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Dr. Maynard Brusman Articles

Guest post by: Dr. Maynard Brusman

The Problem with Brainstorming in Teams - Click To Read Article
Brainstorming is a creative technique through which group members form solutions to specific problems by spontaneously shouting out ideas, without censoring themselves or criticizing others.

The Problem with Groupthink and Teams - Click To Read Article
The negative cost of groupthink is loss of individual creativity, uniqueness and independent thinking. Organizationally, these consequences lead to costly errors in product launches, service policies and competitive strategies.

How Groupthink Causes Teams to Fail - Click To Read Article
Every team thinks it does its best work when the stakes are highest. On the contrary, pressures to perform drive people toward safe solutions that are justifiable, rather than innovative.

How to Develop Emotional Intelligence (EI) - Click To Read Article
Emotional intelligence taps into a fundamental element of human behavior that is distinct from your intellect. There is no connection between IQ and emotional intelligence. Intelligence is your ability to learn, as well as retrieve and apply knowledge.

Why CEOs Score Low in Emotional Intelligence (EI) - Click To Read Article
Because leaders achieve organizational goals through others, you may assume they have the best people skills. Wrong! CEOs, on average, have the lowest workplace EI scores.

Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Leadership - Click To Read Article
As a leader, you set the emotional tone that others follow. Our brains are hardwired to cue in (both consciously and unconsciously) to others’ emotional states. This is particularly true for leaders. People want to know how a leader feels and will synchronize with authorities they trust.

Emotional Intelligence and Performance - Click To Read Article
Your emotional intelligence is the foundation for a host of critical skills, and it impacts most everything you say and do each day. It strongly drives leadership and personal excellence.

What is Emotional Intelligence? - Click To Read Article
The brain’s wiring makes us emotional creatures. Our first reaction to any event is always emotional. We have no control over this part of the process. We can, however, control the thoughts that follow an emotion, how we react, and what we say and do.

Emotional Intelligence Key to Star Performance - Click To Read Article
Ever wonder why some of the most brilliant, well-educated people aren’t promoted, while those with fewer obvious skills climb the professional ladder?

Leadership’s Link to Emotional Intelligence - Click To Read Article
Ever wonder why some of the most brilliant, well-educated people aren’t promoted, while those with fewer obvious skills climb the professional ladder? Chalk it up to emotional intelligence (EI), a term first coined in 1995 by psychologist Daniel Goleman in his New York Times bestseller Emotional Intelligence.

Purpose-Driven Leadership – Focus on What Matters - Click To Read Article
After basic needs are fulfilled, an employee searches for meaning and a sense of purpose in a job. People seek a higher purpose, something in which to believe. If, in your role as a leader, you aren’t articulating what you care about and how you plan to make a difference, then you probably aren’t inspiring full engagement.

Purpose-Driven Leadership - Finding a Business Purpose - Click To Read Article
People enjoy being engaged in meaningful work. Humans, by nature, are a passionate species, and most of us seek out stimulating experiences. Companies that recognize this and actively cultivate and communicate a worthwhile corporate purpose become employers of choice.

Purpose-Driven Leadership: The Bridge to What Truly Matters - Click To Read Article
Far from being touchy-feely concepts touted by motivational speakers, purpose and values have been identified as key drivers of high-performing organizations.

Stress in America – How the Generations Manage Stress - Click To Read Article
There are some interesting differences in how the different generations handle stress. First, a quick review of how the generations are grouped in the modern workplace might be helpful.

Stress in America - What’s Causing Stress in America? - Click To Read Article
Money, work and the economy continue to be the most frequently cited causes of stress for Americans, as they have every year for the past 5 years. In addition, a growing number of Americans are citing personal health and their family’s health as a source of stress.

Five Golden Rules for Leadership - Click To Read Article
Having a framework for the most essential leadership skills will help you avoid quick fixes and business-book fads. While the scope of leadership may seem overwhelming, these five golden rules provide much-needed focus.

How to Grow Your Future-Focus - You Can See Forever - Click To Read Article
I loved reading Steve Job’s biography and have recommended it to many of my clients and friends. I was so inspired by his focus and passion. Mr. Job’s driven and perfectionistic personality motivated him to achieve greatness. Steve Job’s creativity and genius for creating products that invent the future is so inspiring. Oh Wow!

3 Ways to Grow Your Future-Focus - Click To Read Article
I was mesmerized by Steve Job’s biography. I was fascinated by his focus and passion. Mr. Job’s complex personality motivated him to achieve greatness. Steve Job’s creativity and genius for creating products that invent the future is so inspiring. Oh Wow!

Developing Future Focus - Sparking Energy for What Really Matters - Click To Read Article
I could not put Steve Job’s biography down. I found it so fascinating because of his focus and passion, and the intense drive in his personality that motivated him to achieve greatness. Steve Job’s creativity and genius for creating products that invent the future is so inspiring. Oh Wow!

How Leaders Develop Future Focus - How Far Can You See? - Click To Read Article
Do you look beyond what’s in front of you - especially when daily tasks take up so much time and energy? How do you become future-oriented and still handle day-to-day challenges?

Future Focus - What People Want from Leaders - Click To Read Article
Some leaders are naturally future-oriented; many others excel as executors or talent managers. Still others shine at getting things done and making things happen; others bring out the best in people.

Focus on the Future - How to Be More Forward-Looking - Click To Read Article
Focusing on the future sets leaders apart. The capacity to imagine and articulate exciting future possibilities is a defining competency - perhaps the most important one, next to honesty.

Inside the Mind at Work – Facilitating Progress and Dealing with Setbacks - Click To Read Article
When emotionally intelligent leaders focus on small wins and facilitate progress, employees will find the energy and drive required to perform optimally.

Inside the Mind at Work – What Really Motivates Us? - Click To Read Article
The topics of performance evaluations and feedback come up quite often in my executive coaching sessions. It’s human nature that people want to know where they stand. I often suggest to my coaching clients that in-the-moment feedback based on progress helps motivate people. It can also help avoid those tense performance evaluation meetings where people can be demoralized and become disengaged by negative performance feedback.

