Posted: October 30, 2013 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

Remember the game of telephone?  Most of us played it at birthday parties when we were of grade school age.  We all gathered in a circle as the leader or host whispered some silly phrase in the first person’s ear.  The first person whispered the message to the one on his right and the pattern continued until the message had gotten all around the circle.  The only rule was that the message could not be repeated.  You heard it once, and that was it.  When the last person to hear the phrase was asked to identify the message, there were always plenty of laughs.  The message was usually quite different from the original.

In teamwork, just like the game of telephone, communication can get distorted as it is passed along.
Read More…

Posted: October 28, 2013 | Categories: Leadership, Team Building

I would like to put the spotlight on who I believe are the most persecuted group of people on earth – the “nitpickers”.  You know who I am talking about.  These are the folks who take your marvelous idea or plan and start poking holes in it.  They say things like, “What about this?”…”What could happen if?”…”Have you ever considered these possible consequences?  All of a sudden, we creative people get defensive and even irritated.  When this happens the communication wall goes up, and the quality of the collaboration goes down.
Read More…

Posted: October 24, 2013 | Categories: Leadership

What is the most common reason an employee leaves their job?  Surveys have consistently shown that nearly 90% of the time, employee departures stem from how much support is received from the person they report to.
Read More…

Posted: October 9, 2013 | Categories: Self-Improvement

If you are waiting in line at the supermarket, you may occasionally glance at the tabloid headlines.  (You don’t have to admit it)  On these pages (so I’m told) there are headline stories about famous people.  Most of the stories pertain to troubled relationships, people going broke, and health or substance abuse issues.  These stories may be depressing.  They also point to the most important areas we need to live a happy life.
Read More…

Posted: October 7, 2013 | Categories: Leadership, Networking, Team Building

A few weeks ago I came across a business article entitled, “How to discuss pay at work”.  The article gave tips of just how you should discuss your salary when with a co-worker.  They gave four suggestions:  I have one…DON’T!
Read More…