 Many employees are not engaged at work, but their leaders are often unaware. So what should you do if you know your talents, expertise and interests are being under-utilized?
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, organizational psychologist Lewis Garrad and Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, Chief Innovation Officer at Manpower Group, offer 3 ways to communicate your dissatisfaction to your boss:
Have you ever been disengaged enough at work to request help from your boss? What was the result? 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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 If your out-of-office email reply suggests that you will get back to everyone…as soon as you return…it may be time to make a big change.
The number of emails sent daily has increased 34 percent since 2017. When you are on PTO, you might welcome relief from all these messages. But does your Out of Office reply make promises you shouldn’t have to keep—like, “I will get back to you as soon as I return”? Making good on this pledge might require superhuman powers, not to mention being a waste of your valuable post vacation time. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, reporter Elizabeth Bernstein found some great examples of a more creative approach:
If these replies serve their purpose, your time off may actually be your time. And returning to work, won’t be an exhausting struggle. What does your Out of Office Reply say, and do you feel inclined to change it? 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.  Workplace bullying is real…and painful, too often leading to stress, burnout, and worse. Here are 5 actions to stop it.
Research from the Workplace Bullying Institute indicates that 30 percent of employees experience workplace bullying at some point, and of those targeted, 67% are at risk of losing their job. Bullying goes beyond incivility, writes Professor Jason Walker, a contributor to Forbes. “It is calculated and deliberately aimed at causing harm.” Its targets are often highly valued, competent employees who prefer to avoid conflict. So, what can you do if you are a target? Walker advises the following actions. 5 Actions To Stop Workplace Bullying:
Have you experienced workplace bullying and how did you cope? To join the conversation, click on "comments" on below. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  At the heart of gossip is someone else’s pain. Here are 4 actions to take if that someone is you… Once a rumor takes hold in the workplace, it is hard to stop. Writing in Inc., Mary Wright, of California Employment Law Advice and Counsel, enumerates steps to take if you are the brunt of office gossip. 4 Actions To Take If You're The Subject of Gossip
Contrary to popular belief, most people feel guilty (some less than others) about spreading false or harmful stories about colleagues. Confrontation will usually get those people to stop talking – at least stop talking about you. Have you ever been the subject of hurtful gossip, and how did you deal with it? 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.  Research suggests that asking questions that show you're listening is a great way to make conversations click. Since not all questions are equal, here are 3 tips.
Conversations help us forge and deepen connections. And they are essential to our well being. Sometimes, though, we avoid conversations because we fear they may become tedious, awkward, or even confrontational. Writing in the Journal of the American Psychological Association, Zara Abrams notes that one of the best ways to make conversations click is to ask questions. But be conscious of how you do this:
Do you have a go-to conversational style that works for you? And what do you do to show you're listening? To join the conversation, click "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.  Do you find unplanned phone calls delightful surprises or bothersome intrusions? Is it fine to call someone spontaneously, or is it impolite to call without texting first? Phone call etiquette has never been more complicated, and it is dividing friends, families and co-workers!
According to The Wall Street Journal, the debate is raging. The more entrenched texting becomes, the more people find a phone call without warning, unacceptable. Yet others find the phone-call-phobic to be rigid and even ridiculous, claiming that phone calls are never “unannounced” — the ringing is the announcement, aided by caller ID. Although exceptions exist, attitudes toward phone calls tend to cluster generationally. Those who grew up with landlines tend to see no problems with spontaneous calls. But those who have been texting since high school, or earlier, feel differently. Preference for text messaging is highest among those 18 to 24, followed by those 25 to 34, according to a December survey from YouGov. Among 2,000 white-collar professionals surveyed by recruiting firm Robert Walters in March, a mere 16% of those who are Gen Z (born between 1997-2012) thought the phone was a productive form of professional communication. They use Zoom, Slack, email or text with ease, but they’re far less likely to make or answer a phone call. So, what should you do? If you have the urge to call, consider factors such as the relationship you have with the person and whether they have expressed a preference about how to communicate. And you might want to react differently to an unannounced phone call from a salesperson than a relative. Do you prefer to be texted before someone calls you, and do you do the same for others? To join the conversation, click "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.  Gen Z can take criticism, but if you deliver it the wrong way, they might leave to find a workplace that connects with them better.
Gen Z, the generation born between 1997 and 2012, is not composed of the sensitive “snowflakes” some say it is. Writing in The Washington Post, technology reporter Danielle April says, “Your youngest colleagues may be the newest to the workplace, but they have clear expectations about how they would like to receive feedback: It should be timely, collaborative, empathetic and balanced.” Experts who study the multigenerational workforce say things go awry when managers critique younger workers in ways that unintentionally alienate or discourage them. For example, it is often counterproductive to focus solely on what went wrong, fix their mistakes without a conversation, or deny them a chance to explain. Used to getting information with the speed of a click, a critique without explanation is likely to create self-doubt and engender the kind of burnout that increases turnover. Gen Zers who spoke to The Washington Post said they view work differently from other generations. They want to be themselves at work, feel that their voice matters, and that their managers are empathetic and will invest in relationships with them. Gen Z is only going to become a larger part of the workforce — they’re expected to comprise more than 32 percent by 2032, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. And they’re asking employers to respect them. Have you noticed a difference in the attitudes and preferences of Gen Z workers, and how do you approach them to raise sensitive issues? To join the conversation, click "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.  The “real world” doesn’t care about your college GPA, and success is really based on three essential qualities.