Inside the Mind at Work - Manage for Progress - Click To Read Article
As any fan of The Office can attest, negative managerial behavior severely affects employees’ work lives. Managers’ day-to-day and moment-to-moment actions also create a ripple effect, directly facilitating or impeding the organization’s ability to function.

Generational Clash Points - Issues You Can’t Ignore - Click To Read Article
Learning how to work, live and play together is crucial, and every manager must master ways to bridge generational gaps. Managerial competence requires a coordinated, collaborative strategy to leverage each generation’s strengths and neutralize its liabilities.

Four Generational Clash Points at Work - Click To Read Article
An argument can be made that the different generations represented in the workplace view work in four ways that can create conflict that must be managed to ensure full engagement.

Clash Points at Work – How Are the Generations Different? - Click To Read Article
What happens when generations don’t share the same values and beliefs about workplace success?

Clashing at Work – Who Are the Generations? - Click To Read Article
Learning how to work, live and play together is crucial, and every manager must master ways to bridge generational gaps. Managerial survival calls for a coordinated, collaborative strategy to leverage each generation’s strengths and neutralize its liabilities.

Clash Points at Work – Geeks and Geezers - Click To Read Article
Baby Boomers are lingering in the workplace. The younger Gen X and Gen Y (New Millennials) are growing impatient to ascend to leadership responsibilities. New graduates are knocking at HR’s door in record numbers. And technology, including social media, is transforming the mode and pace of communication. These trends are creating new opportunities, but not without foreseeable generational clashes.

Managing Complexity – A Leadership Checklist - Click To Read Article
Economic uncertainty and globalization, along with innovative technologies provides leaders constant challenges to successfully run their business enterprise. The following checklist can help business leaders navigate complex change initiatives.

A Dashboard for Managing Complexity - Click To Read Article
Leading people and organizations is fundamentally more complicated than it was 20 years ago-and it’s not getting any easier. Economic and global uncertainties, along with innovative technologies, complicate efforts to run a business.

Leadership Resilience - Learning from Mistakes - Click To Read Article
Steve Jobs and the success of Apple is an inspiration to all of us who want to tap into our creative genius. Steve Jobs was the Thomas Edison of our time, and the greatest thing we can do is learn from him and build on his incredible legacy.

Leadership Resilience - Optimism and Resilience - Click To Read Article
Research clearly demonstrates that people who are naturally resilient have an optimistic explanatory style-that is, they explain adversity in optimistic terms to avoid falling into helplessness.

Leadership Resilience - The Art of Bouncing Back - Click To Read Article
How we respond to failures and bounce back from our mistakes can make or break our careers.

Executive Wisdom - Developing Your Leadership Wisdom - Click To Read Article
One of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself is “What is the wisest business decision or action I have ever taken as a leader and why?”

8 Pillars of Leadership Wisdom - Click To Read Article
I was recently working with one of my San Francisco Bay Area executive coaching clients – the president of a professional services firm. We had a collaborative coaching conversation discussing the components of wisdom. My executive coaching client and I discussed how judgment, social intelligence and core values have influenced his ability to make wise decisions. I am coaching my client to tap into his executive wisdom and creativity.

Executive Wisdom for Smart Decision-Making - Wisdom in Action - Click To Read Article
Prudent decision-making lies at the heart of wisdom but it\\\'s not the whole story. In order to make a smart decision, a wise leader must draw upon intellectual, emotional, and social comprehension.

Executive Wisdom for True Leadership - Finding Wisdom - Click To Read Article
Fortunately, every time we think about wisdom and make an effort to pause and contemplate a potential role for true leadership in whatever we are about to say or do, we move a step closer to achieving it. But unfortunately, many leaders don't take time to consider the larger issues when short term profits are at stake.

In Search of Executive Wisdom - Click To Read Article
Every person in an executive role aspires to be wise and is expected to exercise wisdom in their decisions. Unfortunately, far too often senior leaders are more concerned with meeting the numbers and fail to come close to being astute.

How to Reinvent Yourself in the Workplace - Time for a Change - Click To Read Article
We are all trying to understand and cope with the enormous changes in our work and personal lives. Conscious career changers in these uncertain times are aware of the need for resilience, and reinventing themselves to thrive and flourish in the new economy. Today’s career changers need to be resilient and persevere by taking the next steps for a better future. Re-inventers can learn to refocus, get inspired and be creative to align their purpose and passion with the ever-changing needs of the marketplace.

7 Tips for Reinventing Your Career – Connect on Social Media - Click To Read Article
Like any new activity, reinvention requires practice. It may take a while for social media to become natural and habitual. Practice these seven tips to create reinvention habits:

Bay Area Executive Coaching - Make Good Use of a Coach - Click To Read Article
Mediocrity is the gateway to disengagement and boredom. To sustain high achievement, you need to be continually learning and growing, in spite of uncertainty and anxiety. You need to ask for, and receive, feedback.

Employee Engagement - Does Your Organization Employ Zombies? - Click To Read Article
Does your organization have zombies? A frequent character of science fiction novels and movies is the zombie – a soulless being with vacant eyes who wanders around purposelessly.

How to Break Out of the Eight Traps of High Achievers - Click To Read Article
I was recently working with one of my San Francisco Bay Area executive coaching clients – the president of a professional services firm. We talked about how he could break out of the eight traps of high achievers. My executive coaching client and I discussed how it is more important to focus on success and fulfillment than perfection. I am coaching my client to overcome the eight traps of high achievers, and focus more on success than perfection.

Executive Wisdom - The 8 Traps of High Achievers - Click To Read Article
Leaders are high achievers who continually grow as professionals. But in many organizations, there are high achievers who are floundering.

How to Keep Customers for Life - Click To Read Article
When you begin to think about acquiring and keeping customers for life, you need to think about the particular types of customers for whom your competitive advantage is so important that they would be poorly served by using anyone else's product or service.

