Yes, and for Work and Life: The Value of In-Person Team Collaboration Training
Discover key storytelling tips for business leaders with our insightful blog post on AI-enhanced storytelling in professional settings. Learn how AI tools can revolutionize storytelling in business, from generating creative ideas to tailoring narratives for your audience. Elevate your leadership communication with impactful business storytelling strategies.
Enhancing Business Storytelling with AI: Tips for Leaders
Discover key storytelling tips for business leaders with our insightful blog post on AI-enhanced storytelling in professional settings. Learn how AI tools can revolutionize storytelling in business, from generating creative ideas to tailoring narratives for your audience. Elevate your leadership communication with impactful business storytelling strategies.
Effective Change Communication: A Guide for Managers in Large Organizations
For managers in large organizations, the challenge of communicating change is undeniably complex. However, with the right strategy, it's possible to not just communicate but also inspire and motivate. Whether you choose the cascading approach, town hall meetings, or deploy change ambassadors, remember: clarity, consistency, and genuine engagement are your best allies in the journey of change.
Creative Brainstorming with Hybrid Teams: A Guide for People Managers
In today's work landscape, hybrid teams are the new norm. This evolution brings challenges in brainstorming techniques, especially when aiming for maximum creativity. As people managers navigate this terrain, integrating diverse idea generation techniques becomes crucial. Here's how to boost creative brainstorming in hybrid settings:
The Art of Feedback: Why It's Crucial for People Managers and How to Master It
Why "Yes, And" Skills are Essential for Effective Team Collaboration
Among team collaboration best practices, one technique stands out: the "Yes, And" method. Originating from improv comedy, it has seamlessly transitioned into team collaboration workshops, proving its weight in gold. Here’s why it's an indispensable strategy for those wondering how to collaborate effectively, especially in remote settings.
Setting Up Your Work From Home Environment for Effective Virtual Presentations
The Benefits of Leadership Coaching
The Moment is Now: Elevate Your Team Before Year's End
Time flies. Here we are, with only 15 weeks left to wrap up the year. As the adage goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now." While you can't turn back the hands of time, you can make sure the remaining weeks are fruitful, impactful, and set the stage for an even more dynamic year ahead.
Active Listening: The Key to Genuine Communication
In today's fast-paced world, genuine communication can often get lost amidst the noise. It’s easy to misunderstand someone, be misunderstood, or miss key details. At the heart of genuine workplace communication lies the essential skill of active listening. But what exactly is active listening?
Simply put, active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, and responding to what someone is saying. It's not just about hearing words; it's about comprehending and internalizing them. Alongside verbal cues, nonverbal communication such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expressions play a crucial role. By honing your ability to pick up on these, you elevate your overall listening skills.
One of the biggest benefits of active listening is that it fosters a deep connection between the speaker and listener. It allows for genuine understanding, validating the speaker's feelings and perspective. It’s not about formulating a response while the other person talks but about truly being in the moment with them. This level of attentiveness is what separates active listening skills from just plain hearing what someone is saying.
Moreover, empathetic listening, a subset of active listening, delves even deeper. It’s about immersing oneself in the speaker's emotional state, essentially feeling with them. This kind of profound connection can not only resolve conflicts but also strengthen relationships.
You might now be wondering, how do you get better at this? Like any skill, it demands practice and dedication. Thankfully, there are various active listening exercises and techniques to help.
Active Listening Techniques to Enhance Communication:
Reflect: Paraphrase what the speaker said to ensure you've understood them correctly. It also reinforces to the speaker that they're being heard.
Ask open-ended questions: Instead of questions that can be answered with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’, open-ended questions allow the speaker to elaborate further.
Give feedback: Offer a thoughtful response or insight, but always ensure it doesn’t overshadow the speaker's message.
Avoid interrupting: Let the speaker finish their thought before responding.
Nonverbal cues: Maintain eye contact, nod occasionally, and keep your body posture open. It signals that you're engaged and receptive.
Among the many benefits of active listening, some standout advantages include:
Enhanced relationships due to increased trust and respect.
Better problem-solving and conflict resolution.
Improved memory and retention of information.
Reduced chances of misunderstandings.
However, like all skills, this requires practice. Consider setting aside time in your regular one on one conversations with direct reports, teammates or leaders where you consciously apply the techniques mentioned. Regularly engaging in active listening exercises, whether solo or with a partner, can also offer immense value.
Active listening isn’t just a skill; it's an art form. It requires patience, understanding, and a genuine desire to connect with another person. In the age of virtual work and endless distractions, mastering this skill is more crucial than ever. It's not just about improving communication; it's about building lasting, meaningful connections. Dive deep into the world of active listening, and discover the difference it can make in both your personal and professional life.
Feedback Habits (March 2023)
an expressive oil painting of two snow leopards hunting in the mountains / Dall-e
"Work from Home Wednesday" LinkedIn live series continues in March with a workshop to help you fix up your feedback habits.
Many people struggle to build feedback into their regular interactions with colleagues and reports. It can feel daunting (even impossible!) to deliver a critical piece of constructive feedback, even when it’s affecting your daily work.
In this 15-minute mini-workshop, we’ll work on ways to reframe your feedback mindset to feel like you’re “sitting on the same side of the table” when delivering challenging feedback. You’ll also learn a framework for providing real-time, specific, and constructive feedback in a way that is easy for a recipient to digest. We’ll also explore the differences between delivering feedback “in-person” vs. doing it virtually and discuss techniques for increasing your empathy and connection to the person on the receiving end.
When? Wednesday, 3/1 @ 12PM PT
Where? LinkedIn
What? Feedback Skills
Click the link below to register for the event and I’ll see you on LinkedIn!