The Communication Channel You Choose Matters: It’s What You Say AND How You Say It If you’re managing a team, you know how crucial your choice of communication can be. Let’s start with a timeless piece of advice from Marshall McLuhan, the renowned communication researcher. He famously said, “The medium is the message.” What does this mean for you as a manager? It means that how you communicate with your team can be just as important, if not more so, than what you are communicating. It’s vital to chose the right communication channel for your message. Think about this: if you decide to inform ..read more

How Small Businesses Can Do Their Part In Sustainability Today I talk with Cooper Wechkin Founder and CEO of RyeStrategy about the business case for a sustainable organization (even for small organizations). We discussed practical and important ways small businesses can do their part toward a more sustainable future. “Hi Karin, I know it’s Earth Month, and I really should be thinking about sustainability but it can all feel overwhelming. Where can I start? How do I begin making an impact? #askingforafriend Sustainable Organization Statistics: Numbers Show a Shift The stats are ..read more

Three critical questions will save you time and improve decision making with fewer headaches In a world with a constantly growing AI presence, where data is cheap, and you can easily outsource routine tasks to large language models, your decision making ability plays a more vital role than ever. Your ability to help your organization and teams make effective decisions is a competitive advantage and rare leadership skill. Three questions will help energize and clarify your decision making process. When Decision Making Meetings Go Wrong You’ve been there before. One of those awful meetings that ..read more

Leadership’s Focus on Clarity Emerges as Key Antidote to Uncertainty The more challenges you face, the more clear you need to be about which problem is the most important to solve. Today’s Asking for a Friend is with Dr Avnesh (Avi) Ratnanesan talking about the power of clarity and focus when dealing with today’s “conflict cocktails.” His answer, figure out your ONE BIG PROBLEM TO SOLVE. It’s tricky, right? Because there are so many problems. But when you can define your biggest problem in one sentence, align energy and resources around it, and measure the impact, you create real CLARITY OF FO ..read more

Episode 252: In this episode, David introduces you to 12 effective phrases to help you improve your communication skills and effectively navigate workplace conflict. He organizes these phrases into four critical areas: connection, clarity, curiosity, and commitment. You’ll learn to express care and investment through phrases like, “I care about you, this team, this project.” He encourages you to seek understanding with questions such as, “What would a successful outcome do for you?” and “I’m curious how this looks from your perspective.” To keep the dialogue productive, he suggests planning fo ..read more

Got Conflict at Work? Help your remote team do conflict better with a few Powerful Phrases Navigating conflict at work is hard. Doing conflict at work well when you’re not in the same room, in different time zones, when you’re dealing with what Phil, our IT guy, would call “a crap ton” of rapid change is even harder. We call this conflict cocktail, The “Wedge Driver. 1. Shake up the workforce with remote offices and emerging technologies. 2. Splash the team across time zones and geographies 3. Understaff and overwhelm them as they adapt to rapid change The pandemic sped up changes in the wo ..read more

To encourage more initiative be specific in your request. Hi Karin, “I’ve got a peer who will never take initiative. I’m always stuck feeling like I’m the one to push if we’re going to get anything done. I really don’t like that feeling. What should I do? How can I get them to step it up? #AskingForaFriend.” This one’s tricky. After all, they are your peer. You’re NOT the boss of them. And, it’s impacting you, your work, and your results. Work is more stressful than it needs to be. Let’s fix that. Today’s “Asking for a Friend” features Glain Roberts-McCabe, PCC, CTDP (she/her) with expert advi ..read more

Episode 251: In this episode, David Dye discusses transforming workplace conflict to collaboration. He introduces four dimensions that can help alleviate and deescalate conflicts. The four dimensions are: connection, clarity, curiosity, and commitment. David emphasizes the importance of having a conversation with oneself before engaging in conflict resolution and provides phrases and strategies for each dimension. David shares, “Powerful Phrases for Dealing with Workplace Conflict,” which offers over 300 phrases to deescalate conflicts and build trust. This episode will cover specific scenario ..read more

Episode 250: In this episode, you’ll hear David catching up with Dan Michelson, the author of “Holy Shift: Moving Your Company Forward to the Future of Work.” They tackle how critical trust is among leaders and the pivotal mindset shift needed to adeptly maneuver through the evolving work environment. Dan highlights the key elements like fostering community, opening doors for growth, cementing solid connections, and enriching employee experiences. He advocates for a transition from traditional management to a coaching approach, emphasizing personal growth and a culture of belonging. Dan shares ..read more

If it feels like you never received your company-issued secret decoder ring, you’re likely dealing with unclear expectations. Often, people have unspoken values or expectations, and there isn’t one “right” way to do things. Maybe your manager never clarified an important process. Or the team hasn’t agreed on norms, so you’ve found yourself in a conflict cocktail of vague and unclear expectations and strong points of view. Here’s an example that many remote and hybrid teams experience: should you have your cameras on during a meeting? Your coworker, Rachel, may feel like it’s completely unneces ..read more