How to Be More Positive at Work - Click To Read Article
Scientists are experimenting to discover new ways to boost positivity. Because of the brain’s neuroplasticity, we can rewire it to create new thought habits and become more positive.

How to Create Collaborative Business Teams - The 3:1 Positivity Ratio - Click To Read Article
The positivity/negativity ratio has been found to be a critical parameter in ascertaining what kinds of dynamics are possible for business teams.

7 Tips for Collaborative Leadership – Connecting High Performance Teams - Click To Read Article
Collaborative leaders over the past two years became aware of the need for resilience, creativity and innovation restructuring their organizations for a period of survival and stabilization. Now leaders must rebound and take the next steps to thrive and create a sustainable future. They must refocus, inspire and continuously innovate with their teams to lead successfully and grow their business.

Positivity and High Performance - Characteristics of High-Performing Business Teams - Click To Read Article
Enlightened leaders over the past two years became aware of the need for resilience, and restructuring their organizations for a period of survival and stabilization.

How Positive Emotions Ignite Innovation - Click To Read Article
Positive emotions (enjoyment, happiness, joy, interest and anticipation) broaden our awareness and encourage novel, varied, and exploratory thoughts and actions. Over time, this expanded behavioral repertoire helps us build skills and resources.

Positivity at Work - Click To Read Article
As neuroscience researchers study the brain and learn more about how we achieve optimal functioning, the term positivity has finally captured business leaders’ interests.

Emotions’ Role in Business - The Business Case for Positivity - Click To Read Article
Positivity broadens your outlook, opens you to new solutions and ideas, and brings more possibilities into view.

The Business Case for Positivity at Work - Click To Read Article
As scientists study the brain and learn more about how we achieve optimal functioning, the term positivity has finally captured business leaders’ interests.

Culture Change Begins with Desired Results - Click To Read Article
To accelerate a change in the culture, start by defining the new results you wish to achieve.

When to Change Your Corporate Culture - Click To Read Article
By definition, your culture produces your results. You cannot expect your current culture to produce new results. It may not be a bad culture; it simply isn't what’s needed if you want different results.

How People Experience Work Shapes Your Organization’s Culture - Click To Read Article
You may not realize it, but as a manager or team leader, you create experiences every minute of the day that help shape your organization’s culture.

How to Harness the Power of Culture - Click To Read Article
Optimizing your culture should command as much attention as performance metrics, operations, finances, sales and every other organizational discipline.

How Corporate Culture Drives Engagement and Accountability - Click To Read Article
Corporate culture is critical to an organization’s success. However, when I ask my clients to describe their culture their description is often very fuzzy.

Ten Tips to Build a Culture of Trust - Click To Read Article
Companies that foster a culture of transparency and trust clearly have a competitive advantage for sustainable success.

How to Use Brain Science to Maximize Employee’s Peak Performance - Click To Read Article
The ability to select, motivate, develop, engage and retain top people is critical to a company’s success. If you want to build a company where people love to work you have to know how to hire and keep the right people.

Peak Performance for Full Engagement - Click To Read Article
According to research, only 29 percent of employees are motivated and energized. What, then, is happening to the other two-thirds of the people working in organizations?

How to Manage for Peak Performance - Click To Read Article
To achieve peak performance, each person must find the right job, tasks and conditions that match his or her strengths.

Emotionally Intelligent Managers as Coach - Click To Read Article
Managers determine how people experience work: joy versus despair, enthusiasm versus complaints, and well-being and resilience versus stress. Most managers want to be good at what they do, yet many lack the requisite coaching skills that facilitate positive action and behavior.

Great Bosses Are Good Coaches - Click To Read Article
Bosses determine how happy and productive people are at work. They influence employee well-being and stress resilience. Most bosses want to do the right thing and support their people to achieve team and organizational goals.

Be a Good Boss - The Provide a Human Shield Mindset - Click To Read Article
My coaching clients repeatedly tell me stories of how a good boss removed obstacles so that they could get their work done with minimal hassle. I could experience my client's level of engagement soar when they felt their boss had their back.

Good Bosses - The Small Wins Count Mindset - Click To Read Article
Exceptional bosses know how to motivate people tapping into their intrinsic motivation. They set goals that empower people and builds confidence. Big audacious goals can initially sound great, but can backfire when people fail to achieve milestones resulting in a de-motivated workforce.

Gritty Bosses - The True Grit Mindset - Click To Read Article
Good bosses are hard working and resilient. They keep employees inspired in good times and bad. Failure is seen as bumps on the way to winning and success.

Savvy Bosses - The Goldilocks Management Mindset - Click To Read Article
Bosses determine how people experience work: joy versus despair, enthusiasm versus complaints, and well-being versus stress. Most bosses want to be good at what they do, yet many lack the mindset that precedes positive action and behavior.

Killer Bosses are Worse than Killer Bees - Click To Read Article
Most of us can tell horror stories about the boss from hell. He or she might have been a micro-manager or so work-driven that employees didn't have a life. The boss was unhappy and took out his/her frustration on employees. Bad bosses can be more destructive than those nasty "Killer Bees".

How to Be a Better Boss - Click To Read Article
The best bosses keep chipping away at a huge pile of tasks-some interesting, others dull but necessary. Their leadership prowess is measured by how well they handle the frustrations associated with people and performance.

5 Kinds of Stories That Create Our Reality - Click To Read Article
Enlightened leaders are able to help their organizations shift its culture from good to great. They guide their people in retelling the history and growth of the organization that fully engages people to create a prosperous future.

Stories Create Our Reality - Click To Read Article
Humans are wired to create and tell stories. Our brains continuously look for explanations to the events around us. Whatever we encounter, whether random or planned, forces our minds to impose a chronology and apply cause-and-effect logic.

How to Generate Personal Energy - Find a Faulty Story - Click To Read Article
To generate the energy you need to fulfill your greatest desires and goals, you must identify your faulty stories-the erroneous old chestnuts that you tell yourself over and over again. We rarely examine them or question their usefulness. We simply go about our workdays and lives, telling ourselves these familiar tales to convince ourselves that we're OK.

