Just like the dramatic temperature difference between being in the sun and in the shade, you can see the difference between someone engaged and disengaged with their work. A person’s disengagement throws shade on a their attitude, performance, and ability to be creative. And most importantly their ability to empathize. They get stuck in their… Continue reading Disengaged
Category: dealing with people
The Greater the Reaction…
The greater the reaction to an incident, a comment, a perceived slight. The more one needs to look at what insecurity button is being pushed. There’s always a story to be told in one’s actions, words, and behavior. When you’re on the receiving end, deciphering is the hard part. And I don’t always think we… Continue reading The Greater the Reaction…
Listening. Easiest and hardest thing to do.
In most conversations we take part of, we aren’t listening. At least not well and not most of the time. We may not be outwardly saying anything but usually we’re planning on what we want to say. But what is the thing that most people seek most? To be heard. To be listened to. To… Continue reading Listening. Easiest and hardest thing to do.
Subtext
Noun. An underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation. I first learned about subtext, when I took acting classes in college. We talked about the “real” conversation in the midst of a conversation, about reading between the lines. And it is something I think about almost daily, years later. What… Continue reading Subtext
Disagree and Commit
This is one of Amazon’s Leadership Principles. It’s also one of the leadership principles that I didn’t connect with when I was at Amazon. I think it had to do with my desire to bring about consensus. To bring about a compromise that would make multiple parties happy. But “Disagree and Commit” is definitely alive… Continue reading Disagree and Commit
The Power of Complaining
The tricky part of complaining is that subtextually we’re admitting defeat. We’re admitting that we can’t do anything about the situation we’re in. That the only thing left to do is complain. On the other hand, we all vent. We all need to express our frustrations. And it does help to communicate our feelings and… Continue reading The Power of Complaining
Our Time. Their Time.
The frustration comes when we try to have others abide by our time, our schedule, our pace. Because for most important things that synchronicity doesn’t often align. We all have our own pace. It can’t be rushed, not really. Not in a lasting way. Just like creating any sort of change, it comes when the… Continue reading Our Time. Their Time.
Making an Impression
The way you make an impression isn’t by doing things that are expected, it’s by do things that are unexpected. It doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be hard or extremely difficult. Or that you have to solve big complicated problems or travel to uncharted territories. It means that you have to do something… Continue reading Making an Impression
Building Room for Surprises
People can surprise you, if you let them. If you give them the opportunity to. If you give them the space to try and do it their own way, even if it isn’t the way you would have done it. If you understand that what you are actually trying to instill in them is ownership… Continue reading Building Room for Surprises
Dealing with the Irrational
How do you deal with people who aren’t rational? Who can’t and won’t listen to reason? I’m a firm believer in the adage: Want better answers? Ask better questions. Here’s a few that might help: Are you asking this because they won’t listen to what YOU have to say? Who isn’t emotionally led? What is… Continue reading Dealing with the Irrational