Uncertainty can be scary. Whether you are in the leadership seat or a team member, navigating without clarity brings out unproductive behavior. Research from the American Psychological Association shows that uncertainty at work negatively impacts mental health, job satisfaction, and performance, while additional studies link uncertainty directly to emotional exhaustion and negative organizational outcomes. Worry, fear, short…
Have you ever worked for a leader who justified poor communication or alienating behavior with a “this is just who I am” attitude? I have, and it was a frustrating experience that severely limited our team’s productivity and results. Many leaders underestimate how much leadership communication accountability shapes trust, engagement, and results. More recently, as an executive coach,…
The Power of “How Can I Help?” Did you know “How can I help?” is a powerful de-escalation skill for leaders to hone? It’s such a simple thing, yet incredibly underutilized. As leaders, when we’re faced with emotionally charged situations, we tend to move straight into fixing, defending, teaching, or shutting the conversation down. Those…
Have you ever had to work with a leader who has a perpetually bad attitude? I have, and it negatively impacted my perspective of the company, my stress level, and my results. A leader’s attitude sets the tone for decisions, team dynamics, and performance. When a bad attitude is ignored – your own or someone…
Procrastination is sneaky, especially for leaders. I know every month I find loads of other “important” things to do, instead of focusing on writing the two blogs posts I committed (to my team) I would do. No, procrastination usually doesn’t look like laziness… We use busyness and competing “priorities” to justify it. I mean, there’s…
Author: Karen Pelot, Edited by Becca Whipple Why do conflict styles matter? Did you know your go-to leadership conflict style could be costing you in your working relationships and results? As a leader, the opportunity for conflict is embedded in nearly everything you do: feedback, prioritization, boundary-setting, change management, and the list goes on. Leaders…
There is no doubt about it – in the absence of facts, humans make assumptions. What’s more, we assume the negative more often than not. Have you ever convinced yourself someone did something for a particular reason, only to find out you were completely wrong? I know I have. I remember the time I assumed a…
As a workplace conflict resolution specialist, I think conflict gets a bad rap. Don’t get me wrong, lingering, ignored, and/or escalating conflict has serious consequences for any group. But when handled well, conflict is actually healthy for a team. Have you ever had a heated debate with your leadership team and come out on the…
The first half of this year has given us a plethora of reasons to reconsider what’s possible. What’s possible at work, at home, in our communities, our nation, our world. It has necessitated swift pivots, radical change, and the courage to do things in ways we have never done them before. 2020 is also serving as…
Have you ever heard something that got your attention so hard it turned your head sideways and made you seriously think about it? This happens to me fairly regularly, but this particular time it was about resolving conflict and it literally changed my paradigm. It was many years ago, during a period in my life when things were…
As a leader, if it seems you are constantly putting out fires and distracted from your priorities, evaluating the current level of trust amongst your team would be a worthwhile exercise. While you’re thinking about this, it may also behoove you to assess your relationships with your peers, boss and other executives. If you are…
I write on Mondays. At least I intend to write on Mondays. However, it’s five-o’clock and I’m just now putting my first words to paper. I’ve been wrestling with what to write about, this Thanksgiving week. We all need to take time to feel gratitude and take note of what we are thankful for, of course. I…