What’s Your Story? - Click To Read Article
I recently facilitated a Leadership Retreat for the Managing Partners of a law firm. We focused a great deal on improving interpersonal communication and creating more work/life balance.

Building Executive Presence - Storytelling for Professional Success - Click To Read Article
The term executive presence can mean different things to different people. Asking penetrating questions to gain more clarity for both the client and executive coach is critical to the executive coaching process when coaching a leader to improve their executive presence.

Developing Executive Presence - What Really Matters - Click To Read Article
I've found that the term executive presence can mean different things to different people. Asking penetrating questions to gain more clarity for both the client and executive coach is critical to the executive coaching process when coaching a leader to cultivate their executive presence.

Searching for Executive Presence - Click To Read Article
I've seen an increase in requests from companies and law firms seeking help for a high potential leader to improve their "executive presence". When I inquire into what they mean by executive presence I get a variety of responses.

Executive Presence and Leadership Development - Click To Read Article
I've found that the term executive presence can be very elusive. Asking powerful questions to gain more clarity for both the client and executive coach informs the coaching agenda, and desired outcomes of the coaching engagement.

11 Qualities of Executive Presence - Click To Read Article
I've noticed an increase in requests from companies and law firms seeking help for high potential leaders to improve their "executive presence". When I inquire into what they mean by executive presence I get variety responses.

How to Improve Your People-Reading Skills - Click To Read Article
Socially intelligent leaders know how to read the body language and emotions of their people. They are highly aware of social environments and highly attuned to the language used by people. They are curious about people and are great observes of human behavior.

How to Read and Influence People - Click To Read Article
One of my law firm Managing Partner executive coaching clients recently shared with me that he was having a hard time persuading several of the firm partners on a new direction for the firm. We have been working on improving his situational awareness and ability to read body language.

How to Socially Intelligent Interact with People - Click To Read Article
One of my law firm Managing Partner executive coaching clients recently shared with me that he was having a hard time influencing several of the firm partners on a new strategy for the firm. We have been working on improving his executive presence including talking less and listening more. He is not great at getting others to cooperate with him, and has a fairly authoritative leadership style.

How to Read People and Influence Perceptions - Click To Read Article
I've learned in an over twenty-five year consulting career that my most effective executive coaching and leadership development clients are communication catalysts. They are authentic and help people achieve a shared purpose. They are optimistic and forward thinking. One of my law firm Managing Partner clients recently confided in me that she was having a hard time influencing several of the firm partners on a new strategy for the firm. She logically countered every differing point of view, and yet hours later no one had changed their mind. It was as if the big egos in the room were locked in a battle of who was right and blaming the others for perceived failures.

Emotions Matter for Leadership - An Action Plan - Click To Read Article
Emotionally intelligent leaders know that creating a workplace culture and climate where emotions are appropriately expressed motivates people and increases engagement and retention. In order for people to be fully engaged, they need to feel they are following leaders who inspire them emotionally.

Emotionally Astute Leadership – Create a Clear Vision - Click To Read Article
Inspirational leaders know that creating a collaborative workplace culture and climate where emotions are appropriately expressed increases engagement and moves things forward. In order for people to be fully engaged, they need to feel they are following leaders who inspire them emotionally.

Business New Year's Commitments – For Leaders and Lawyers - Click To Read Article
With another year quickly coming to an end, I started thinking about New Year's Resolutions and what enlightened business owners and solo entrepreneurs can resolve to change and be more successful next year. The following are my top twelve tips in no particular order to help you and your business thrive in the New Year.

The Leadership Trust Gap - Click To Read Article
Emotionally intelligent leaders know that creating a workplace culture and climate where emotions are appropriately expressed increases engagement and moves things forward. In order for people to be fully engaged, they need to feel they are following trustworthy leaders who inspire them emotionally.

Leadership Character and the Greater Good – Character Matters - Click To Read Article
My most inspiring executive coaching leadership clients know the "why" of their business. They are open, optimistic and forward thinking. Emotionally intelligent leaders know that creating a workplace culture and climate where emotions are appropriately expressed increases engagement and productivity. In order for people to be fully engaged and happy, they need to feel they are following leaders who inspire them emotionally.

How to Create an Attitude of Gratitude - Click To Read Article
I believe the key to happiness and success in life and work is to be thankful for the gifts you have received. You tap into positive energy and generate optimism about future possibilities.

Coping With Holiday Stress - Click To Read Article
For many people the holidays are the saddest time of the year. The holidays are meant to be a time of joy, warmth, excitement and anticipation of the year ahead, and for some people this is indeed the case. But many of us live most of the time with unresolved conflicts, loneliness, a need to be understood and loved-and the holidays only serve to exacerbate our private feelings of quiet desperation. Some of the problems and emotions, which we hold in check during most months of the year, tend to surface during the holidays.

3 Keys to Leadership Success - Click To Read Article
I've learned over the years that my most effective executive coaching leadership clients know the "why" of what they are passionate in achieving. They get excited in my office telling me inspiring stories of their hopes and struggles. They are optimistic and forward thinking.

Emotions - The Secret Sauce of Leadership - Click To Read Article
Emotionally intelligent leaders know that creating a workplace culture and climate where emotions are appropriately expressed increases productivity. In order for employees to be fully engaged, they need to feel they can bring all of themselves to work.

The Trusted Advisor Relationship - Developing Empathy - Click To Read Article
Enlightened businesses today hire leadership consultants and executive coaches to help with their leadership development programs. However, increasingly a number of my clients now prefer me to help them in the role of trusted advisor rather than expert consultant. This special partnership based on mutual respect and collaboration helps clients achieve desired results. The role of trusted advisor is open, transparent and fiercely client-centered.

