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Adapting to a New Culture Takes Curiosity, Humility and Patience

Leave a Comment / Navigating Across Cultures, Newsletter /

You’re eagerly awaiting the start of your overseas assignment. You’ve learned enough of the language to be passably proficient. You’ve studied films, books and articles to understand cultural norms and nuances, and you’ve even interviewed a few native-born colleagues to find out where the cultural landmines might be hidden. Things go smoothly, at first. Your […]

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Can’t We All Just Disagree? Reviving the Lost Art of Civilized Disagreement

1 Comment / Newsletter, Productive Conversations /

Imagine you’re part of a group coming together to agree on a make-or-break decision. Which of these scenarios would you prefer: 1) After an amicable (and blessedly) brief conversation, everyone easily agrees to go along with the majority or 2) A heated debate ensues, with people from opposing viewpoints passionately arguing their respective positions? If

Can’t We All Just Disagree? Reviving the Lost Art of Civilized Disagreement Read More »

How to Create Opportunities for More Aha! Moments, for Yourself and Your Team

Leave a Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter /

When young Isaac Newton settled into a Lincolnshire garden to rest almost 400 years ago, he could not have predicted that the mere dropping of an apple from a nearby tree would give him the bolt of brilliant insight he needed to devise the formula for gravity. And nor could young Einstein have imagined that

How to Create Opportunities for More Aha! Moments, for Yourself and Your Team Read More »

To Design Really Engaging Virtual Learning Programs, Throw Away the Old Rules

Leave a Comment / Continuous Learning in a Virtual World, Newsletter /

With fresh allegations making headlines each day, Fred, the HR VP of a growing high-tech company, knew that all employees needed a refresher about the kind of behaviors and actions that constitute sexual assault – ASAP. (The videos they had purchased a few years before were badly dated. Plus, based on some of the behavior

To Design Really Engaging Virtual Learning Programs, Throw Away the Old Rules Read More »

12 Tips for Building Trusting Relationships Across Your Virtual Team

Leave a Comment / Newsletter, Team Collaboration /

“My team members just don’t seem to trust each other. You can hear the animosity and frustration in their voices when they decide to talk. I detect passive-aggressiveness in almost every comment. All day long, I’m getting emails and private IMs about how this one is constantly missing deadlines, or how that one never seems

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How Mindfulness Keeps You Present, and Why It Matters

1 Comment / Inclusion & Well-Being, Newsletter /

Imagine this: It’s after 5 PM, and your train is leaving in less than a half-hour. You’re in the middle of saving your final edits to the presentation for the executive team meeting first thing tomorrow, when you hear the unwelcome ping of an incoming IM from your boss: “Sorry for the last-minute change, but

How Mindfulness Keeps You Present, and Why It Matters Read More »

Want Virtual Learners to Stay Engaged? Insist They Multitask, and Other Big Tips

Leave a Comment / Continuous Learning in a Virtual World, Newsletter /

Just about all of the participants who took one of my recent Virtual Leadership workshops gave it high marks. Most reported that the combination of video, verbal conversation and electronic flipcharts kept them engaged the whole time and helped them to learn a lot within a short time. All except for Mark, who reported having

Want Virtual Learners to Stay Engaged? Insist They Multitask, and Other Big Tips Read More »

Wait, What?! and 4 Other Essential Questions that Expand Thinking and Spark Conversation

1 Comment / Newsletter, Productive Conversations /

If anyone appreciates the value of asking really great questions, it’s a facilitator. After all, my job is to stimulate thought, encourage reflection, generate conversation, and help people make important connections. To do this, I need at least a few essential questions to insert into the conversation at just the right time. Crafting these “perfect”

Wait, What?! and 4 Other Essential Questions that Expand Thinking and Spark Conversation Read More »

Head Off Problems Up Front, Before Cultural Differences Can Get in the Way

Leave a Comment / Navigating Across Cultures, Newsletter /

What are the toughest challenges you absolutely need to conquer when it comes to leading global teams? That’s what I asked a few of my clients, all seasoned leaders of cross-cultural teams, as I sat down to create scripts for a series of training vignettes I was about to deliver for a national training firm.

