What is it that causes us to act out impulsively? And what are the ultimate costs of those impulses? It seems almost common place these days that I see people getting caught up in their emotions and acting on their impulses with behavior that does little to help them get what they want. Recently, I heard the story of the young lady in Florida reacting impulsively in front of a judge. Due to her lack of emotional awareness and self-management, she flipped the judge off read more…
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How Is Your Reliance on Technology Impacting Your Results?
Few can dispute the influence technology has had and continues to have to improve our lives and our businesses. Who would have ever thought these changes would occur with such lightning speed. The funny thing about change is that it is sometimes hard to anticipate the additional adjustments we may need to make to fully capitalize on the benefits of technological advancements. How are you responding to those additional adjustments and are you getting the results you desire?
Technique
If you have been around for any length of time you have probably noticed the influence technology is having on our ability to communicate. read more…
Are You Trying to Thrive While Stuck in a Box?
A natural tendency of human behavior is that we tend to see things and people from our perspective. How often do we test that perspective and compare it to reality? When it comes to people, how often do we put them in a box?
What I mean by putting people in a box is slapping a label, stereotype, or judgment on people when they do not show up as we would. When someone behaves in ways that are different from how we would behave, we define them and their behavior, and generally in ways that have more to do with our perspective than reality. Once we label someone, it can be very difficult for us to see him or her as he or she actually is. read more…
How You Can Get More Profitable Results As A Leader
Most aspects of our lives require us to interface with people. Our ability to manage these interactions effectively and productively is critical to the results we get as individuals and organizations. This ability is reflective of our leadership and versatility. Versatility is defined as embracing a variety of skills and refers to our adaptability. Versatility leads to more read more…
What Management Skills Could Have Averted JP Morgan’s $3 Billion Loss?
Are unforeseen events manageable or not? A story by Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Nelson Schwartz recently featured in The New York Times attributes the multibillion-dollar losses at JPMorgan Chase to conflict among employees in the chief investment office. According to the story, senior banker Ina Drew, who is being blamed for the losses, was often missing in action in 2010 due to contracting Lyme disease. As a result of her absence, her unit fell into disarray with ongoing personality conflicts rather than performing at optimum levels. What happened? read more…
The High Cost of Tension and Drama
Conflict…sometimes the very word can create tension in people. Conflict in and of itself is not bad. The negative connotations that are often associated with conflict are a result of how conflict is managed and how it makes us feel. It tends to be a natural part of human interaction for many reasons. We each approach situations in unique and different ways. Understanding that about the people we work and live with can help minimize conflict.
What are the consequences of conflict? Amazing results can be achieved by having to work through differing opinions of how situations or projects should be approached. read more…
Emotional-Social Intelligence on Display
Recently, the singer Adele was accepting an award in London after her amazing success at the Grammys. During her speech she became irritated at the “suits,” as she called them, and displayed a vulgar gesture. Adele has been soaring at the award shows, essentially cleaning up on awards. Her explanation for what happened.., “Sorry if I offended anyone, but the suits offended me.” Will her fans turn away from her because she flipped someone off? That is doubtful. It seems she may have been hi-jacked by her emotions due to being offended that the “suits” were trying to cut her acceptance speech short. This type of display is a classic lack of impulse control. Society seems to have gotten used to and perhaps accepts this type of behavior from entertainers or sports figures. We have seen it displayed on the tennis court, football field and the stage. read more…
Leadership and Engagement
After taking my seat on a recent flight I noticed the Captain walking down the aisle to the coach seating area to talk with the passengers. It caught my attention because it was so unusual. Of course, my first internal reaction was, “what is wrong that is going to delay the flight?” Nice optimism right? As it turns out, the Captain wanted to greet his passengers, give us some information about the de-icing procedure that was going to be taking place and answer any questions we might have for him. It was such a contrast to most of my other flights that I could not help but be impacted. read more…
Creating a Dynamic Team
On any team you have a variety of personality and behavior types working together. In most instances the team members have to learn to work with these different styles by default. What usually happens? Some misunderstanding occurs, conflict arises, someone starts to withhold or people start forming unproductive alliances which can all lead to discord. In his book, “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” Patrick Lencioni lists these as the most common ways teams get off track:
- Absence of Trust
- Fear of Conflict
- Lack of Commitment
- Avoidance of Accountability
- Inattention to Results
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