Essential Traits of a Trusted Advisor - Click To Read Article
Enlightened businesses today hire leadership consultants and executive coaches to help with their leadership development programs. However, increasingly a number of my clients now prefer me to help them in the role of trusted advisor rather than expert consultant. This special partnership based on mutual respect and collaboration produces sustained results. The role of trusted advisor is collaborative, transparent and fiercely client-centered.

Becoming a Trusted Advisor - How to Build Trust - Click To Read Article
Enlightened leaders today hire leadership consultants and executive coaches to help with their leadership development. However, increasingly a number of my clients now prefer me to help them in the role of trusted advisor rather than expert consultant. This special partnership based on mutual respect and collaboration produces more sustainable results. The role of trusted advisor is open, transparent and fiercely client-centered.

Five Habits of a Trusted Advisor – The Leadership Clients’ Perspective - Click To Read Article
Enlightened businesses today hire leadership consultants and executive coaches to help with their leadership development programs. However, increasingly a number of my clients now prefer me to help them in the role of trusted advisor rather than expert consultant.

How to Be a Trusted Advisor - Click To Read Article
A number of businesses today hire consultants and executive coaches to help with their leadership development programs. I’ve found that a number of my clients now prefer me to help them in the role of trusted advisor rather than expert consultant.

Inspired Leadership - The Brain Science of Inspiration - Click To Read Article
Leaders who want to succeed should clearly communicate what they believe and why they're so passionate about their cause.

Leading by Design - The Pursuit of Perfection - Click To Read Article
What is the secret to creating successful businesses that marry passion, purpose and profits? Unleash peoples' passions by clearly communicating what you believe and why.

How Inspired Leadership Creates Dream Jobs - Click To Read Article
Studies have shown that more than 80 percent of U.S. employees don't believe they're working in their dream jobs. What if leaders could change this? What if they began to inspire their people with why they do what they do, instead of the what and the how of company policies and procedures? What if 80 percent of your workforce actually thought they had landed their dream jobs?

Motivational Leadership - Creating Loyalty - Click To Read Article
There are leaders, and then there are those who actually lead. Every executive who supervises others must be prepared to motivate-a skill that really isn't difficult. It requires you to create loyal customers and workers who link themselves to your higher cause. General Motors so successfully motivated people to buy their cars, for example, they sold more than any other automaker in the world for over 77 years. Although they were first in their industry, they did not inspire loyalty.

How to Be an Inspiring Leader - Click To Read Article
What can we learn about inspirational leadership from successful start-up companies? Conversely, what can failed corporations teach us?

Leading with Why - Inspiring Passionate Followers - Click To Read Article
What is the secret to creating successful businesses that marry passion, purpose and profits? Ignite peoples passions by clearly communicating what you believe and why.

Emotionally Intelligent Job-Related Feedback - Click To Read Article
I coach a number of managers on how to improve performance by giving behavioral feedback. Emotionally intelligent managers increase worker productivity by giving in the moment feedback that results in improved work place performance.

How Managers Create Flow Experiences - Click To Read Article
I coach a number of managers on how to creatively encourage flow states to increase performance. Emotionally intelligent managers increase worker productivity by helping their people achieve flow states resulting in improved work place performance.

Happy Workers Are Productive Employees - Truth or Fiction? - Click To Read Article
I coach a number of managers who are surprised that increase happiness and satisfaction at work doesn't always translate into increased productivity. Emotionally intelligent managers develop their people resulting in improved work place performance.

How Goal Setting Makes Happy Workers - Click To Read Article
I coach a number of managers on how best to do goal-setting. Emotionally intelligent managers increase worker productivity by helping their people develop goals resulting in improved work place performance.

Managers Can Kill Employee Motivation - Click To Read Article
Are you working in an organization where managers know how to motivate employees? Do employees at your workplace believe they will be justly compensated for a good performance appraisal? I coach a number of managers who don't make the effort to know their employees and discover what motivates them to do their best work. Emotionally intelligent managers listen to their employees, and elicit feedback that will improve work place performance.

How Managers Undermine Employee Performance - Click To Read Article
Are you working in an organization where managers know how to motivate people? Are managers held accountable for listening to their employees and addressing any complaints? I coach a number of managers who consistently complain about certain employees, but don't take the time or make the effort to address any underlying concerns. Effective managers listen to their employees, and are open to any feedback that will improve work place performance. Spend enough time in meetings or the executive lunchroom, and you're destined to hear your fair share of managers' complaints about their employees.

Ten Tips to Deal With Difficult People - Click To Read Article
Are you stressed out dealing with difficult people at work? If you are, then may benefit by learning some emotional intelligence interpersonal communication strategies. The workplace is full of difficult people who can make your life miserable if you let them. Difficult people come in all shapes, sizes and personalities. They can be demanding and exhausting causing a great deal of distress for everyone involved. Interacting and dealing with these people can be a major cause of employee lack of engagement.

Secrets of Dealing with Difficult People - The Art of Listening - Click To Read Article
Almost every day in my coaching practice someone shares a story with me of how someone at work is driving her up the wall. Some very good people have had it with the difficult individual and decide to quit their job. Improving your listening skills and developing empathy can often help rapidly deteriorating workplace relationships.

How to Deal with Difficult People at Work - Click To Read Article
Hardly a day goes by in my executive coaching practice without someone sharing a story with me of how someone at work is driving her nuts and sapping their energy. Very often it's their boss who they experience as being arrogant, condescending, and disrespectful or maybe even a bully. It may be a co-worker who is argumentative with a big ego and thinks he's always right.

Ten Tips for Emotionally Intelligent Conversations - Click To Read Article
This article provides some powerful tips you can use for having fierce conversations at work, particularly difficult conversations that have to deal with conflict or lack of trust. These ideas are helpful for people who have trust issues and are in conflict with one another. They have been found to be very powerful and effective in helping leaders and employees engage in assertive and emotionally intelligent conversations.

Political Savvy and Office Politics - Click To Read Article
How skillful are you at navigating office politics? Are you politically savvy? How is power and influence used where you work? The ability to navigate the political waters and influence others is an essential workplace competency. Politically astute leaders know how to appropriately use power and collaborate with others to achieve business goals. They create a culture of trust and achievement.

