Imagine a world where everyone provided more sincere apologies. Our relationships would be stronger, and there’d be a lot more understanding among people. But often we don’t like giving an apology because our ego gets in the way and apologizing could mean admitting defeat. Or perhaps we are just uncomfortable saying “sorry.” I like to think of myself as someone … Read More
Conquer Leadership Challenges with Small Wins
When was the last time you felt overwhelmed by a significant leadership challenge? Some of my recent work has included supporting leaders who have found themselves in such a place. What I often tell them is there is no path to the end goal that doesn’t start with a small win. Can you relate to any of these scenarios? Boldly … Read More
6 Sources of Conflict at Work
I love optical illusions. It’s fascinating to watch an image shift from one thing to another, depending on your perspective. Optical illusions use colour, light, and patterns to mislead our brains into creating an image that does not match the image in front of us. Workplace conflict can sometimes be like an optical illusion, where what we see is not … Read More
The Powerful Pygmalion Effect in the Workplace
Our beliefs about our colleagues can have very real consequences, regardless of whether they’re correct or not. Most people are aware of the idea of a self-fulling prophecy, where our expectations about our behaviour influence us to take actions that make the expectation a reality. However, there are also other-imposed prophecies where another person’s expectations of us can influence our … Read More
Setting Boundaries at Work
Learning how to protect your energy levels and set boundaries at work is crucial to not only avoiding burnout but staying engaged at work – that is, enjoying and being really good at what you do. However, setting boundaries has become increasingly difficult over the past two years, with more of us working remotely for all or part of our … Read More
How Conflict Escalates & Strategies to Prevent Disaster
Conflict is so predictable, and I believe that is what scares us most about it. We have seen conflict quickly develop into an ugly mess. We see this in the media, and we have probably experienced it in our personal lives as well. The good news is that conflict doesn’t always have to escalate negatively. When we understand how it … Read More
Onboarding – Who, When, and How
Congratulations! Your organization has hired a new employee. They’re excited to receive a job offer and contribute their skills and knowledge to your workplace’s success. You’re excited because you’ve identified and hired a strong candidate that can contribute to the success of the organization. Now what? According to a 2021 article by Gallup analytics, “One in five employees either report … Read More
Encouraging Dissenting Voices
Several years ago, I was doing a three-month check-in with a new employee. I had been working closely with him, and he had already shown great initiative and the ability to help us in a variety of new and unexpected ways. As a result, the feedback on his performance was glowing. He was therefore a little taken aback when I … Read More
How to Write Well at Work
No matter your industry, writing is probably a bigger part of your job than you think. Whether it’s sending an email, writing a social media post, putting together an ad, or leaving a note for a customer, your written communication skills matter. Although some of these tasks seem trivial, they don’t go unnoticed. A 2019 study by the National Association … Read More
How to Motivate Employees
Recently, a frustrated business owner asked me how he could motivate his staff. He said he tried everything, but when he described his attempts at employee motivation, they were all extrinsic. He had tried carefully monitoring job completion and task time, ranking employees, and threatening his workers if they didn’t live up to his expectations. He even fired two employees … Read More
