which inspired this miniseries, you can download a free copy … Read more
What happens when you feel a conflict brewing? Does your heart speed up? Does your brow begin to sweat? Do your hands get clammy? Do you swallow more? These are all physical signs of stress, and they’re connected to your emotional state. When in stress, adrenaline and cortisol increase, triggering the physical responses above. Your brain … Read more
Have you ever heard the saying, “Nobody’s perfect?” Have you ever used that saying? How often do you use it? It’s probably one of the most popular things we say and/or think, because it’s true. But what does it mean to not be perfect? It means that we make mistakes. We fail at the tasks … Read more
I’m going to start with a story from my assistant DeAnne’s family: We enjoy having family nights on Friday nights. Sometimes those are movie nights and sometimes they are game nights. On this particular evening, it was game night, and we were playing a card game, Skip-Bo. We try to pick games that even the … Read more
We don’t know what we don’t know. That sounds obvious, right? But when tensions are high and conflict ensues, our view gets more narrow, and we don’t realize that we don’t know what we don’t know. People who seek counsel tend to consult with trusted advisors to help evaluate risks and possible outcomes. We’ll start with a real-life … Read more
Personal development goals at work are essential for leaders in order to grow and develop in your career. This may include learning new skills, familiarizing yourself with company practices, policies, and technology, or getting feedback from others. Whatever personal development goals you choose, they must— 1. Be achievable 2. Be measurable Here are two formats … Read more