The Power of Persuasion - Four Key Elements - Click To Read Article
How effective are you at persuading others by effectively using power at your workplace? Are you politically savvy? How is power and influence used where you work? The ability to use power to influence others is an essential workplace competency. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve business goals. They create a culture of trust and achievement.

Persuasion at Work - The Power of Power - Click To Read Article
How effective are you at persuading others by effectively using power at work? Are you politically savvy? How is power and influence used where you work? The ability to use power to influence others is an important workplace competency. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve business goals. They create a culture of trust and achievement.

Influencing Others to Achieve Work Goals - Click To Read Article
Are you good at influencing others to achieve work goals? Do you think being politically savvy is important in your organization? How is power used where you work? The ability to influence others to get work done is a critical competency today. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve business results. They relish engageable moments with their people creating a culture of caring and achievement.

Power, Politics and Persuasion - Influencing Others to Achieve Work Goals - Click To Read Article
Are you good at influencing others to achieve work goals? Do you think being politically savvy is important in your organization? How is power used where you work? The ability to influence others to get work done is a critical competency today. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve business results. They relish engageable moments with their people creating a culture of trust and achievement.

Power at Work - Avoiding Power - Click To Read Article
How effective are you at influencing others by effectively using power at work? Are you politically savvy? How is power and influence at your workplace? The ability to use power to influence others is a critical workplace competency. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve business results. They create a culture of trust and achievement.

Influencing Change at Work - Three Sources of Power - Click To Read Article
How effective are you at influencing others to achieve work goals? Are you politically savvy? How is power and influence used where you work? The ability to influence others to get work done is a critical workplace competency. Inspiring leaders know how to motivate others to achieve sustainable business results. They relish engaging moments with their people creating a culture of trust and achievement.

Creating Happy Companies is Good Business - Click To Read Article
There is no doubt that business success depends on highly motivated employees. Why do so many companies have uninspiring leaders and uninspired employees who plod along with little - or the wrong - motivation? Why are corporate decisions still being made for the short term, undermining morale and jeopardizing business success?

Mindfulness Leadership - Self-Awareness and Self-Reflection - Click To Read Article
Most business books focus on how leaders can achieve more. How can you do more, better...and faster? This article takes the opposite tack: how and why, as leaders, you should sit and be still. How do your leadership skills benefit when you take time to quiet your mind and simply sit and be still?

Optimism - Resilience in the Face of Adversity - Click To Read Article
High scores for optimism are predictive of excellence in everything from sports to health, elections and sales. When Metropolitan Life used an assessment of optimistic attitude to select and hire salespeople, they saved themselves millions of dollars in personnel selection. Those highest on the optimism scale outsold others in their first year by 27 percent.

Leading Change - Engaging in Fierce Conversations - Click To Read Article
Business is fundamentally an extended conversation. Whether you're speaking with your boss, team members, colleagues or direct reports, conversations shape what gets done. As a leader, you must engineer conversations to foster clarity, cooperation, creativity and a connection to company values.

Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace - Click To Read Article
In the US where IQ and SAT scores have dominated thinking on who is likely to succeed, the evidence is now clear that people skills are far more important when it comes to the bottom line. For many years it had been considered inappropriate to show or to have emotions in a work situation. An overwhelming amount of research shows that not only are emotions very much a part of the work experience, but to a large degree they set the course that a company follows. Unlike IQ, which is unchanging from childhood on, emotional intelligence can be developed. In fact, it usually does become greater with age and maturity. The importance of developing one's emotional intelligence is essential to success in the workplace. Utilizing the power and energy of one's emotions leads to high motivation, and improves problem-solving and decision-making.

Creating Emotionally Intelligent Teams - Click To Read Article
Teams are the most common business unit for high performance. Although the word gets used loosely and not always appropriately, there is universal acceptance that teams create opportunities for high performance results. A team's performance includes both individual results and collective work products, yielding sums greater than its parts. True teamwork promotes individual and collective performance. Effective teams value listening and communicating, sharing work responsibilities, provide support and can make work more social and enjoyable. Members are supportive of one another and recognize the interests and achievements of each other. When they are working the way they should, they are incredibly effective in achieving high performance results.

Four Steps to Less Business Stress - Click To Read Article
We typically spend one-third to one-half of our adult lives at work. But work is a common source of unhappiness and stress. Studies have concluded that the number of burned-out, stressed-out or chronically stressed individuals is between one-fourth and one-third of the work force. If companies are to survive the challenges of uncertainty, leaders and workers must be fully present and engaged at work, in a state of health and well-being.

Coaching Leaders to Change - Leadership Development to Optimize Potential - Click To Read Article
How do you convince leaders to change? How can you optimize their talents and potential? Which best practices in executive coaching programs produce lasting results that drive business performance? Executive coaching offers a tremendous opportunity to leverage leadership talent and resources, both of which can steer an organization toward sustainable success.

A Leadership Checklist - 7 Self-Awareness Questions - Click To Read Article
No matter how successful and talented you are, you've made mistakes and have acquired some bad habits. Some are old; others have seemingly popped up overnight. Behaviors that may have worked well for you in the past can render you ineffective in the present. The best way to make swift adjustments is to periodically step back, observe and ask yourself several key questions. Some experts advise doing this every three to six months; much depends on the nature of your business.

How to Choose the Right Executive Coach - 8 Keys to a Good Fit - Click To Read Article
In times of recession, companies must do more with less. Providing executive coaches to high-potential performers is one way to get the most out of untapped talent. Willingness to be coached and a good fit are two of the key ingredients for a successful coaching relationship. Companies should consider two basic hiring rules when hiring a coach: 1. Ensure executives are ready and willing to be coached. 2. Allow leaders to choose the coach

Strategic Succession Management - Winning the War for Leadership Talent - Click To Read Article
The demand for leadership talent greatly exceeds supply. Few firms are prepared for what the McKinsey consulting firm has called the "war for talent." If economic growth continues at a modest 2 percent for the next 15 years, there would be a need for one-third more senior leaders than there are today. The supply of 35- to 44-year-old managers-who have traditionally been channeled into the executive ranks-is declining in the United States and will have dropped by 15 percent between 2000 and 2015. Baby boomers have already started to retire. Most large companies will have to scramble to meet gaps in senior leadership talent. Not only are the numbers in the talent pool shrinking, but the quality of talent required to meet tomorrow's leadership demands is changing.

