Posted by David Grossman on Tue, May 21, 2013
It’s no secret; reply-all is one of the most infamous and often detested e-mail developments to come out of the computer age. It has triggered embarrassment, confusion, annoyance, and now for one company, a lawsuit.
When I read this story I couldn’t help but think, are we not learning anything? Reply all’s day in court is long overdue. Especially since its trail of infamy has been inked (or typed) across headlines for years.
In this latest story, an HR Director at a Canadian healthcare company accidently hit reply-all on an email to the company’s legal team outlining the pending – yet unannounced – termination of an employee. To the Director’s chagrin – and the employee’s likely distress – she realized the soon-to-be ousted employee was actually included on that distribution list!
That employee is now suing for wrongful dismissal.
Beyond embarrassment or frustration (or legal fees) – reply-all clogs up in-boxes, can waste time and can obviously lead to unanticipated consequences. (Remember the NYU student who replied all to his fellow 40,000 classmates, when really, the email was intended for his mom?)
It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing - so seemingly innocuous, yet can really have a negative impact on how we work and communicate. Enough is enough. Let’s learn from others’ all too frequent mistakes and let’s put an end to reply all.
What tough lessons have you learned from others (or yourself!) about email reply-all and how do manage it now?
- David Grossman
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In need of more resources on email etiquette and how to manage it in your organization? Visit our Email Research and Resources page, today!
Posted by David Grossman on Fri, May 17, 2013
Welcome to my weekly round-up of top leadership and communication blog posts. Each week I read and tweet several great articles and on Fridays pull some of the best together here on my blog. So in case you’ve missed them, here is this week’s round-up of top posts.
They’ll provide you with tips, strategies and thought-starters from many of the smart folks in my network. So whether you’re a new leader or an industry veteran there’ll be something here for you.
- 5 Things You Must Do to Reach Your Full Potential
By: JJ Ramberg via Open Forum Blog, MSNBC
We probably all have different ideas of what success might look like for our companies and our lives. But in order to reach your vision of success, you need to define and plot out your path to that success. In this week’s Business War…
- 10 Surefire Ways To Avoid Burnout
By: Bruna Martinuzzi, Clarion Enterprises Blog
This article first appeared in my business column at AMEX. A survey by the American Psychological Association reveals that approximately seven in 10 Americans experience physical or non-physical symptoms of stress. These include irritability or anger, fatigue, feeling overwhelmed…
- Is Work Stress on Your Personal “Fix It” List?
By: Judy Martin, WorkLifeNation
I search “work stress” on Google News every day. Well over a hundred thousand results greet me and the daunting task of separating the wheat from the chaff begins. I tend to look for new information and trends from the credible companies that track this stuff…
- Leaders are Lifetime Learners
By: Martina McGowan, M.D.
Leaders, do not possess mindsets that adapt to failure, easily, if at all. Things go wrong, of course, but leaders do not call these things or themselves “failures.”… They may refer to them as glitches, mistakes, bungles, setbacks, or even lessons; but rarely failing…
- 5 Leadership Lies
By: Matt Monge, Workplace MOJO
Recently I was speaking with a Gen Y professional on the phone during a sort of coaching conversation when the following took place. “I want to be a leader, but I keep tripping myself up,” he said, sounding frustrated. That’s not a verbatim quote, but it was something…
What were some of the top leadership articles you read this week?
- David Grossman
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In search of more communication tips? Check out my newest eBook - The Courageous Communicator Quest. Download for free today!
Posted by David Grossman on Wed, May 15, 2013
We spend a fair amount of time talking with our clients and the leaders we work with about “desired outcomes” -- the first step in planning any kind of communication.
When we ask, “What’s the outcome you seek?” we often get a communications goal (that’s helpful to know but communications should never be an outcome; it’s a means to achieving a business outcome). When we follow-up: “What’s the business outcome you seek?” we often get puzzled looks from some.
That said, I thought it would be valuable to define the concept of an outcome given its importance. The better we can define what we need to accomplish, the better the chance we will succeed at achieving it. After all, if we don’t know where we’re going, how will we get there? And, as was the case in Alice in Wonderland, “any road can get you there.”
An outcome is an observable end result, a consequence, a change in business performance, something that follows from an action.
