Want to be a better leader? Try growing up, not out!
“Grow up!” This phrase has new meaning to me this year now that I’ve started to study vertical stage development to grow leaders. Vertical stage development is more about an individual’s personal growth and less about the skills an individual acquires and polishes. To...
How to be credible and confident with your choice of words
How carefully do you choose your words -- especially PUNG words (probably, normally, usually, and generally)? The latter have a reputation for being tentative words that can diminish the power of your message. However, those who communicate clearly and credibly adjust...
Bless your heart! Do you need me to be direct or indirect?
What’s your communication style: direct or indirect? And how does it affect you on the job and in your community? This was one of the lively discussion topics in the intercultural training program I recently facilitated for expat employees moving to Charleston for...
How to protect your right to speak and vote to save democracy
Company leaders ordering employees to stop talking about politics at work is akin these days to generals who are preparing to fight the last war. How do you win a war of words when the conversation has moved past politics? The new dividing line is between facts and...
How to use the ‘power of yet’ to encourage learning and growth
Have you discovered "the power of yet"? This three-letter word is especially potent for increasing learning, building engagement, and improving self-confidence, especially when working with powerful jerks. In my Forbes article, How to use the 'power of yet' to...
Want to see a culture clash? Put rule makers with rule breakers
Learning about Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: Tight and Loose Cultures and the Secret Signals That Direct Our Lives has been a memorable experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. The book’s author, Dr. Michele Gelfand, is a professor in cross cultural psychology at the...
3 tips to help “culture adds” acclimate and make a difference
As the days grow longer and warmer this spring, the trees, bushes and flowers are responding with healthy new growth that fills the air with wonderful sights and smells. Amid all of this beautiful new growth outdoors, how well are your latest “culture adds” taking...
Why and how to ignore this bad advice: “Know your audience”
“Know your audience” is great advice for actors, musicians and other performance artists. For those of you working in organizations, “know your audience” is bad advice because it sends the wrong message. It’s too easy to interpret the phrase as follows: "You’re a...
How to be a more inclusive leader: improve your communication
If you want to be an inclusive leader or someone who strives to be more inclusive in how you relate to colleagues and others, you need to be inclusive with your communication. In other words, your talk needs to match your walk on your path to create a more inclusive...