Motivating People at Work - The Power of Intrinsic Motivation - Click To Read Article
Most business leaders have lost sight of what motivates people at work. In fact, some companies haven't updated their management practices in years, which means they're incapable of creating high-performance teams. Companies continue to ignore the obvious: Offering incentives and rewards is less effective than tapping into truly meaningful intrinsic motivation. Leaders operate on old assumptions about motivation despite a wealth of well-documented scientific evidence. The old "carrot-and-stick" mentality may actually inhibit employees from seeking creative solutions, partly because they focus on attaining rewards instead of solving problems.

Flipping the Coin for Top Talent - How Well Are You Hiring? - Click To Read Article
How do great leaders of successful companies spend half of their time? They spend it on people: recruiting new talent, picking the right people for positions, grooming young stars, developing global managers, dealing with under-performers, and reviewing the entire talent pool. Everyone agrees that talent is an important competitive advantage, but surprisingly, three out of four companies do not make their talent management programs a high priority. Hiring practices often are random and decisions often are based on intuition. In many cases, hiring decisions have success rates similar to flipping a coin!

Change Reiliency at Work - Click To Read Article
Change today happens rapidly. No longer are there short periods of change, followed by long plateaus of stability. Most of our lives today are a continual, unrelenting series of changes, with little time for self-renewal. Keeping you energized, optimistic and inspired in the face of change demands specific skills. You need to learn how to respond quickly and flexibly to new demands. These skills are called change resiliency.

The Business Case for Executive Coaching - The International Coach Federation ROI Study - Click To Read Article
Are you working in a company or law firm where executive coaches help leaders develop their leadership capability? Does your company or law firm provide executive coaching and leadership development for high potentials and high performing leaders? One of the most powerful questions you can ask is "Does providing executive coaching for company leaders have a direct effect on the company bottom line?" Emotionally intelligent and socially intelligent organizations provide executive coaching and leadership development for authentic leaders at all levels of the organization.

Stressed Out America - Resilience in Tough Times - Click To Read Article
Many Americans are exhausted from working long hours with little time for rest and renewal. A number of unemployed people are emotionally and physically depleted worrying about the past and anxious about the future. Given the tough economic climate, people seem to be adopting a more pessimistic mindset. We all need to learn how to be more resilient and stress hardy.

Secrets of Successful Careers - Discover Your Purpose & Strengths - Click To Read Article
Why are some people promoted to positions that bring out the best in them, while their peers, who are equally talented, get left behind in positions that do not allow them to flourish? Are there secrets to a rewarding and satisfying career in the corporate world? According to Gallup research, only twenty percent of people are working in jobs that provide them the opportunity to excel in what they do best. Since we spend so many of our waking hours working, shouldn't we try to make that time rewarding and fulfilling? Unfortunately, many of us feel trapped in mediocre careers and place the blame on poor company leadership and lack of opportunities. In these situations, daily work becomes a grind when we cannot apply our strengths into our work.

Multi-Rater 360-Degree Feedback - Employee Assessment & Performance Improvement - Click To Read Article
An exceedingly popular and powerful means for managers and employees to get information on their performance is the multi-rater 360-degree feedback instrument. Used independently, or as part of a management development program, multi-rater 360-degree feedback can enhance self-awareness by highlighting what supervisors, peers, subordinates, and customers see as an individual's strengths and development needs. It is an exceptionally effective tool for change. No other organizational action strategy has more power for motivating employee behavior change than candid feedback from work associates. Multi-source assessment creates accountability and service to all stakeholders: supervisor, external and internal customers, including coworkers and direct reports.

How to Overcome Insomnia - The Article Guaranteed to Put You to Sleep! - Click To Read Article
In these turbulent times, nearly 30% of people in America complain of being sleep deprived, according to a survey by the National Sleep Foundation. Michael Jackson's pre-mature death has focused the nation's attention on the serious problem of insomnia. Are you working in a company or law firm where people come to work sleep deprived? Does your company or law firm provide health promotion programs that encourage employees to follow proper sleep hygiene? One of the most powerful questions one can ask is "Am I getting enough sleep so that I am ready to go to work feeling refreshed and relaxed?" Emotionally intelligent people get adequate sleep so they are able to be their best at work.

How to Get the Most Out of Executive Coaching - Click To Read Article
When used for the right reasons and with competent practitioners, executive coaching can provide significant and lasting benefits for both individuals and organizations. But like other innovations, coaching can become just another business fad. When not effective, it can cause harm to individuals and organizations and waste large amounts of money.

Executive Coaching to Develop Emotionally Intelligent Leaders - Click To Read Article
Driving the trend for executive coaching is the business reality that good people are hard to find and harder to keep. With a constant need to stay competitive, companies are seeing coaching as a way to help valued employees develop swiftly in a rapidly changing business environment. A growing number of Fortune 500 companies offer executive coaching to their top people. Whether hiring external coaches or training their own leaders in coaching skills, companies are finding that coaching is essential for creating change and evolving people towards their highest productivity and potential.

Positive Leadership for Optimistic Leaders - The Problem-Seeking Mindset - Click To Read Article
Do you regularly feel fully appreciated at work? Do you have the chance to do what you do best each and every day? Do you know what is expected of you at work? Does your manager know you and focus you? Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a happy yes! Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can deflate your career mojo or worse. Positive leaders provide clarity to help people unleash their innovative spirit, improve performance and fully engage.