Head Off Problems Up Front, Before Cultural Differences Can Get in the Way Read More »

How to Make Introverts and Extroverts Happy, and How to Drive Them Crazy

1 Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter /

“We suspect that our team can be a lot more effective if we can do a better job of acknowledging, appreciating and accommodating the introverts among us. We also want to acknowledge what our extroverts need to operate at their peak potential.” That’s the challenge my client recently asked me to help solve for her

How to Make Introverts and Extroverts Happy, and How to Drive Them Crazy Read More »

Coping With Travel Restrictions: When Meeting Face to Face Matters, and What To Do When You Can’t

1 Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter /

When the stakes are high and pressure is on, I recommend in-person meetings. That’s because we forge connections more easily with people we can see. But the reality is, meeting in person isn’t always possible. Business travel often gets dropped, due to pandemics, weather, budget, politics, injury, family, or other pressing priorities. Joining me in

Coping With Travel Restrictions: When Meeting Face to Face Matters, and What To Do When You Can’t Read More »

Create the Ideal Virtual Meeting Space with this Handy Checklist

1 Comment / Newsletter, Virtual & Hybrid Meetings /

If you were creating a checklist for the ideal meeting room, what would be at the top? Maybe comfortable seating designed for interaction, natural light, space to move around, good ventilation, easy-to-use temperature controls, acoustical privacy and plenty of wall space? You might add a good A/V system, a variety of music, and continual access

Create the Ideal Virtual Meeting Space with this Handy Checklist Read More »

Prove You’re Trustworthy – Here’s How, and Why It’s Critical to Make the Effort

1 Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter /

When I see a provocative headline, I check the veracity with at least two reputable news sources before I accept it as at least a close approximation of the truth. (And even then, many major news outlets often fail to report the really important news, which undermines their credibility, in my book.) I am not

Prove You’re Trustworthy – Here’s How, and Why It’s Critical to Make the Effort Read More »

Virtual Meeting Makeover – From Pretty Good to Simply Great with a Few Simple Changes

Leave a Comment / Newsletter, Virtual & Hybrid Meetings /

When people engage me to help “fix” their virtual meetings, they’re usually in pretty dire straits. Not so with Rick Friedrich, Director of Sales in the Americas and General Manager North America for Jiffy Products, who invited me to help him make his virtual team meetings even better. To do this, I sat in on

Virtual Meeting Makeover – From Pretty Good to Simply Great with a Few Simple Changes Read More »

How Restorative Justice Concepts Can Make for Healthier Workplace Relationships

Leave a Comment / Inclusion & Well-Being, Newsletter /

My first offender was a college sophomore who decided that the perfect place to have a party was the vacant home of a friend whose family was on vacation. We’ll never know whether she was being honest when she claimed not to have realized that the friend’s parents weren’t home. But what we do know

How Restorative Justice Concepts Can Make for Healthier Workplace Relationships Read More »

Why Conversations Sometimes Feel Impossible and How to Bring Them Back

1 Comment / Newsletter, Productive Conversations /

The kids in our high school were shattered when news spread last month that a popular senior took his own life.  Everyday life for these kids screeched to a halt as they struggled to process how such a tragedy could have happened to one of their own. This was the first time many experienced the

Why Conversations Sometimes Feel Impossible and How to Bring Them Back Read More »

Stop Squandering Time With All Talk and No Action

1 Comment / Newsletter, Virtual & Hybrid Meetings /

True or false: If a meeting ends with no actions, you didn’t really need the meeting in the first place.  My vote: Mostly true. Although some meetings may be held simply to cross-pollinate information or brainstorm new ideas, the goal of most meetings is to get something concrete accomplished. A resulting list of actions is

Stop Squandering Time With All Talk and No Action Read More »

