We’ve all been meeting virtually for a long time now, and there is no shortage of articles, videos, webinars, and books on how to do it “right.” Most of those resources focus on the technical stuff. This article will focus on the human side of the equation and what we’ve learned while providing virtual presentation...
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Inclusiveness and Interactivity The first article in this two-part series focused on the planning required for successful team collaboration. It focused on framing meetings to feel relevant, focused, and efficient for participants. This article will look at what meeting facilitators can do to encourage collaboration during the meeting. Successful collaboration serves both the team involved...
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If you’re a leader or an aspiring leader, emotional intelligence (EQ) is essential for your success. It helps you build relationships and communicate more effectively with the people you work with. In many ways, your reputation as a leader is built and maintained through meetings. Meetings may be, after all, the only time some people...
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One of our clients, who is a senior leader in L&D, said to us recently after having had a difficult conversation with a regional manager about a botched training session, “If she can deliver training better than my staff can, then she should. If we aren’t exceptional in the classroom, we should look for different...
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One lasting effect of the pandemic has been an upheaval in people’s expectations of where and how they work. Job-seekers are targeting remote-only positions that give them the freedom to search for employment across the country or even globally and to work from wherever they are. Long-term employees are negotiating with their companies to stay...
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Most “business-y” jobs, whether for-profit or non-profit, involve business presentations. From the bottom of the org chart to somewhere in the middle, most people’s presentations are to their internal teams, customers, or occasionally, to leadership. But what about once you move beyond that middle layer? What about when you are leadership? Leadership communication has different...
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A recent article at trainingindustry.com has us thinking about the importance of emotional intelligence, or EQ, as US businesses start to return to in-person work. Of course, EQ and its component parts—self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills—have been considered an essential management skill set for decades. At the same time, in conversations we’ve been...
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When we are asked to develop a Leadership Communication training program for a client, it’s almost always because the leadership development training they’ve already invested in neglected to include a communication component. This article will address this major flaw in the leadership programs out there. Let’s think about what it looks like to lack real...
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Over the last several decades, our economy has shifted from one with lots of rote work, whether blue-collar or white-collar, to one in which routine tasks are automated. This means that tasks still dependent on human input are more complex and nuanced, requiring employees with excellent social skills, agility in responding to new situations, and...
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It’s such a tired old saw: “Dress for the job you want, not the job you have.” Tired or not, there’s wisdom in it, but the idea only works if ambitious employees take it beyond just how they dress and think of it also in terms of how they communicate, explain, and express professionalism. As...
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