Focus on Positive Leadership - When Things Go Wrong - Click To Read Article
Are you appreciated by company managers? Do you have the opportunity to do your best work? Are you clear on what is expected of you at work? Does your manager provide employees focus? People at work who are fully engaged can answer these questions expressing gratitude with a happy yes! Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for an ineffective manager can negatively affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their intrinsic motivation to improve performance. Optimistic leaders inspire people to a shared future. They have a strong sense of significance. Are you a positive leader in good times and bad?

Building Positive Leadership -The Brain Power of Negativity - Click To Read Article
Do you feel that company leaders and managers at work appreciate you? Do you regularly have the chance to do your best work? Do you have clarity on what is expected of you at work? Does your manager care about you and provide focus? Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes! Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can adversely affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their innovative spirit to improve performance. Optimistic leaders inspire people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Do you model servant leadership?

Stressed Out Lawyers - Mending Body, Mind & Soul - Click To Read Article
In the demanding world lawyers face, stress resilience is an essential skill. Managing stress allows you to excel in the workplace while maintaining a well-balanced, healthy lifestyle.

Executive Coaching for Emotionally Intelligent Leadership - 3 Steps to Positive Leadership - Click To Read Article
Are you feeling fully appreciated at work? Do you have the chance to do what you do best every day? Do you know what is expected of you at work? Does your manager know you and focus you? Fully engaged people at work can answer these questions with a resounding yes! Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for a poor manager can be de-motivating or worse. Positive leaders provide leadership to help people unleash their creativity, improve performance and fully engage. Optimistic leaders rally people to a better future. They have a strong sense of significance. Who do you serve?

One Minute Mindfulness Relax-Refresher - Resilience at Work - Click To Read Article
Stress is a very powerful force that involves awareness, attention and energy. It can be managed and empower you. If you let stress control you, the resulting distress can be harmful to your body, mind, and spirit. Learning to become more "present," will free you to be more flexible and creative. Mindfulness reduces stress and promotes resilience. You can become more resilient, enjoying better health and well-being. Most of us have busy lives today full of a never ending list of things to do. There is little time for self-reflection making sure that we are doing the right things based on meaning, purpose and values. Taking a few brief meditative breathing breaks throughout the day can help you create a new story of hope and possibility. The following exercise can help you re-energize and become more fully engaged.

Leadership Coaching to Discover Your Talents and Strengths: Strategies for Leadership Development - Click To Read Article
Most of us have a poor sense of our talents and strengths. Throughout our education and careers, there is a lot of attention paid to our weaknesses. We are acutely aware of our faults and deficits, our "opportunities for development," or whatever euphemism is popular for naming them.

Executive Coaching for Creating a State of Flow - Ten Essential Flow Factors - Click To Read Article
One of my CEO executive coaching clients is working with his executive leadership team to create an organizational culture that unleashes employees' intrinsic motivation and state of flow. I am coaching him to become more effective at appealing to employees' intrinsic motivation and core values, and helping leaders at all levels of the organization become more fully engaged in creating a culture that supports flow.

Executive Coaching for Creating Goals - Goal-Setting Strategies for Leaders - Click To Read Article
Do your organizational leaders have clearly defined written goals? Research shows that those people who actually sit down and write out their goals not only end up achieving them, but have higher incomes and ratings for overall success and life satisfaction.

Selection and Leadership Development for Emotionally Intelligent Leaders - Click To Read Article
The ability to select, motivate, develop, engage and retain top people is critical to a company's success. If you want to build a company where people love to work you have to know how to hire and keep great people. Unfortunately, a poor hire can cost a company a great deal of money and cause undue distress and wasted time for everyone involved. Great companies and managers start with optimistic, change-resilient, and committed people whose values fit the workplace culture. Keeping great people involves creating a healthy work environment where people can use all their knowledge, creativity, and skills. Self-managed organizations create work environments where people can continuously learn and make decisions.

Happiness is an Option for Lawyers - Creating Success and Fulfillment in Work and Life - Click To Read Article
In the increasingly demanding world lawyers face; many lawyers desire to achieve professional success, a fulfilling life, and true happiness. However, achieving both their personal and professional goals sometimes proves to be very difficult. Many lawyers report being unhappy with the choices they have made and desire a different future.

Executive Coaching for Creating a State of Flow - Flow Exercise - Click To Read Article
One of my CEO executive coaching clients is working with his executive leadership team to create an organizational culture that unleashes employees' intrinsic motivation and state of flow. I am coaching him to become more effective at appealing to employees' intrinsic motivation and core values, and helping leaders at all levels of the organization become more fully engaged in creating a culture that supports flow.

Executive Coaching for Creating a State of Flow at Work - Click To Read Article
One of my CEO executive coaching clients is working with his executive leadership team to create an organizational culture that unleashes employees' intrinsic motivation and state of flow. I am coaching him to become more effective at appealing to employees' intrinsic motivation and core values, and helping leaders at all levels of the organization become more fully engaged in creating a culture that supports flow. The CEO knows that for the organization to thrive depends on creating an organizational culture and climate that nourishes constant innovation. Human Resources is partnering with me in supporting senior leaders to motivate people by building authentic relationships.

Executive Coaching Secrets for Socially Intelligent Sales - 9 Sales Tips for Tough Economic Times - Click To Read Article
It's no new news that we are in a difficult business climate that requires making connections and building relationships more important than ever. We buy from people we know, like and trust. Right know and for the foreseeable future, we are experiencing a business climate where people and organizations are holding on to their wallets. There is a psychological and behavioral contracting effect due to uncertainty about the future.

Career Coaching Case Study: Client Creates Work With Purpose and Passion - Click To Read Article
We are all trying to understand and cope with the enormous changes in our work and personal lives. Mostly we react in a positive and productive manner. However, many people are describing their lives as so busy, working so many hours, trying to balance work and personal lives that we often feel physically and emotionally exhausted. I work as a consulting psychologist and executive/career coach specializing in helping leaders and lawyers with work- related problems. Let me tell you a brief story about a company leader I helped with a career transition.





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