Instantly Improve Your Team Communications by Overturning 9 Dangerous Myths

Leave a Comment / Newsletter, Team Collaboration /

We’ve all indulged in magical thinking. Why else would so many people rush to buy tickets when the Powerball jackpot swells to $400M, even though their chances of winning are dramatically slimmer? How many people believe that if they lose that last 5 pounds, the person of their dreams will magically sweep them off their

Instantly Improve Your Team Communications by Overturning 9 Dangerous Myths Read More »

How to Stop a Cultural Collision in its Tracks

2 Comments / Navigating Across Cultures, Newsletter /

You’re leading a brand new team with members joining from different organizations and working in multiple locations, perhaps as a result of a merger, acquisition or new partnership. At first, conversations are respectful, but they soon devolve into uncomfortable exchanges that reflect mounting frustrations and distrust. You realize that the cultures of these organizations are

How to Stop a Cultural Collision in its Tracks Read More »

To Get People Talking, Try Asking the Right Questions

1 Comment / Newsletter, Productive Conversations /

It’s happened to all of us: You pose a carefully-worded question, pause and wait for someone to respond. Anyone. Please? And then you hear nothing, other than an awkward, prolonged silence. You start to panic and make assumptions like: “They must be multitasking! Maybe they’re all on mute. I guess no one cares about this

To Get People Talking, Try Asking the Right Questions Read More »

Tackling Tough Issues Remotely, When Your Boss is the Problem

2 Comments / Inclusion & Well-Being, Newsletter /

We hear a lot about how virtual leaders can deal effectively with workplace conflicts and performance problems. (In fact, many people have written books on the topic, including me!) But we don’t hear nearly as much about how to confront tough issues from the remote worker’s point of view. And that’s precisely what Sue Shellenbarger,

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The Impossibility of Designing a “Perfect” Virtual Meeting in a Multicultural World

1 Comment / Navigating Across Cultures, Newsletter /

When I run my “Leading Engaging Virtual Meetings” workshops, I can’t always tell when certain concepts resonate with participants. That’s because most of the time I deliver my workshops virtually. Last week, however, I delivered my workshop in person to more than 100 savvy marketing consultants and analysts from more than 25 countries around the

The Impossibility of Designing a “Perfect” Virtual Meeting in a Multicultural World Read More »

Great Gift Ideas Everyone on your Team Will Appreciate Now, and Later

Leave a Comment / Newsletter, Inclusion & Well-Being /

For many of us, the month of December evokes the spirit of giving more than any other time of the year. Not to say we’re not generous of spirit all year round, but it’s typically during the holiday season that we are most likely to affirm appreciation for team members. Finding the right gifts for

Great Gift Ideas Everyone on your Team Will Appreciate Now, and Later Read More »

How Timeshifting Truly Transformed a Top-Performing Virtual Team

Leave a Comment / Newsletter, Team Collaboration /

I had never met a soul who has flat-out nailed the art and science of leading really great virtual teams. Until now. Meet my friend Don Wynes, Director of Implementation Operations at ADP, who has been leading a team of seven high-performing innovation coaches for about a year, with members scattered across four time zones in

How Timeshifting Truly Transformed a Top-Performing Virtual Team Read More »

Managing Performance from Afar Made Easier: 10 Tips for a Happier Outcome

Leave a Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter /

It can be awkward to give someone tough feedback when they’re miles away. And that’s the least of it. Without visual cues, the delivery of even the most well-meaning and thoughtful performance feedback can have the opposite effect. It can damage relationships, erode trust, sap motivation, and in reality, it can actually weaken performance, instead

Managing Performance from Afar Made Easier: 10 Tips for a Happier Outcome Read More »

It’s What People Aren’t Saying That Leaders Most Need to Hear

Leave a Comment / Leadership & Management, Newsletter, On-site Meeting Facilitation Services /

We’ve seen many leaders win promotions simply because they excel at managing upwards. You know the type: They grab the plum projects for themselves, doling out the routine work to others. Since they want to demonstrate their effectiveness to their managers, they pressure team members to achieve performance targets at any cost. They spend little

It’s What People Aren’t Saying That Leaders Most Need to Hear Read More »

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