When we ask about a desired outcome, we want a business objective. That is, a measurable result like widgets sold, customers served, share of market, or people in seats. This kind of outcome is a consequence of action by teams and individuals whose goal is to deliver on the business objective.
Another way to look at this: if what you want to communicate isn’t about moving the business forward, it’s important to think long and hard about whether you should be communicating at all.
There might be other outcomes you want to achieve that are secondary and might be less measurable but still important: build a critical relationship inside an organization, get a seat at the table, or get promoted.
Like any activity that is focused on getting results, communication needs to be based on a clear goal or “desired outcome” to be effective. It’s worth the time and thought to create a solid first step that will be the foundation of any successful communication.
What’s the business outcome you seek?
- David Grossman
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Want more communication tips? Get more on defining the outcome and several other steps in our latest ebook, The Courageous Communicator Quest. Download today!
Posted by David Grossman on Tue, May 14, 2013
I’ve talked to a lot of folks lately who say they don’t want to just lead – they want to be great leaders – but they struggle with how to get there and do it effectively.
So it was with that my latest eBook – The Courageous Communicator Quest – was born. In it, you’ll spend 13 weeks working through 13 challenges and reach hundreds of personal accomplishments, all as part of your journey to become a remarkable leader.
You will face new leadership challenges and when it’s all over, you’ll be a true leader by nature.
Be prepared to:
- Unlearn some of what you have learned
- Tackle common leadership fears head on
- Accept that some of what you’ve been taught or told yourself about what it takes and what it means to be a leader isn’t necessarily true
Are you ready to leave your comfort zone, reach new heights and journey to new lands of self-understanding and to challenge yourself to lead better than ever before?
Download The Courageous Communicator Quest and begin your journey to great leadership, today!
- David Grossman
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Posted by David Grossman on Fri, May 10, 2013
Welcome to my weekly round-up of top leadership and communication blog posts. Each week I read and tweet several great articles and on Fridays pull some of the best together here on my blog. So in case you’ve missed them, here is this week’s round-up of top posts.
They’ll provide you with tips, strategies and thought-starters from many of the smart folks in my network. So whether you’re a new leader or an industry veteran there’ll be something here for you.
Not a Born Leader? So What!
By: Dr. Janice Presser via the Switch and Shift Blog
I was not born a leader. When I was born (and this was a very long time ago), there were serious defects in my leadership blueprint. First, I had two X chromosomes at a time when one Y was needed in order to be a leader…
Is Your Team Promotion Or Prevention-Focused? Here’s Why It Matters To Leaders
By: Dr. Heidi Grant Halvorson via the Tanveer Naseer Blog
Is your employee a risk-taker, or does he avoid risks like the plague? Does she get uncomfortable with too much optimism or praise, or is she known for her sunny outlook? Do some assignments always seem particularly hard for her, while she excels at others naturally?...
12 Productivity Tips From Incredibly Busy People
By: Bruna Martinuzzi
"Personal productivity is a key differentiator between those who succeed in their chosen field and those who do not," says bestselling author Brian Tracy. Leaders and entrepreneurs who are at the top of their game know how to achieve what they want in less time than others…
8 Characteristics of Creative Leaders
By: Matt Monge
I hate to outline things that may generally be true of what some would consider “creative” leaders, because I don’t want that to misconstrued as me positing that some humans are creative and others aren’t. I don’t think that at all…
3 Leadership Lessons We Can Learn from Gen Y
By: Shawn Murphy
A third of U.S. employees feel chronically overworked. 52% of U.S. families say work interferes with their family or home responsibilities. More than 54% of U.S. Americans say they will look for a better job once the economy improves.
What were some of the top leadership articles you read this week?
- David Grossman
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Posted by David Grossman on Wed, May 08, 2013
I’m incredibly humbled and honored that my first book, You Can’ Not Communicate, Second Edition, has received the Gold Axiom Business Book Award.
The Axiom Business Book Awards are intended to bring increased recognition to exemplary business books that are a must-read for information-hungry business leaders. My book was honored in the Communication category. To see the 2012 Axiom Business Book Award Winners click here.
In celebration, if you haven’t picked up a copy of You Can’t Not Communicate 1 or 2, you can today at a discounted price. Just use discount code AXIOM13 for 20% off.