In a commencement speech at Kean University this May, Neil deGrasse Tyson, esteemed scientist, author, and educator, argued that five years into the future no one would give a thought to college grades, and he exhorted graduates to focus instead on three essential qualities:
What qualities do you think really matter most in one’s life and career? To join the conversation, click "comments" below because we would really like to get your feedback! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  “Big things happen during small talk,” says Matt Abrahams, Stanford instructor and host of the popular podcast, Think Fast, Talk Smart. He says "Small talk gets a bad rap", but it is actually an incredibly effective communications tool. He often challenges people to think about how many of their close friendships started with small talk – and the answer is, generally, quite a few.
“A lot of us put tremendous pressure on ourselves to be interesting," Abrahams explains. "We want to say exciting, valuable, relevant stuff, and it's the wrong mindset.” The trick, he maintains, is to lead with curiosity. He advises we think of an initial, casual conversation as akin to Hacky Sack. You serve to the other person and then they serve back to you. Good conversation is, by definition, collaboration. Some quick small talk tips:
Of course, if you're at a professional gathering, there's a chance you have a specific agenda in mind when starting a conversation, for example, looking for customers, investments, new hires, or useful information. In such cases, Abrahams says, “find hooks and ways of bridging to the topic you want to discuss so that it could become a natural part of the conversation.” Can you recall a significant business or personal relationship that began with small talk? To join the conversation, click "comments" below. We'd love to hear about your experiences! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  “Growth mindset” has become a buzzword in many organizations, but many people have a limited understanding of what that really means.
People who believe their talents can be developed through hard work, strategic thinking, and input from others have a growth mindset. Those who believe their talents are innate gifts have a fixed mindset and are limited by their worry that the effort and hard work it takes to learn something is a sign of not being inherently smart. A growth mindset achieves more, by putting much more effort into learning. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Carol Dweck, the Lewis & Virginia Eaton Professor of Psychology at Stanford University, points out three common misconceptions about a growth mindset:
Organizations that embody a growth mindset encourage appropriate risk-taking, while knowing some risks won’t work out. They reward employees for important lessons learned, even if a project doesn’t meet its original goals. They support collaboration across organizational boundaries rather than competition among employees or teams. They are committed to the growth of every member, not just in words, but also in deeds such as making development and advancement broadly available. When is the last time you deliberately attempted to learn a new skill? Did your employer encourage that? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. We would love to hear about your experiences! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  What’s the secret to solving unexpected challenges, seizing new opportunities, and building strong cultures? Ask powerful questions!
Leaders who assume they have all the answers are either clueless or lying. So writes John Hagel III, in the Harvard Business Review). He describes how leaders who know how to ask great questions build a reservoir of trust and team performance. Here are some effective research-based tips:
Check out our Collaborative Problem Solving Model as a vehicle for bringing teams together to solve meaningful, creative questions central to the team’s work. What is the last big question you asked your team? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above -- we would love to hear about your experiences! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  While disagreeing may be uncomfortable, research tells us that diverse thinking is far more likely to lead to progress, innovations and breakthroughs than “nice” conversations where people hide what they really think.
But how do you foster productive debate on your team? Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Shane Snow, author of Dream Teams: Working Together Without Falling Apart, offers four tips:
How do you keep a debate on track when it seems to be veering? To join the conversation, click "comments" above -- we'd love to hear from you! Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  By now most of us are aware that employees become more motivated and engaged when their leaders express gratitude. Expressing gratitude can be more motivating to employees than money.
But it's how you thank that matters. A mere “drive by” recognition can have the opposite effect, according to Vidyard CEO Michael Litt. “They start to come off like cheap motivational techniques," he says. "On the flip side, they also run the risk of conditioning teams to expect constant positive reinforcement for meeting the basic requirements of their jobs.” So, what to do? Fast Company editor Lydia Dishman offers these 3 opportunities:
How has someone shown you gratitude in a significant way? To join the conversation, click on "comments" above. We'd love to hear from you! To find out how to create a habit around masterful communication, sign up for our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  Moving from managing a team to leading an enterprise is tough. It's different at the top, but how?
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Michael D. Watkins, co-founder of Genesis Advisers and author of The First Ninety Days, offers a breakdown of the key mindset transitions new leaders face:
Have you transitioned from manager to leader? What was the trickiest part to navigate? To join the conversation, click "comments" above. Learn more about creating a habit around masterful communication with our online learning courses awarded International Gold for Best Hybrid Learning of 2022.  Disagreements don’t have to be destructive. In fact, they often present hidden gems for you to innovate and grow. Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Francesca Gino and Hanne K Collins of the Harvard School of Business, and Charles Dorison of Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, offer several evidence-based strategies to make disagreements productive:
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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