No matter our role, we all face really challenging questions from time to time – those pointed, unexpected queries that can leave us squirming or wishing we could head for the door.
For leaders, some zingers are from investors shooting at you from multiple angles, like rapid fire:
Tags: Communication Skills
You’ve drafted an email or remarks to share at an upcoming team meeting and are ready to hit send or present, respectively. How do you know that you haven’t made the most common messaging blunders?
See whether creating a clear and compelling communication is as simple as cleaning up your own act.
Here are 5 messaging blunders to avoid in your communications:
Tags: Communication Skills, Storytelling
In business today, it's practically impossible for leaders to go a day without talking about topics such as managing costs, being even better, innovating, getting business done, getting to world class, etc.
What doesn't seem to be as frequently discussed is how important relationships are to these and other critical business outcomes. How is it that in many cases common courtesies have become a lost art? What about the value of being kind and caring in the workplace? Which, by the way, isn’t at odds in any way with delivering results.
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Communication skills are critical to being an effective leader, but they are seldom the reason people are promoted to leadership positions. Even the most personable and engaging leaders can benefit from knowing more about how to strategically use communications to advance their ideas or align their people around a common goal and drive them to action on behalf of the business.
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There’s a bobblehead for everything these days: superheroes, athletes, celebrities, politicians and my new favorite—our Founding Fathers. Nothing says independence like a head-bobbing John Adams.
You know the meeting. Everyone nods in agreement during the meeting, and then leaves the room and does whatever they want. The senior-most leader leaves the meeting thinking, “Great, everyone’s on board and moving full speed ahead.”
In the increasingly diverse global workforces of today, knowing the best way to respect cultural differences is a must. Leaders and employees need to understand international customs so they can foster positive and healthy relationships. It’s not only the right thing to do; it also helps drive business success.
When preparing for an upcoming trip, meeting or call with colleagues from another culture, consider the list below to ensure your interaction is the best it can be.
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It’s a truism – how you say something often trumps what you say.
Research shows that when there’s incongruence between the nonverbal channel and verbal channel, 93% of communication is based on two factors: Body language (55%) and tone of voice (38%). The rest is about your words (7%).
Tags: Communication Skills, Leadership Effectiveness & Planning
What’s the potential negative impact of a charismatic CEO?
Understanding that impact and the potential traps will help us better manage a situation where we may find ourselves without them – whether it's because they've transitioned into new company, retirement, etc. The learnings here don’t just apply to the C-suite, but to teams throughout organizations where there’s a visionary leader.
Tags: Communication Skills, Leadership Effectiveness & Planning
Ask any journalist and they can tell you about the 5 Ws and an H. Any solid news story covers those six basic ingredients. The same is true for communicating inside an organization, especially as it relates to sharing a compelling vision or guiding decisions about the future.
Read MoreTags: Communication Skills
Leaders, in particular, often forget to listen, and fall into the trap of controlling the message without real, meaningful communication.
Tags: Internal Communication, Communication Skills, Leadership Effectiveness & Planning
