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Don't Enter Another High-Stakes Conversation Without This Game-Changing Strategy

8/20/2025

Do you walk into high-stakes conversations ready to win… or ready to learn? If your mind’s racing with rebuttals and rehearsed lines, pause. Before you speak, do a quick “Curiosity Check.” It takes five minutes — and it can change everything.
Jeff Wetzler, author of Ask: Tap into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs in Leadership and Life, calls this a mindset reset. Instead of gearing up for battle, you shift from defensive certainty to genuine curiosity. That shift opens the door to insight, connection, and breakthrough.

Here’s how to do it:

Spot your starting point. Think of curiosity as a spectrum. On one end: “Self-Righteous Disdain,” “Confident Dismissal,” “Skeptical Tolerance.” On the other: “Cautious Openness,” “Genuine Interest,” “Fascinated Wonder.” Ask yourself: When I hit disagreement, where do I land? That awareness is your launchpad.
Choose your destination. Don’t try to leap from zero to zen. Just pick a mindset that’s one step closer to curiosity. Maybe you move from Confident Dismissal to Cautious Openness. That’s progress.
Ask better questions. What might they be struggling with? What’s not being said? How could my words land? What assumptions am I making? These questions shift your stance—and your impact.

Do you have a critical conversation coming up? How are you getting ready? Are you defensively certain or curious? To join the conversation, click on "comments" below.

Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses, awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.

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Want Loyal Employees? Start Doing This One Thing

8/11/2025

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Curious why some leaders inspire loyalty while others struggle to connect? Discover the subtle power that turns teams into communities — and why your next conversation could change everything!

In January 2025, Gallup found employee engagement hit its lowest point in a decade. One data point says only 39% of employees strongly agreed that someone at work cares for them as a person. And findings from the human capital management firm Workhuman show 30% feel “invisible.” Feeling unnoticed is antithetical to engagement and satisfaction at work.

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Zach Mercurio, author of The Power of Mattering, offers advice for leaders who need to be better noticers:

Rushing is a barrier to seeing others. Slow down. Noticing others takes time, but when leaders always hurry, it becomes too easy to cancel a one-on-one meeting, forget to check in on an employee who’s struggling, or connect with a team member.
Check in…in person: Make space for discussing how people are doing, not just what they are doing, in your real-time interactions.
Leverage in-between moments: Connections are built incrementally. Use the few minutes before a virtual meeting starts, time on the elevator, or the couple of seconds after wrapping up a phone call.
Observe, remember, repeat: When you learn something significant about an employee, jot it down to help your recall. They’ll feel seen when you bring it up in conversation, and you’ll develop a productive habit.

Do you feel noticed at work, and do you make an effort to make those around you feel acknowledged? To join the conversation, click on "comments" below.

Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.

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Don't Enter Another High-Stakes Conversation Without This Game-Changing Strategy

Want Loyal Employees? Start Doing This One Thing

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Don't Enter Another High-Stakes Conversation Without This Game-Changing Strategy

Want Loyal Employees? Start Doing This One Thing

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