- David Grossman
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For more on You Can't Not Communicate and it's follow-up visit our book page!
Posted by David Grossman on Tue, May 07, 2013
Employees who are highly engaged in their work perform better than their less-committed counterparts and boost the organization’s bottom line. Not surprisingly, building employee engagement involves two-way communication – both to and from employees.
Leaders who understand the importance of communication, and how you can’t lead without communicating well – engage employees with various communication vehicles that help them connect the dots between individual efforts and organizational goals. But just as important as any leadership message is having systems in place to gather employee input and demonstrate its importance to the organization.
By establishing channels to encourage and funnel feedback from employees to leaders, you create a critical structure to support employee engagement.
Here are four steps to build employee engagement:
- Understand your audience and what’s important to them – The top priority for building engagement is to give employees information they need to succeed in their jobs, and ensure they know where to find additional resources. The type of organization, job and level of employee will dictate the most effective channel to meet your needs. Your efforts will be most effective if you first ask yourself, “What is the most important thing these employees want to know, what is the best way to encourage dialogue and how would they be most comfortable sharing input?”
- Choose or create channels – Once you consider the audience and work environment, look at the best ways to engage employees to share their ideas and insights. You may use existing channels or create new ones. Keep in mind feedback channels can be informal – such as leaders “managing by walking around” or supervisors asking for input – or they can be more formal mechanisms that invite ideas and questions via print or technology. When determining which channels work best, keep in mind employees’ time commitment, availability and access to technology. Be sure they can use feedback mechanisms both during and after work hours.
- Gather and encourage feedback – Once you are ready to implement and promote feedback channels throughout the organization, recognize that what you do with their input speaks volumes to employees. When leaders respond quickly to ideas and questions, employees get the message their input is valued and they become more committed and engaged. To ensure feedback gets the respect it deserves, assign someone to respond personally and promptly to all employee concerns and ideas.
- Act on feedback – Highly engaged employees are enthused about their organization and believe they can positively influence its success. Acting on employee feedback and highlighting the impact employees make is a strong engagement builder. Be sure that all employees know how their colleagues’ suggestions or ideas are being implemented. Regularly sharing results and requesting additional feedback creates predictable, consistent two-way communication that encourages employees to take ownership and understand their ideas are valued by the organization.
What systems can you add to encourage two-way communication and increase employee feedback?
- David Grossman
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Feel like you're communicating but your employees don't always hear you? Download our "Can You Hear Me Now? Make What You Say Matter And Increase Your Chances of Being Heard" ebook, today!
Posted by David Grossman on Fri, May 03, 2013
Welcome to my weekly round-up of top leadership and communication blog posts. Each week I read and tweet several great articles and on Fridays pull some of the best together here on my blog. So in case you’ve missed them, here is this week’s round-up of top posts.
They’ll provide you with tips, strategies and thought-starters from many of the smart folks in my network. So whether you’re a new leader or an industry veteran there’ll be something here for you.
The 7 Ways Successful People Approach Their Work
By: Laura Shin via Forbes
When it comes to work, everyone has their own methods for getting tasks done. But it turns out that the most successful people tend to have similar habits…
11 Characteristics of Meaningful Work
By: Shawn Murphy via the Switch and Shift Blog
Managers cannot make work meaningful for employees. Managers, however, can shape the workplace environment to let meaningful work become possible for employees. With a context set to let meaning be experienced, employees can leverage the environment to derive meaning from their work…
More Fairness Principle Ideas for Clearer Communication
By: Christopher Avery
Here are additional ideas for more successful communication between team members that are in the office and team members that phone in during conference calls...
12 Tips for Handling Difficult Conversations
By: Bruna Martinuzzi via Open Forum
We all have an inner voice that tells us when we need to have a difficult conversation with someone—a conversation that, if it took place, would improve life at the office for ourselves and for everyone else on our team…
How To Maximize Employee Involvement
By: Eric Jacobson
Here are 10 tips for how to maximize employee involvement: Have active ways to listen to your employees. Check often with employees to see if the information you are sharing with them is what they need and what they want…
What were some of the top leadership articles you read this week?
- David Grossman
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Are you a leader or communicator looking to master the art of messaging? Download our free eBook, today!
Posted by David Grossman on Thu, May 02, 2013
At more than 80 million strong, millennials — those born roughly between 1982 and 2000 — are a true force to be reckoned with in the workplace. Like every “next generation,” millennials often feel misunderstood, which can lead to lower productivity, or even disengagement. Studies predict millennials will be the highest achieving generation to date. To better connect with this powerful segment of the workforce, leaders must understand who they are and how to draw on their unique talents.
Like any generation, there are certain cultural experiences that affect the way millennials see the world. Baby Boomers grew up with The Brady Bunch and having to get off the couch to change the channel. Millennials remember watching Full House and Home Improvement; most recall vividly when they got their first cell phone.
There are a variety of characteristics that can help you easily identify a millennial. Their generation is one of selectivity, choices, technology, and team work. Millennials grew up in an era with hundreds of television channels, boxes of crayons with 96 colors and now multi-colored iPods and cell phone cases.
Because they’re used to having options in all parts of their lives, millennials value flexibility and convenience more than previous generations. Going through programs such as daycare and after-school sports — something their parents or grandparents did rarely — has also shaped the way millennials learn and interact. Because they’ve been working with peers their whole lives, they learn best through collaborative efforts.
Based on the knowledge of what makes a millennial “tick,” leaders need to understand the three main characteristics that shape their approach to the workplace.
- Millennials learn by doing and encourage constant feedback, which makes them incredibly results-oriented. They’re usually on the lookout for ways to develop and improve the quality of their work, making them great team members. With that, leaders know they can rely on millennials to welcome constructive counsel to reach their best potential.
- It’s important to remember that millennials are the first generation to grow up in the information age, making them true digital natives. Because millennials rely so heavily on technology, this means they may not have had the opportunity to practice verbal communication skills in business situations. As leaders, we can teach them about the benefits of face-to-face communication and tap them to help us better navigate new technologies.
- Along with being tech savvy, millennials are great multi-taskers. They often have four screens open while working on multiple projects. Knowing that millennials are comfortable with multi-tasking, leaders should know that this skill-set makes them flexible team members that can successfully handle several tasks at a time.
As a large percentage of our population, millennials are already shaping the future of many industries. Having them as a part of your organization can help guide your team through the ever-changing business landscape. As new technologies become a bigger part of business, millennials will be there to help companies adjust through those changes. Their experiential learning style and innate ability to be results-oriented will continue to add value and ultimately help drive business results. That’s a benefit a leader of any generation can appreciate.
Which characteristic of yours is most unlike those of Millennials?
- David Grossman
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Looking for more tips on workplace communication and leadership? Download Part 1 of our "A-List" ebook series and begin to communicate your way to great leadership, today!
Posted by David Grossman on Tue, Apr 30, 2013
A good friend of mine is trying to lose weight. I know that’s a goal many of us have, and an ongoing challenge for just about all of us. You might even call it a weighty issue.
Part of what’s most difficult is changing our habits and internalizing new behaviors (not to mention finding the right formula to shed a few pounds!). Sticking to it – whatever the plan is – can be tough because it’s so easy to get distracted and off course.
My friend and I were talking recently about his desire to get thinner, and while bemoaning his too-tight jeans, he told me about his plan to buy a few pairs of new, more comfortable (read: larger) jeans.
“Don’t do it,” I told him. Now, as someone who enjoys a good shopping trip, I hate to stop others from doing something I heartily enjoy, knowing how energizing a few great purchases can be. However, I knew how important his goal of losing weight was to him, and I wanted to be helpful because I cared about him.
Here’s why I told him not to do it. Every time he puts on those too-tight jeans, he’s going to feel a little uncomfortable, maybe even a tad bit frustrated in buttoning them. That little bit of discomfort (or maybe a lot!) is going to remind him of his goal – to lose weight -- and hopefully, move him to action in a positive way, which will help him stick to the new behaviors he’s trying to ingrain.
Then, over time, there’s the wonderful reinforcement when the jeans begin to get less snug, and you can celebrate that what you’re doing is working. If you don’t feel a little discomfort, then you’re not going to change or learn or grow or lose a few pounds.
Understanding that truism can make anyone smarter and able to move through change more effectively, and feel better about it. That’s what I call jean-ious!
What discomfort are you feeling today that might be a cue or clue that you have the opportunity to grow?
- David Grossman
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